John Wright - The Phoenix Exultant

Phaethon said to Atkins, "You, sir, are a jackass. I think you owe me some sort of apology. Otherwise..." But then he could think of no legitimate threat, so he stood there, grimacing and feeling foolish.

To his infinite surprise, Atkins stepped forward, extended his hand, and said, "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry. Shake. I didn't set the policy, and I did not know the extent of the Silent Oecumene penetration into our mentality, and so the Parliament couldn't make any of the knowledge public."

"Then it is the Silent Oecumene?"

"Their technology, without a doubt. Whether it is really them, I don't know. Unless they found some way of climbing up out of a black hole."

"How long have you known?"

"Known for sure? Not till the night they sent one of their agents, disguised as a Neptunian, to go talk to you. They were pretty desperate to get to you by that point, and so they took risks and got sloppy. The Neptunian left behind physical evidence, spores in the grass, nanomachines, and so on. Because of the way the data was encoded into the nanomachine fields, it seemed pretty clear they had a Sophotech. You overheard what my remotes found out about that. But as for how long it's been since I suspected? It was since the solar storm."

"The one that killed my father."

"Right. I saw an art performance some freak from the Irem school put up on the public channels that analyzed the movements and energy-levels involved in the solar flares. It reminded me of the attack fractile patterns some of my chaos-weapons use. I mean, I know what a barrage looks like when I see one. And, after I finally got the funds to do a statistical analysis run on the flare motions from that recording (and, boy, the Parliament really did not want to give the money for that!) I saw what the target was they were firing at. Your ship."

"They were manipulating Helion's array somehow to produce the effects?"

"I don't know how they did it. At that point, I did not even know if they had done it. No one else but me thought that the solar storm followed an attack pattern, or that it was deliberate."

"Why didn't you tell anyone your suspicions?" Atkins looked amused. "I told my superiors, the Parliamentary standing committee on Military Oversight. Are you asking why I didn't tell the press? I'm not allowed. And even if I were, I would hardly have told anyone. For all I knew then, the Silent Oecumene had corrupted Helion's Pyraeus and Flammifer Sophotechs. And, if they were into the Solar mentality, why not in the Terrestrial? The fact that your ship was a target led me to believe that you were also a target, and the Parliament agreed, and I was sent to watch you during the festival. You put on a disguise and slipped out one night, and I lost track of you, and by the time I found you again, you were already talking to the Neptunian." "Then-they killed my father-?"

"And I think they meant to kill you, too, as soon as they could get you into a private enough spot. But then something changed their minds."

"When my lawyer tricked Gannis into canceling my debt. They thought they could possess the ship rather than destroy it."

"Lucky thing, too. Otherwise, that black card which Scar-amouche handed you-the one they called 'Scary,' a polyp riding on Unmoiqhotep's back; that was Scaramouche-would have just brain-wiped you instead of giving you pseudomnesia. And, yes, I was not really the bailiff at the courthouse. Sending me to guard the justices would be like parking a battleship in the pond behind the parish courthouse in Dorking to protect the Judge of the Assize. Yes. I was there to watch you. I was ordered to keep an eye on you every time you logged off of Rhadamanthus. These Silent Ones are deadly afraid of Sophotechs, and I knew they would approach when and only when you were not hooked to Rhadamanthus."

"So you waited till Daphne was coming to look for me, knowing they would come out of hiding to follow her. And your plan was just to trace the link back to their superiors once they succeeded. And you were willing to let both of us be killed to allow that to happen, weren't you?"

Atkins nodded glumly. "You're right, I should have waited longer. I took a risk trying to protect the girl during the explosion, but I think that thing's senses were confused when you opened fire on it."

"Confused it, did I?" Phaethon's voice was flat.

"Oh, don't feel bad. It was a good try for an amateur. The target was stunned for almost a second. You made it use up a lot of its ablative shielding."

"Thanks," said Phaethon without enthusiasm.

"But you're right. I should have held my fire. Right now, all we have is one vector of one line of communication. We have no idea how far away the destination was, nor will we know until we get a second line. And if the thing was broadcasting to a relay, that line tells us nothing. So we don't have as many clues to go on as we would have, if it had taken your head and gone off. But it was one of those judgment calls, you know?" He smiled. "In any case, I can make out my after-action report now and still keep my zero civilian casualty rate."

"So you saved us to allow you to simplify your paperwork, is that it?"

"Got to keep your priorities straight, sir. But don't worry. We need at least a second line to trace back, in order to triangulate on where the Silent One agents are sending their messages. So we're going to have to find another Silent One agent, or wait here till another one comes by to murder or kidnap you."

"And I suppose you are going to tell me that I have to remain mortal until that happens, won't I? Because a Hortator reinstatement would be a public event that any remaining Silent One spies would notice, right? And so I am just supposed to wait here till I am killed just because you want me to, is that correct?"

"I've got nothing to do with it, sir," said Atkins, looking him straight in the eye. "It's only a question of courage. Would you risk your life to save the Golden Oecumene? Would you die?"

"Of course. That goes without saying." "It goes without saying these days, sir, because you and I are the only people I've ever heard say it. I'm asking you to join the service. The enemy must have a starship." "That is my conclusion as well. A Silent Phoenix." "No ship of ours would be able to catch the thing; only yours. Which means we need to get her away from the Neptunians without alerting the Silent Ones who have infiltrated the Neptunians. And, if that means letting yourself get dumped on by the College of Hortators, and staying in this immortality-less exile, then that's what you may be asked to do."

"Good grief, Marshal Atkins! Are you contemplating turning my Phoenix Exultant into a warship? A ship of peace, a ship meant for exploration, for the creation of new life? A horrid thought, sir! Unthinkable! Are you serious?!"

"Let me ask you. Do you think the enemy could possibly have any vessel that could outrun her?" "Unthinkable-ah. Hm. Did you say 'her'?" "Course. All ships are 'her.' Beautiful piece of machinery, that ship. You come up astern an enemy target at ninety-nine percent of the speed of light, target has got no time to react, won't even see you till you're right there. Then do a close pass, and use her drive like a stern-chaser, dose them with lethal radiation or dump some excess antimatter fuel off into their path. Or better yet, just ram her right through them. The amount of armor that beauty carries, no normal ship would even scratch her. She's a wonder."

"Well. Well, I'm glad we agree on something, Marshal. But nonetheless, while I'd be perfectly willing to cooperate for any just and good cause, there is simply no possibility that I will join your military hierarchy and place myself under your orders."

"I can't force you. I can't draft you. Wish I could. But I can't. But think about joining the service. It may be the only way to get your ship back. Not only do you get a chance to serve your Oecumene, there is a good benefits package, which I can explain, too, including free housing, medical programs, and benefits. I have my own immortality circuit, which no one controls but the Warmind Sophotech group." "You have your own circuit? Just for you? For one man?"