Chapter 6 #2
“I’m barely able to sustain all systems functioning at minimum levels to maintain propulsion at a rate to keep us on track with the Starlane schedule.
” What I didn’t tell her was that I also kept finding parts that were overly worn for the age of the ship, which likely meant they had been overtaxed, or perhaps, when being built, the ship hadn’t been assembled with new factory parts.
“I’m sure he turned some systems off.”
“But that’s against protocol, not to mention dangerous as hell.
” I scrubbed my hands down my face. The engineering component should have been the easiest part of the gig, considering the age of the ship and all the autonomous functionality.
How was I supposed to have time to investigate if I was stuck tinkering, coding, and repairing a ship that shouldn’t need work for another decade, if it had been run properly?
“Have you notified the captain?” Natalie’s voice was soft and tenuous.
“I tried, but he said he wasn’t interested if it wasn’t an emergency.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” she offered. “And I’m sorry about the shift schedule.”
I hadn’t even had a moment to look at it. “I’m sure it’s fine,” I replied without thinking.
“Keep me updated on your progress, okay?” she asked.
“Sure thing.”
After ending the call, I switched over to the schedule and immediately saw why Natalie had apologized.
Vaughn and I were scheduled for opposite shifts, meaning that we not only wouldn’t be seeing one another, but also that we wouldn’t even need to share a bed.
“Clever devil.” I chuckled to myself as I leaned back in my chair.
What he’d failed to realize was that this schedule was short-sighted when put in context with our mission.
Surely the crew would become suspicious if he continued to find every opportunity to avoid me.
As a couple with a freshly granted exception, I would have expected any other captain to move heaven and earth to work the same shift as his partner, to ensure they’d have time alone together.
It was just one more thing to add to my growing list of problems to sort.
I’d have to come up with a good excuse for why it made sense that we were on opposite schedules indefinitely, or perhaps manage to track him down and make out with him in front of the crew again to silence any doubt they might have.
I couldn’t tell what about the latter scenario I was looking forward to more: kissing him again or the anger he’d have to suppress while we had an audience.
I smiled to myself at the thought of all the marvelous things I could do to take advantage of our situation and annoy the crap out of him as payback for his shitty attitude.
Needing a break from staring at lines of code and running through system diagnostics, I redirected my thoughts to the crew and who amongst them had the potential to be the Phoenix themselves, or at the very least, one of the top-ranking operatives in Meridian.
The Phoenix had a meteoric ascension over the last decade, although the earliest traces of their connection to Meridian went as far back as fifteen years, from what I could tell.
Meridian had been your run-of-the-mill criminal syndicate for decades, mostly dealing in the sale of illegal goods: drugs, weapons, humans, you name it.
But when the Phoenix came to them with Elysian, their operations expanded at a rate too rapid to quell.
After only a couple years, the drug was so widespread, Meridian’s influence began to infiltrate every industry, corporation, and money-making venture across the entire system.
With their coffers full to the brim, thanks to the Phoenix, there wasn’t anything or anyone that could stop them, which my parents had learned the hard way.
There was a reason Darren had to make sure this mission was completely off-the-books.
The Phoenix had become Meridian’s golden child and most valuable asset; they’d do anything to protect them.
Meridian’s reach was deep in IA and Starlane, so even a whiff of what Vaughn and I were up to, and it would be over…
we’d be over. So black ops it was, my preferred mission type anyway—less interference from above.
In the years I’d spent researching the Phoenix’s operations and trying to take them down, one piece at a time, I’d had a lot of time to think about what they could really be like, and it boiled down to a few characteristics.
First and foremost, someone who could grow an empire so vast, practically overnight, had to be strategic, meticulous, and adaptable with their thought process and planning. None of what the Phoenix built happened by accident.
No.
It had very much been intentional, well-planned, and perfectly executed, which would take someone at the top who knew exactly how to run things.
Another required attribute was influence, whether through existing or developed connections.
Whether through charisma, manipulation, or brute force, Meridian’s reach spanned so far and wide that their tendrils went all the way to the farthest outposts on Pluto, and continued to expand across the system by the minute.
While it had taken time for them to build such a vast network, that kind of expansion demands influence.
Such an individual must also have incredible and relentless drive, likely for power, but there would have to be a larger motivation behind such a prolific rise.
The Phoenix also had a reputation for being rather ruthless, calculated, and pragmatic.
There were no second chances in Meridian, under their rule; betrayal on any level, no matter how big or small, was not tolerated, which allowed them to rule through fear and retain utter control over the network.
How paranoid must the Phoenix be, hiding in their lair, waiting for the next usurper to rise?
But all of that to say that none of those things would show on the surface, because in order to amass such a grand kingdom and yet remain so insulated, and so entirely anonymous, they would have to be a master at hiding in plain sight.
Seamlessly switching between an innocuous and likely benevolent facade, while concealing a savagery that the system has never known, just below the surface, takes skill beyond measure, and honestly, must be exhausting to maintain.
So really, what I was searching for was someone who everyone liked, but who displayed, or was capable of those other traits I had identified.
The problem thus far, on the Radiant, was that I couldn’t rule out almost anyone, just yet.
The only caveat being Chadwick. His age made it impossible for him to be the Phoenix, and it was equally unlikely that he could be someone integral to the operations with the attitude I had seen thus far.
Still, his family made him an attractive recruit, so I wouldn’t ignore him completely, but for the sake of the main mission, I had to take him out of consideration, if for nothing else than to narrow things down.
Vaughn was lucky; he not only had Darren to vouch for him, but his service record on his side.
If he was the Phoenix, his skill in hiding his true nature, by taking out his entire squadron during a rebellion Meridian had incited, would have been the perfect way to cover up his identity, but there was something about Vaughn…
You just couldn’t fake the impact of the horrors he’d seen.
The Phoenix might try to feign such emotion, but it was impossible to do so to the level at which Vaughn appeared to be so deeply affected.
He was a man clearly tormented by his past. It was a feeling I was far too intimate with myself…
The others were so much more complicated.
On the surface, Natalie felt too genuine to be involved.
I was obviously biased when it came to Cassidy, but he’d always had such a big heart growing up; I couldn’t see him being the Phoenix.
I didn’t know nearly enough about the other three—Rion, Jordan, or Ethan—to make any broadline assumptions.
And now I’d need Vaughn and Darren to help me rule out past crew members as well.
Still, being able to observe the crew members interacting was helpful.
It would allow me to establish a baseline of how each person composed themselves around others, as well as how they perceived one another.
Being able to spot anomalies in behavior or out-of-character actions relied on having a solid understanding of who each of them wanted to appear to be in front of the others.
I had my work cut out for me.