Chapter 3: The Blue Phoenix | page 6

The fighters split off into pairs and gunned their engines to swoop in alongside the Blue Phoenix. Every screen in the cockpit crackled and went black, then lit up with the same image as the lead fighter blasted their com frequency and overrode the displays. It was a Lyran, age and gender obscured by the hose-bearded mask that covered the long muzzle.

“Civilian transport Blue Phoenix, power down and prepare to be escorted back to the ground,” said a deep, growling voice over the intercom. It was distinctly male and distinctly annoyed. “If you comply, you will only be charged with traffic disruption. Your ship will be impounded and you will be fined.”

Tiberius raised one hand from the control yoke long enough to clench it in a fist. He raised his thumb and smallest finger at the Lyran. Fly off. Even if the other pilot wasn’t familiar with Prian obscenities, he understood enough to cut his transmission.

“And you call me stupid,” Duaal commented mildly.

“Impound? No one takes my bird,” Tiberius said.

“So how’re we getting out of this? They do outnumber us just a bit. And have more weapons. And probably are in better repair…”

The captain winked and toggled up the superluminal console. Duaal whooped and flipped on the ship-wide intercom again. “All hands, hold on to something! We’re flying in fire!” he crowed.

The Phoenix crested the shining orb of Axis and turned up towards the bright yellow sun. The polarized viewport saved them from the worst of the sudden glare, but Duaal still threw an arm across his face. Sweat beaded on Tiberius’ brow and stung his eyes, but he only squinted and moved his thick old fingers over the controls. The ship thrummed and shook as he cycled up the superluminal engines. Again, the monitors skipped and the Lyran growled at them over the connection.

“Blue Phoenix, disengage your engine. What are you doing?” he snarled. “You can’t use your SL engines in-system. Do you want to tear your ship apart? Spin down!”

“Just a short hop from the nest,” Tiberius said. “Don’t you worry about us.”

“What do you think it’s going to buy you, human, even if you can make the jump?” the Lyran fighter pilot snapped. “You’re nosed right at the sun! You can’t jump through it. Damn it, just spin down!”

“Better dead than grounded.”

“Blue Phoenix…”

Tiberius flipped up the ignition cover and punched the button. In a flash and lurch, the Phoenix jumped. The searing light of Axis’ sun filled every viewport, eclipsing all else from view. The computer made a high-pitched chirp and cut the engines less than a second after the jump began, just before the ship could tip over into the sun’s massive gravitational field and be crushed by the titanic forces. Great looping streams of plasmic hydrogen and helium coiled through the sun’s corona, burning with blinding light like the flame of a celestial dragon. Shields slammed down over every viewport on the ship as the radiation readout jumped into the red.

The Blue Phoenix lived up to its name. The hull began to glow an angry scarlet as the star’s heat enveloped it in a deadly tide of primal fire and then it burst into sapphire blue flame. The shielding crackled but held, unbroken by the stellar heat. Tiberius smiled and patted the consoles. The Blue Phoenix was a good old ship.

- End Chapter 3 -