Black Legion: 05 - Sea of Fire Read Online Free PDF

then I will bring in the entire Legion.”
    Again Xenophon rubbed his chin.
    “For trade and barter?”
    “Of course. We have no interest in war, unless they bring it to us.”
    He looked back to Artemas and the Kentarchos.
    “Well, there we have it. I need a stealth course plotted.”
    The Kentarchos shook his head.
    “This cruiser is a tough old bird, but our energy signature reads too high. We’re not that much better than the Vulture class for that. I doubt we’ll make it halfway there before being detected.”
    Lady Artemas appeared to agree with him. She looked to Xenophon and then again to the external view. The outpost was much too far away at present, but the electronic signature from its navigation system announced its presence like an ancient lighthouse.
    “What about the fighter? I saw one in the lower hangar,” suggested Tamara.
    The teenager looked up to the Kentarchos with an odd expression on her face.
    “The Seafox? We haven’t used that thing in more than a month. The last pilot that could fly her was transferred to the Drakonis.”
    Xenophon knew the ship, and the fact that over a third of the crew had been killed or wounded in their scouting mission during the escape. He almost dreaded asking his next question.
    “I assume...”
    The Kentarchos nodded.
    “Yes, he was killed in the opening minute of the battle. The trouble is the fighter is old tech, nothing like what any of my pilots have used. Hell, the thing was out of date when it was used at Aegospotami.”
    Xenophon shook his head.
    “I was there, at the end of the war. I don’t remember seeing much in the way of fighters. We were more interested in getting away before the Laconians destroyed the entire fleet.”
    The Kentarchos seemed to change his opinion of the young Attican officer at this information. The battle was well known to every Terran, as it was the single event that marked the change in fortunes for the war. Weeks later it was all over, and Laconian soldiers were marching on the surface of Attica itself. Xenophon almost turned his attention away from the fighter as he looked at Artemas, and then his eyes seemed to light up.
    “Wait. Roxana.”
    “Who?” asked the Kentarchos.
    Xenophon beckoned for Tamara to approach.
    “Where is she?”
    Tamara shrugged, so Xenophon was forced to move back to the ship’s commander.
    “Dekarchos Roxana Devereux, she came aboard along with me, Lady Artemas, and Pentarchos Tamara. She is an Attican Naval officer, and I know for a fact that she used to instruct those fighters.”
    “I see. I will arrange for my engineers to prepare the craft. Who will travel with her?”
    Xenophon grinned at the question.
    “Me, of course.”
     
    * * *
    Xenophon waited on his own as the small group of crew worked around the Seafox. It was an interesting craft at this distance, and he found the old-fashioned design with the double wing oddly attractive. He’d watched them being launched before, but since entering the Medes Empire, he’d not seen them achieve much beyond routine patrols. The large Titans carried their own strike and fleet defense fighters that were a generation more advanced.
    “Sir, just a few more seconds while we arm her.”
    He acknowledged the man and then walked around the nose of the craft. It was small, very narrow, and covered in special slabs. Unlike the heavy fighters, it featured surface cooling nitrogen cooled vents, and substantial internal cooling.
    “What’s her name?”
    One of the mechanics looked back and shrugged. Another of the engineers heard him speak and pointed at symbols along the nose cone.
    “This one is Nike, a bit over the top if you ask me. She’s only a snub-nosed little bird, but she does have the mileage to prove it. Eighty-six long ones, if you believe the paperwork we have on her.”
    Eighty-six years, and she still looks new.
    He could see the way the man moved around the fighter. His body and mouth told two very different stories. He might be