Convergence Read Online Free Page B

the name Tacitus on his ship just prior to departure, as Porthos—frowning and moody—and the Leader looked on. Only those two understood the significance of the name. The Leader, in a still-rare show of sentimentality, nodded his assent to the name choice. The Hunter Aramis, once known as Tacitus, continued to live in a vegetative state. The skirmish with Will Stark ended with the Assassin skewering the Damperer with a blow meant for the Alliance leader. Athos had never before seen the Leader so concerned about any individual in the organization. Men and women the Leader had known far longer than the Hunters had died or committed suicide during his own tenure. Will Stark, once a good friend of the Leader, had turned traitor. One of the first Aliomenti, a member of the Leader’s inner circle known as Adam, had been killed while in the process of aiding the Alliance. Yet, not once before had the Leader shown such deep sadness or remorse about the loss or potential loss of one of his people.
    Athos felt a pang of jealousy. Did Aramis mean so much more to the Leader than all the rest? Why? Would the Leader react in a similar fashion if his Tracker were the one in a coma?
    He didn’t know.
    “Sir?” Scott’s voice carried through the communication system, startling him. “We’re now entering the zone identified as the location of the rebel base by the Hunter Porthos.”
    Athos nodded. “All members of the fleet are to move to monitoring stations at once. We’ll begin canvassing the area in fifteen minutes.”
    The fleet divided into four sets of three, crisscrossing on north-south and east-west paths, each trio of subs one hundred feet deeper than the set above. After completing a pass through the target zone at a specified depth, each group would circle around while diving an additional four hundred feet for their next pass through. Members of each submarine watched with eyes until the sunlight faded away and then with instruments for any sign of a physical structure that might house a collection of Energy-using traitors.
    Time crawled by.
    Athos watched the world outside through the view screen even after they lost all natural lighting. They piloted in the dark using radar and sonar and other technology he didn’t understand, beyond knowing they prevented collisions with anything large enough to damage a submarine. Each sub had an identified partner vessel where crew members could teleport in the event of catastrophic damage to their submarine, a precaution established to avoid certain death.
    One captain asked what would happen if multiple submarines suffered such damage. Athos didn’t answer.
    With each dive, the Energy permeating the submarine intensified. But three hours later, they’d found nothing. No settlement. No strange ships housing the cowardly Alliance.
    “Sir?” Scott hailed him once more. “The deepest subs are now to their maximum safe depths. We… sir, we can’t safely travel any deeper.”
    Athos clenched his teeth. Had Porthos failed them? “The Tacitus will make one final dive, then. The Chameleon will take my crew aboard should we experience hull failure. Should we fail to locate the settlement on this dive, we will make the journey back to the surface at a safe pace.”
    He could almost see Scott nodding. “Understood, sir. Good luck to you and your crew.”
    He could feel the tension in the submarine as the vessel began the deep dive, could almost feel the miles of frigid water pressing down with an unfathomable weight. How had Stark managed to dive to such depths centuries ago if Porthos had in fact located the proper entrance point? Was Alliance technology so much more advanced than Aliomenti technology even then?
    The Tacitus slid further into the depths of the frigid ocean water, and Athos hissed out a held breath as he heard the creaking echoes around him, wondering if the submarine hull would hold together. The crew began to furtively glance around, staring at the walls, as if