The Phoenix Project

by Kris Powers

  “Yes?” Lathiel asked, hopefully.

  “The Coalition has refused. I am now in the position to advise the Prime Ministers as to what our next move should be. That’s why I’m here.”

  “Admiral,” Elliot said, “we can’t allow the Coalition to take hostages.”

  “We can’t allow the Coalition to take our people as hostages, but these are not our people. I’m sympathetic to the situation, Eli; I’m just pointing out the facts. To put it as simply as I can, we have no jurisdiction here.”

  “I understand,” Lathiel said.

  “Admiral, these people don’t have the political or military resources to extradite these prisoners,” Elliot said.

  “I’m aware of that, but our intervention appears to be without cause. The Coalition claims they aren’t prisoners but are under their protection.”

  “Then why can’t we contact them?” Ranik asked.

  “They claim it would open up the possibility of tampering with the witnesses. I won’t lie to you Ranik, the Coalition is not known for their hospitality.”

  “I wish we never came here,” Ranik said.

  “That’s exactly what they want you to think,” Elliot said.

  “What would happen if you were to rescue the prisoners on our request?” Lathiel asked.

  “That would likely lead to a war. With no cause other than your request for assistance we would look like we were attempting to monopolize your race and hold all of you as our prisoners.”

  “Even with our request for assistance?”

  “Our politics are more unwieldy than yours, Lathiel. The media would view your request as having been made under duress so that we could have all of your people and ships under our control,” Nelson said.

  “For what reason would they say that?” Ranik asked.

  “Our fleet vulnerability after the loss of the Moon is no secret. They would view this as a last desperate attempt to seize more ships before a war began. We would look like the instigators of a war we can win only if we started immediately.”

  “What if they were our people? I mean what if the Ferine were Alliance citizens?” Elliot asked.

  “Eli, they’re not.”

  “Just humor me for a second.”

  “We would have an obligation to rescue them. It’s in the constitution,” Nelson said.

  “An alliance?” Lathiel asked.

  “An alliance,” Nelson repeated and took a step towards the Ferine. His eyes glowed with the possibility presented to him. “If we can do that, we have every reason to take action.”

  “Will your people go for it?” Elliot asked Lathiel.

  “Right now we need every ally we can get, especially ones with a military background. I will have to contact the Assembly, but I can’t see why they would refuse.”

  “Question is will our people accept it?” Nelson said, looking to Elliot.

  “Why wouldn’t we? We could use allies as well.”

  “Allies with weapons and warships, yes. You said so yourself that they are passive and unarmed. What do the Ferine have to offer?” Nelson asked.

  “I think we have a lot to offer, Admiral,” Lathiel replied before Elliot could respond. “Our fold drives are a thousand times faster than anything you have and our sensor technology is twice as sensitive as yours.”

  “They may have something even more valuable than that Admiral,” Elliot said.

  “What’s that?” Nelson asked, dividing his attention between the three of them.

  “Sanctuary. We were going to start over somewhere. Why not start over with a new ally beyond the Coalition’s reach?”

  “You want the Ferine to accept refugees?”

  “An ally would harbor us, wouldn’t they?” Elliot asked, and regarded the two Ferine.

  “Yes, we’ve offered many races seeking refuge sanctuary from the Nevargh,” Ranik replied.

  “How many refugees?” Lathiel asked.

  “It would likely be in the millions,” Nelson said. “We have nine hundred ships that are acting as our own sort of arks. They’re almost two miles long and can hold quite a few civilians.”

  “The Assembly might have an issue with that,” Lathiel said.

  “We’ll talk to them,” Ranik said, “but you may well be trading one danger for another. We have been informed that the Nevargh are mounting a second campaign to take Cartise. We are assembling a defensive fleet, but it won’t hold up against their forces for long.”

  “How many ships are we talking about?” Nelson asked.

  “At least two thousand.”

  Nelson tapped Elliot on the shoulder and motioned away from the Ferine. They retreated into privacy for a moment beyond the Ferine’s astute hearing. They whispered in each other’s ears military secrets meant for no others in the room.

  “You think we can do it?” Lathiel overheard as they finished their conversation and rejoined them.

  “From what they told me before, I think the gunships could make up the difference,” Elliot replied.

  Nelson faced the two. “I think we can help you there. Tell your Assembly that, pending Senate approval, we can provide the reinforcements you need against the Nevargh.”

  Nelson was gratified to see the two Ferine’s eyes brighten in the hope for a reprieve.

  “That would certainly motivate them towards membership,” Lathiel said.

  “Good, now if we can have sanctuary with your people, I think I can convince the Prime Ministers to support an alliance between us. Now understand that we are talking about an exchange of technology on both sides. We will rescue your people and in exchange your government will grant us refuge against our enemies. Now the Coalition’s new ships will be capable of one thousand c, but at that speed it would take them at least ten years to send any forces your way.”

  “I doubt they would try,” Elliot said.

  “It gives us time,” Lathiel said, “and that’s something we didn’t have before. With the new alliance, Ranik and I should be able to convert the engines on your new ships into temporary fold drives.”

  “Good enough,” Nelson said and emphatically shook each Ferine’s hand. “If you will excuse me, I have a lot to do in the next few hours. Lathiel, if the Prime Ministers approve this, it will be made a priority Senate issue. That means you will have an answer by tomorrow night.”

  “It will take approximately the same time for us to have a response.”

  Nelson smiled at both of his potential comrades and strode back out of the centre.

  “Admiral,” Peter said from his station.

  “Yes, Commander?” Elliot replied. He crossed to Peter’s station in an alcove on the first floor.

  “A General Hanover would like to speak with you.”

  “Oh,” Elliot said with a smile, “I’ll take it in my office.”

  Peter nodded and forwarded the signal. Elliot left the center through a small, narrow door in a corner of the multi—storied area. The CEO’s office was almost an afterthought to the design of the massive dome shaped complex. Elliot walked into the privacy of a claustrophobic office only eight by ten feet in size. Elliot sat at a low desk and looked to a small screen on the same wall as the narrow door.

  Elliot pressed a blinking button on a small pad embedded in the desk. Nadine came alive on the small screen. He could see the telltale signs of the interior of a shuttle in the background.

  “Eli, I can’t tell you how good it is to see you.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “I have to tell you Eli. I’m supposed to tell you,” she said in a hesitant voice.

  “What? What is it?”

  “I’m going to the waypoint docks,” she stopped for a moment while she considered her orders, “to the Waypoint Eleven docks.”

  “Why?”

  “That’s where the Ferine have been taken, Elliot. I’m ordered to go there and conduct interrogations on all of them.”

  “What kind of interrogations?” Elliot asked.

  “You k
now what kind.”

  “You can’t do that!”

  “I have to, those are my orders.”

  “Nadine,” he said softly, “that will undo everything you and I have started here.”

  “I know. But I have no choice.”

  “You always have a choice,” Elliot said.

  “I wish that were true, but those platitudes aren’t for the real world, Eli.”

  “You do have a choice Nadine,” he said and emphasized every word. “Don’t do this.”

  “I’ve told you what I have to.”

  “What did you have to tell me?”

  “Goodbye.”

  The Assembly Building held one thousand Senators in its massive chambers. Normally, five hundred or fewer would be in attendance for the daily passing of legislation. In this case all Senators had been apprised of the situation. The Prime Ministers were in attendance with the proposal of admitting a new nation into the Alliance. It would be the first time in nearly fifty years that the admission of a new nation would be voted on. The politicians came in their business suits and formal wear hidden by the black gowns indicating their status in society. All stood at attention with the speaker’s entrance and sat down.

  The Senate rose a second time once the speaker announced the five Prime Ministers in alphabetical order as was tradition. They didn’t sit with the Senators but at five long tables arranged to create a disconnected pentagon at the center of the nearly stadium like room.

  Once the Prime Ministers were seated the sound of hundreds more taking their seats created the familiar but odd sound of backsides meeting cushioned benches.

  “Mister Speaker,” Linda said into a tiny microphone protruding from the top of her desk.

  “The House recognizes Prime Minister Linda Simon,” the Speaker said.

  “Thank—you, Mister Speaker. As many here are aware, my fellow Prime Ministers and I are here today to present you with a priority proposal for your vote. All relevant information regarding Bill A—112 is being downloaded to your links now.”

  A shuffling of cloth could be heard as the Senate members retrieved their personal links from breast or pants pockets. A moment later, silence returned, as the electronic documents were placed on small rectangular desks two feet by three feet in size. Silence ensued for several minutes as the Prime Ministers allowed the nearly one thousand senators to familiarize themselves with the concise ten page document outlining the admission of a new nation.

  Once links began to drop from hands or were increasingly ignored by former readers, Linda Simon spoke again.

  “Now as you can see from Paragraph Twenty—One, we have a great deal to gain from this nation. They have superior propulsion and sensor technology. I also refer to Paragraph Forty—One which informs us the Ferine will supply us with a sanctuary while the coming crises pass. With that in mind, the Prime Ministers have voted to accept this proposal and so recommend your approval of this document. I ask Mister Speaker to open the floor to questions.”

  “So ordered.”

  A series of lights lit up on indicator screens across the room from hundreds of questions submitted.

  “The questions will be fielded in random order decided by the computer,” the speaker said and pressed a button on a small pad embedded in her podium. “The floor recognizes Senator Briggs.”

  Briggs, a small figure on the opposite side of the incredibly large room rose from his seat. His voice was magnified by his earpiece conveying a signal to the speakers that were mounted nearly everywhere in the large arena.

  “I understand the documents before me, Prime Ministers. What I don’t understand is the urgency. A matter of admission is a process that usually takes a minimum of one year when expedited.”

  Kim Young fielded the question. “Yes, that is true Senator, but on this occasion a sense of immediacy is required. We ask for a vote on admission because, not only does the Coalition have members of the Ferine Nation under arrest, but we need sanctuary from our enemies.”

  “The floor recognizes Senator Kinsley.”

  “I want a direct answer,” Kinsley said and stood up. “Can we expect a war as a result of such an acceptance of this bill?”

  “I will answer that,” Linda Simon said. Desmond Green remained mute instead of taking his turn in the order around the tables. “It has been said of late that we face war regardless of our choices. Many would prefer to stay and fight rather than to leave the Colonized Sphere. This is a sentiment that I can fully understand. “Only a coward flees in battle,” is what I have heard whispered in the hallways here and at Fleet Headquarters. What I will tell you and what I advocate is to leave our pride out of this and look to the generations after us. Would you prefer your children to live free or in bondage?” Linda asked. She looked up and across the many tiers of the Senate chambers. All eyes were on her as she stared back at them.

  “Worse yet, would you have your children cut down in their youth? Would you have them crushed under the heel of a victorious Coalition soldier? Do not forget what happened to the Easter Island Agreement nations that were taken by the Coalition. That was their fate. Millions died in retribution for that war, including children. Do not forget the televised horror still in our archives of EIA children being thrown alive onto funeral pyres.”

  Linda looked to her left for the continuation of the response. Ahmed Abraham was the next to speak.

  “No war is ever truly hopeless,” Ahmed said in his heavy Sudanese accent, “but every simulation by the military, regardless of even the most favorable circumstances, ends with our defeat. This information is being downloaded to your links as I speak. Thousands of simulations were conducted and are yours to explore, but let me give you the conclusions here. If we were to consolidate our forces and stay, as some have advocated, and go to war now, we can expect defeat within six months. If we decide to reject the Ferine’s application for membership, and go to war after their trials are finished, we would be defeated in eighteen months.”

  The Senate divided its attention between the Prime Ministers and the countless simulations on their links. Ahmed passed the gauntlet to Mathis.

  “I know that this is a lot to place on your shoulders, but we know that you will make the best decision possible under the circumstances.”

  The Prime Ministers fell silent, as did the Senate. The revered Speaker stood after a moment of remembrance of the images of blasted EIA cities and the atrocities committed against them playing across some one thousand links.

  “I now pass the floor to Senator Trudeau.”

  Senator after Senator stood and asked questions afterwards in a more subdued manner. They went from being defiant to more willing to listen. After several hours of questions, the last senator sat down. The questions in the cue registered zero.

  “The Senate will now vote on Bill A—112. All in favor?”

  Elliot stood with Lathiel and Ranik on the bridge of their small vessel. Dozens of Ferine were on the primary monitor. One stood at the forefront of a large room on the Ferine home world of Cartise. He was the speaker for the Assembly and known to Lathiel.

  Elik spoke after Lathiel and Ranik had explained the situation.

  “You would support an alliance with these Humans?”

  “Yes. We need each other, Elik.”

  “We are used to allying with an entire race, not one part of it.”

  “This is a unique circumstance. We need a race on our side familiar with militaristic values. They have what we sorely lack,” Lathiel said.

  “You Human, Elliot. You and your government support this idea?”

  “I have been told by my superiors that our Senate has voted to accept the Ferine into the Alliance. You have our support,” Elliot replied.

  “So our choice is whether or not to accept your Alliance,” Elik said, raising a long index finger to his lips, “What are you able to give us?”

  “The ability to fight off the Nevargh. My government and I have been informed of their capability. Our shield
s and weapons surpass the Nevargh’s.”

  “If your weapons are superior, why not use them against your more immediate enemies?” Elik asked.

  “Our technology surpasses the Coalition’s by twenty years, this is true. But, we are outnumbered to an extent that nullifies that advantage.”

  “We are also vastly outnumbered. How would your reinforcements benefit us?” Elik inquired.

  “From the information given me, our technology is at least fifty years ahead of the Nevargh’s. We can make short work of them.”

  “With only a hundred warships?” Elik asked, cynically.

  “Our ships are powerful, but not enough to defeat the two thousand ships you face. However, each battleship has sixty squadrons of gunships. That is three hundred additional ships per battleship, totaling thirty thousand. Furthermore, each gunship had a squadron of fighters at its disposal, boosting our forces even more.”

  “These are support craft, if I’m not mistaken. How can they help?”

  “Our gunships are armed with PBCs superior to the Nevargh’s and have swappable battle modules capable of mounting plasma cannons, torpedoes launchers, or heavier PBCs. They are more than a match for the Nevargh’s scout ships. Our capital ships will be able to keep the Nevargh’s heavier vessels occupied in the meantime.”

  “Hmmm,” Elik said while he considered his words. “When could we expect these reinforcements if we accept?”

  “In a little over a week if what we believe is true about the Coalition’s new fleet,” Elliot replied.

  “We believe the Nevargh fleet will be assembled by then. If we sign this treaty, we can count on your support?”

  “It would be our obligation to assist in fighting off an enemy of our ally.”

  “You’ve made your case,” Elik replied, “but what trust is there between us?”

  “I can vouch for them,” Lathiel said. “They are good people on the road to change. If you can’t trust them, then trust me.”

  “Well then, let’s put it to a vote,” Elik said and turned to the group of Ferine behind him. “All in favor?”