The Phoenix Project

by Kris Powers

  Many hands were raised on the screen.

  “All against?”

  Ten hands went up.

  “Motion carried. Send us the documents, Admiral. My associates and I will sign.”

  “Thank—you Elik,” Elliot said. “Welcome to the Alliance. As is our tradition, I can say this: We are now brothers in a strong and diverse family.”

  “Thank—you, Admiral. Welcome to our home world. I have a case of Ruby Brandy that’s forty years old. You, Lathiel and I will share it once you arrive.”

  “I look forward to it,” Elliot said.

  The screen went dark and then returned to a view of a starry night with the round ball of Earth occupying a corner.

  “So you’re my brother now?” Lathiel asked, smiling at Elliot.

  “Figuratively speaking.”

  “You are a really,” Ranik said, scrunching his face, “ugly brother.”

  “So are you, cat face.”

  Ranik tilted his head back and roared his contagious laugh. “We need to celebrate.”

  “Will Ruby Brandy be involved?” Elliot asked.

  “Some. Come to our quarters at Phoenix in, say, an hour?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Nadine had arrived over an hour previously at Waypoint Eleven. Catherine had ordered her to torture the Ferine, but she did not specify a time. Nadine knew Catherine’s implications for immediacy but she chose to stay in a small living area that passed for her temporary quarters.

  Nadine sat on the bed in the dark with both hands cradling her head. She had interrogated prisoners by mind probes in the past, but the Ferine were completely invulnerable to such a tactic.

  Her past had included other ways of getting information. She brought her hands away from her face and stared at them. Nadine thought of what those very same hands may be doing in an hour or so. She rose from her bed and walked to the narrow door ready to do her duty, but something stopped her leaving.

  “You always have a choice,” Elliot had told her.

  Nadine wasn’t sure why, but she found herself returning to her bed. Fatigue soon had her entering into a fitful sleep.

  Elliot sat in the command chair at Phoenix Base with a cup of coffee in his hand.

  He sipped at his cup and read a message from Fleet Admiral Nelson requesting Elliot call him at six—thirty hours. He looked to the small console in front of him, fashioned at a curve, and looked at the time. He had to call the Admiral in less than five minutes. Elliot felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to Lathiel’s spotted face.

  “Good morning.”

  “You weren’t up too late celebrating were you?” Elliot asked.

  “You should have stayed longer.”

  “I had to get up in the morning. I need eight hours of sleep, not two,” Elliot replied and noticed Ranik coming into view behind him.

  “Is that coffee?” Ranik asked, eyeing Elliot’s beverage.

  Lathiel placed a long hand on Ranik’s chest. “Don’t even think about it.”

  “Just one cup.”

  “Not at this time of the morning.”

  “Why wouldn’t you drink coffee in the morning?” Elliot asked.

  “It doesn’t agree with us. I need Ranik sober right now,” Lathiel replied and removed the hand from Ranik’s chest.

  “Sober?”

  “Never mind,” Ranik said, “I’ll just have juice.”

  “Well I’m glad you’re here. I’m making a call to Admiral Nelson.”

  “Afterwards, you can have a cup of coffee,” Lathiel said to Ranik who grinned in response.

  “Commander Stuart, make the call to Admiral Nelson,” Elliot ordered. Peter entered the command into his station at the admiral’s left.

  Nelson’s face stood nearly four stories high on a screen which could show dozens of images and scenarios at the same time. Ronnie Nelson looked like a giant peering into the room.

  “Admiral, right on time.”

  “Your message said you have news for me, Sir.”

  “Yes,” Nelson replied, “I’m glad Lathiel and Ranik are there to hear this. The paperwork has gone through. We are now officially allied with the Ferine. The Prime Ministers have given me the go ahead to retrieve your people, Lathiel.”

  “I’m very glad to hear that.”

  “Good, because I’m going to need your help to get them back,” Nelson said.

  “My help? What can I do?”

  “The prisoners know you. They trust you. You’re our guarantee that they will leave with us. Eli?” Nelson asked, looking to the man seated next to Lathiel and Ranik.

  “Yes, Admiral?”

  “I want you to spearhead this mission. Take whatever you need and get our allies back.”

  “We’ll need a ship,” Elliot said. “I was thinking of the Endeavour.”

  “I can’t do that. If any ship pulled out of our battle groups right now the Coalition would be tipped off, but I do have another option. We have a new ship, a prototype called the Excalibur. She hasn’t left dry—dock yet and won’t be missed.”

  “Does she have a captain yet?”

  “As a matter of fact she does,” Nelson replied. “A certain Maria Peterson. I believe you’ve heard of her.”

  Elliot beamed. “How is she?”

  “She’s more like her old self, but she’s got an edge now. Don’t expect the same Maria you knew. Now, our intelligence seems to confirm what you told us. The Ferine are being held at Waypoint Eleven although why General Hanover told you this is beyond me.”

  “She seemed resistant to revealing that information to me. It was as if she was under pressure to intentionally tell me where the prisoners were being held.”

  “Do you think it’s a trap?”

  “I’m not sure Admiral, but we don’t have much of a choice but to go,” Elliot replied.

  “I suppose so. Good luck.”

  “Thank—you, Sir.”

  The screen returned to a three dimensional map of Alliance space updated in real time.

  “So what do we do now?” Lathiel asked.

  “We go to the Excalibur,” Elliot said. “We need troops and a command team as well. I think I’ve got a couple of people in mind.”

  “An alliance!” Catherine exclaimed in fury. She threw the report to the floor. The other eleven council members jumped at her passionate display. “An alliance. How could you have not seen this?” Catherine demanded and looked to Alexander huddled in his chair.

  “The symbols don’t always—”

  “Don’t lecture me about symbols! You’re supposed to be the expert at their interpretation! Still, I can’t fashion culpability for this on you as I already knew of your ineptness in your field.”

  She looked to the discarded report on the floor. “Now we have a war we can’t fight and what’s worse? We, all of us, have been practicing foresight. We all share the blame. When does this mission to retrieve our detainees from the waypoint begin?”

  “Peter was not specific but he did know the mission starts soon,” Alexander replied.

  “Another one of my failures is brought to me. Is it too late to abort this operation?”

  “It’s too far along for that, but any military intervention on our part could plant the burden of war on our shoulders,” Napoleon replied.

  “A damned alliance. How can they admit a nation from another planet, another system?”

  “Perhaps that is our way out,” Elizabeth said.

  “What do you have in mind?” Catherine asked.

  “Why do we need to recognize the Ferine as an Alliance member?”

  “Their government recognizes whomever they want to,” Henry said.

  “We don’t,” Cleopatra stated.

  “Ah,” Catherine said, “they may recognize them, but do we? We need a basis for this beyond our own personal convictions or that of the Coalition. Something concrete.”

  “You said it yourself Catherine,” Louis said. “How can they adopt a member from another spec
ies?”

  “There is no precedent for it,” Victoria said.

  “You,” Catherine said to Alexander, “what little can you see of the future?”

  “Great battles and birds flying away from Earth,” Alexander replied after closing his white eyes briefly.

  “You are, as usual, the ambiguous oracle. Can this be done legitimately?”

  “If we can convince the UN,” Napoleon said.

  “The UN may be our affirmation,” Victoria said. “They did add those clauses to the admission of Peru.”

  “That was a century ago. Do they have the power to act now?” Catherine asked.

  “Powerless or not, they carry weight with the public and that is all that matters. The public opinion of Alliance civilians needs to be on our side,” Victoria said.

  “If we use the particle warhead to our advantage, it has to be under the most beneficial conditions. Credibility is of central priority. They will not believe anyone who has even the appearance of cheating them.”

  “Then this can be used to turn their people against them. We could gain the Alliance’s ships, technology, and their favor. What could be better?” Alexander asked.

  “Don’t forget you were our teacher. Part of this does trace back to you. How can the UN be brought to our way of thinking?”

  “We use politicians and diplomats. The Alliance is on soft ground in this matter. How do you so quickly and easily admit another race of beings?” Napoleon asked.

  “They may still not side with us,” Catherine said.

  “They don’t have to,” Alexander said and stiffened with pride as inspiration hit him. This would cement his plans to become head of the Council.

  “Explain,” Catherine ordered.

  “Ask the UN to suspend admission until they can properly address our complaints. Their rescue of the Ferine becomes illegal.”

  Catherine nodded in appreciation of the revelation. “Regardless of the outcome, they will have served our purposes. By the time they arrive at their conclusions, the Alliance will have surrendered and the UN will have become superfluous.”

  “They’d probably be gone with the fallout anyway,” Alexander said.

  “True enough. Then put forward a motion, Alexander and make it official.”

  “All for submitting a legal complaint with the UN?”

  All hands raised into the air.

  “Motion carried,” Alexander said with a smile at Catherine.

  “Now, as to this rescue mission.”

  “We can’t look weak in the eyes of the public,” Nicholas said.

  “No, but we can’t let them get away either.”

  “What if their ships were destroyed in the rescue?” Louis asked.

  “Ambitious, but then we have our own fallout to deal with.”

  “Dead men have no testimony to offer,” Alexander said.

  “Live ones do.”

  “Then make sure that there are none,” Elizabeth said.

  Catherine put an index finger to her lips. “This may work. It would scare the remaining Ferine out of the system. They would never return after so many lives were lost. It certainly is more effective than having to wait out all those trials.”

  “And then we would have only the Alliance to deal with,” Alexander said.

  “That won’t be a problem,” Napoleon said. “Can we do this? How will it look?”

  “Put the brunt of the blame on the hostages,” Elizabeth said.

  “What?” Cleopatra asked.

  “I say there will be reports in the street today speaking of the Ferine’s belligerence. They are aggressive and violent. They abuse the guards charged with their care,” Elizabeth said.

  “Will people accept this?” Catherine asked.

  “Coalition citizens will. In concert with a UN investigation and an illegal attempt on the Alliance’s part, we will look like the victims in this,” Elisabeth said.

  “Well said.”

  “Escaping prisoners have been known to be accidentally killed in the attempt,” Victoria said.

  “I don’t want them to escape at all. It’s best to stop the Alliance rescuers before they find the prisoners,” Catherine said.

  “If we do that, then how will we convince anyone that the ships were destroyed in the attempt?” Alexander asked.

  “We don’t. We will have the prisoners moved to ensure that the Alliance members don’t find them in time. Then we will have the Ferine executed and have all the time we need to examine their ships.”

  “The Ferine will demand to have their ships returned to them and they will want to know why we executed them,” Alexander said.

  “As far as the Ferine and Alliance will know, the rescuers did find the detainees and nearly got away with them. We tried to disable the escaping Ferine ships, but we’re unfamiliar with their technology. It’s an understandable accident. Alexander, have the detainees moved to another deck tomorrow. Schedule their executions for tomorrow afternoon once Nadine has finished with them,” Catherine said.

  A small shuttle headed out into the darkness of space beyond Earth. Mars began as one of many other specks of light in the black veneer of space but quickly grew to a tiny glowing red ball that eventually obscured the stars. The small group of people looked on in silence while one of the many man—made objects in orbit became a large and multi—tiered dock miles long. The new AWS Excalibur stood out as a bright white eagle amidst the large grey frameworks at the dock.

  “Is that it?” Madison asked. She and Joshua had been quickly recruited from the Endeavour for the mission, much to Joshua’s chagrin.

  “That’s it. Eight hundred yards long and with new weapons systems no one has ever seen in operation,” Elliot replied.

  “They haven’t been tested?” Joshua asked.

  “Not yet. Hopefully, they still won’t have been by the end of this mission.”

  The shuttle pulled up next to an airlock on the Excalibur. The familiar clang of docking was heard and the five got up to exit the vessel. The hatch opened to a woman of average height and a single ice blue eye. Ranik and Lathiel were taken aback by the steely mask covering nearly half of her face.

  “Admiral Fredericks,” Maria said with a stern expression, “the last time I saw you I was screaming like a mad cow.”

  “Ah,” Elliot stuttered in surprise, “I guess so, Admiral.”

  “I meant to say, as soon as I got the chance, thank—you. I know you stayed with me as long as you could.”

  “No problem. Have you met the Ferine delegates and my adjutants?”

  “I remember Joshua and Madison from a few meetings, but I can’t say I’ve met these two,” Maria said and advanced on the alien pair. She spent several seconds examining the extraterrestrials. “I’m sorry for staring gentlemen. You’re the first Ferine I’ve ever met.”

  “Don’t be ashamed. We did our own staring when we met Eli,” Ranik said.

  Maria emitted a small chuckle. “Because it was Eli or because he was the first Human you had ever seen?”

  “A little of both,” Ranik said and smiled down at the woman. He shook Maria’s proffered hand.

  “You are a very interesting race of beings. I took the time to catch up on the inquiry recordings. I can’t say I appreciated the way the media sensationalized the proceedings.”

  “I thought we were the only ones who noticed,” Lathiel said.

  “I saw through the media, and we will get your people back.”

  “It sounds like you have a score to settle,” Ranik said.

  “Those people are responsible for this,” Maria said, pointing a finger to her mask. “I won’t mind stepping on their toes.”

  “Admiral Nelson was clear in his written orders. No violence if at all possible,” Elliot said.

  “If at all possible, and you don’t need to remind me of my orders,” Maria said.

  “Of course, Admiral.”

  “Things haven’t changed that much, Eli. We are still on a first name basis as f
ar as I am concerned. You were there when no one else was after I was wounded. I owe you for that.”

  “It was the least I could do for a friend.”

  Maria gave him a warm smile and nod which seemed out of place next to the hard features of the gleaming mask. She rested a hand on his shoulder briefly before her professional demeanor reasserted itself.

  “Now, we’ve got to get going,” she said and turned from the group. She walked briskly for the bridge. The five new arrivals fell into step behind her lead. “We have eighty people to rescue and two ships to commandeer. Eli, what’s your plan?”

  “Two squads of troops,”

  “We received the soldiers this morning,” Maria interjected.

  “And two shuttles. We go in, get the hostages, escort them to their ships, and leave.”

  “It seems simple enough, doesn’t it?” Maria said entering the bridge through a small set of doors at its rear. They barely had time to allow her access as she strode into the command center. “But, it won’t be that easy. Cali, give me 3D tactical.”

  The area in front of the helm of the bridge became a sphere of empty space with a tiny station at its center.

  “We can stay off their sensors until this point,” Maria stated as she headed into the display with an arm extended and pointing to a red transparent globe encompassing the station and a large area of space around it. She walked towards it until her index finger touched the translucent red barrier separating non—detection from stark visibility.

  “After this point, we’re on their sensors and all hell breaks loose. This ship may look different from other fleet vessels, but it’s still easily recognizable as Alliance property.”

  “I was hoping that you might have thought of something,” Elliot said.

  “We might be able to help you there, Eli,” Ranik interjected. Lathiel gave the Ferine a brief, disapproving look which Ranik responded to. “We did say we would share our technology.”

  “What do you have?” Maria asked.

  “We can hide our probes from most sensor scans,” Lathiel replied.

  “How does hiding a probe help us?” Maria asked.

  “On our smaller ships, they’re about a hundred feet long, we have been able to rig the same stealth for a few hours,” Ranik replied.