The Phoenix Project

by Kris Powers

  “How long?” Nadine asked.

  “Less than a minute. I’m arming the base.”

  Twenty Coalition ships resembling different sizes of olive colored birds of prey with elongated necks flew in with several dozen fighters to capture Phoenix base. The three large domes of the base each had three outward facing heavy plasma beams that opened up the moment they approached. Nine of their frigates broke up as the beams ripped through the very center of their hulls.

  PBCs of varying sizes began to spew emerald flame at the approaching vessels. Olive, jet like fighters were destroyed and the shields of both the Coalition warships and the Alliance base were heavily taxed.

  “I’ve got the east approaching fighter group,” Nadine said next to Elliot. They both did their best to defeat the approaching ships and gain time for the escaping personnel.

  “Alright I’ll handle the destroyer trying to destabilize our South shield.”

  “Have any of those ships fired on the escaping soldiers?”

  “No, they seem to be focused on the base,” Elliot replied.

  “Do any of your people stand a chance?”

  “If they can get to the mainland, there are a number of underground bunkers they can take shelter at.”

  “What about us?”

  “With less than five minutes? We could never reach the mainland in time. We are in the most heavily fortified room in the base; it should afford us some protection.”

  “I hope so,” Nadine said.

  Two more Coalition ships exploded above the base. Their fighters were mowed down by secondary fire.

  “Only nine ships left. We can handle them.”

  “I wish that was the only problem. Look at the sensor scans,” Elliot said. Nadine glanced at a display in the upper right corner of the station.

  “Shit!”

  “Another enemy wave coming in and one more standing by.”

  “Can we handle them?”

  “Our shields are down to half power,” Elliot said.

  “So they’ll disable our shields and weapons and then invade the base.”

  “For another three minutes.”

  “Then we’ll keep giving those people more time to get away from here.”

  Over the next two minutes the Coalition warships continued to bomb the base with torpedoes, and blast after blast from their PBCs until the shields collapsed. Elliot managed to activate the primary plasma cannons one last time. The bright beams collapsed the hulls of another half a dozen ships before they were disabled. The secondary and lesser turrets were destroyed in short order until the base fell silent.

  “They’re landing ground forces,” Nadine said.

  “I see them. I’m activating the base’s internal defenses.”

  Nadine stepped away from the console and let out a long sigh of relief having arrived to the end of her tactical duties. “So is there anything more we can do?”

  “No, the internal defenses are automated. They could hold Coalition forces off for an hour, but in this case they only need to for one minute,” Elliot replied.

  “So what do we do?”

  “I can’t stop the warhead.”

  “I mean what do we do?”

  “Come here,” Elliot said not with the voice of an awaiting lover but with the voice of a loving companion. He changed the screen to show the light of the morning sun and led Nadine to the center of the four—storey command room. They embraced each other and waited for the end.

  “How long?” Maria clutched the arms of her command chair. The requirements of the two mile long battleship required three decks worth of space for the bridge in order to accommodate the requirements of a miniature city in space. The command center glowed in white with silver displays. Over a hundred people were needed to man its freshly polished stations.

  “Another two minutes until we reach the edge of the solar system,” her helmsman reported.

  “And we have more trouble Ma’am,” Joshua said from her left.

  “What is it, Commodore?”

  “A hundred Coalition ships from their new fleet. They just launched from their yards at Jupiter. They’re on their way to intercept us.”

  “Can we outrun them, Helm?” Maria asked.

  “No, Admiral. Their mass is a fraction of ours. They can obtain a higher maximum speed then we can.”

  “Then we’ll turn and fight.”

  “I’m not sure that’s not a good idea, Admiral,” Madison said, while she examined her link. “They want to slow us down so the rest of their fleet can catch up.”

  “How many are there?”

  “The first hundred ships are burning their sub—light engines at one hundred and forty percent to catch up with us. The other nine hundred ships of that fleet are behind them,” Madison replied.

  “Our warships can stay behind and confront them. That will allow the arks to escape to Cartise.”

  “That will also leave Cartise undefended, Admiral.”

  “The arks only need a minute more to escape. I’m sure we can do it,” Maria said.

  “If the rest of that fleet catches up while we’re fighting that first wave we’ll be outnumbered. We can’t survive against those odds, Ma’am.”

  “This is a situation that forces us to choose, Captain. It’s us or everyone.”

  “Maybe not,” Joshua interjected.

  “Commodore?”

  “An Alliance battle group has just exited FTL,” Joshua replied.

  “Where?”

  Joshua ordered the screen to switch to the aft view and pointed to a collection of dots.

  “Which battle group is it?”

  “The Second,” Madison replied from her right.

  “I’ve got a signal,” the communications officer reported.

  “Put it through to the main monitor,” Maria said. The screen changed to the face of the newly promoted Ben Phelps, sporting a single gold star on each side of his collar.

  “Ben, what are you doing here?” she demanded. “You should be helping to defend Earth.”

  “The safety of your fleet is of paramount importance, Admiral. We’ll give you the time you need to get out of here,” Ben replied.

  “I’d court martial you if I had the time.”

  “You don’t,” Ben said with a smile.

  “Fine, get in there and give us the time we need to escape, but only one minute do you understand? Leave the moment that minute is up and then execute General Order Thirty—Eight. Relay the same orders to the rest of the fleet: In one minute every Alliance ship is to carry out that order.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Ben Phelps replied.

  “Now put me through to the rest of the Second Battle Group.”

  “You’re on Admiral,” Ben said from the screen. It switched to a view of the distant ships of the Second Battle Group even as they broke off at high speeds and headed towards the approaching Coalition warships. Maria swallowed back her sadness and began her speech to the entire population of the Second Battle Group.

  “I was in command of the Second for a short time, but during that time I came to know you as a fine group of people to serve with.

  “And now I have to ask something more of you: Something that I ask because it will save the lives of millions of citizens and the Alliance government itself. I am asking you to give us one minute, but that minute will be the longest of your lives and it may even cost your lives. I wish I could join you in this battle but my orders require me to be here.

  “Regardless of what happens, I am proud of all of you. Realize above everything else that what you are doing here makes a difference,” she said and paused before adding, “my friends.”

  Maria deactivated the communications link and watched the Second Battle Group while it moved to head off the Coalition ships. They decreased in size as her ships accelerated towards the edge of the solar system.

  “Set the Excalibur’s weapons to the second setting, and have all the rest of our ships come to a full stop. The Carrier Achilles
is to launch all of its fighters. No Coalition ships can be allowed to breakthrough our lines,” Ben said.

  “Sir, if we are to follow the Admiral’s orders, we can’t bring those fighters back aboard in time if we jump to FTL,” his first officer, Commander Levi, reported. He chose her as his successor in the role because she reminded him of a young Maria minus the faceplate.

  “I know, but without them, we can’t hold off those new warships. We’re outnumbered as it is and they know what is being asked of them.”

  “We’ll hold them off, Commodore. Just wait until they get a load of this ship,” Levi said.

  “The Coalition ships are not slowing, it looks like they’re going to attempt to charge our lines,” his tactical officer said.

  “Order all ships and fighters to fire a round of torpedoes and detonate them three hundred miles in front of their forces.”

  The Second Battle Group complied with his order and a slew of torpedoes flew out into space between the two warring parties. Once they approached the set distance, the torpedoes exploded creating enormous clouds of fire that blinded the sensors of both sides. The Coalition group’s headlong advance towards the escaping refugee fleet was interrupted. They were forced to reduce speeds and confront the Second Battle Group.

  “All ships open fire. You have permission to ignore heat protocols and put as much additional power into your forward shields as possible. Be aware that these new enemy vessels are equipped with plasma cannons,” Ben said.

  The Coalition ships finally came into view and revealed their new configurations. The enemy vessels were incredibly wide and beet red in color as a proclamation for bloodlust. Looking like a flying wing, they began to expel particle bursts from across their wings. The most anxious moment for the Alliance soldiers came when they emitted bright yellow flame from their centers. The plasma beams converged on the Alliance ships and slammed into their shields. The Alliance ship’s survived the assault and responded in kind.

  Another round of plasma beams, this time from the Alliance vessels, converged on the Coalition warships and pounded the enemy shields, finding no purchase. Beams of emerald energy and fiery stars crisscrossed the night as the fleet grappled with each other. The Alliance gained a temporary advantage as the enemy warships didn’t dare launch their fighters before catching up with the escaping Alliance refugees.

  The Excalibur seemed to light up once it activated its weapons. Domes parted to reveal grey turrets sporting powerful cannons that opened up with rapid rounds of energy. With the added firestorm created by the Excalibur, the enemy force was stopped in its tracks allowing Maria’s ships to leave the area.

  The Second Battle Group began to take losses as the enemy numbers made themselves evident. At first, it was the Alliance fighters that blossomed into globes of flame before winking out. Only thirty seconds into the battle half a dozen frigates and destroyers had dissolved under fire from the hundred enemy ships. Alliance ship after ship valiantly sacrificed itself for the escaping fleet until their numbers began to dwindle.

  The Excalibur flew into enemy lines and spewed hellfire as it tore through the Coalition ranks like an avenging angel. Once it had sped through the demoralized lines it broke hard to the right and entered back into the fray from the enemy’s fleet’s flank.

  “Sixty seconds! We can break off!” the weapons officer exclaimed to Commodore Ben Phelps.

  “Fire the main gun.”

  The large emerald grid at the front of the ship thundered and then emitted a massive burst of particle energy at the enemy fleet. The beam slammed into the hull of one of the new Coalition vessels. Its shields crumbled under the weapon and allowed its full force to tear through the center of the hull. The Coalition ship broke in half down its short axis. The beam was not yet spent and impacted against another Coalition ship behind the first breaking it in half as well before having satisfied its war lust.

  “All remaining ships break off. General Order Thirty—Eight is now given and decrypted for all officers. You are ordered to leave the Colonized Sphere now!”

  Madison approached Maria’s position ten feet from the main monitor at the front of the three story bridge. Maria heard her footsteps and moved her head towards her approach without taking her gaze from the screen.

  “You trained them well,” Madison said. She handed Maria a link detailing the recent reports from the battle between the Second Battle Group and the recently launched Coalition fleet. “The enemy’s advance has faltered. They can’t catch us now.”

  “Zoom in,” Maria said. Distant green beams and orange explosions were playing between the ships. Ben Phelps had stopped the enemy fleet in its tracks. Maria couldn’t help but nod in agreement, and kept her face away from the rest of the crew as a tear found its way down her cheek.

  Her tactical officer interrupted her somber mood with a triumphant shout. “Twenty ships of the Second Battle Group have escaped. The Excalibur has made it to FTL!”

  A roar of applause reverberated off the walls of the bridge. Maria watched the ships leave having bought them the time to escape.

  “May you win every battle,” Maria whispered as she gazed at the monitor. She hoped that somehow Ben Phelps could hear her.

  Elliot and Nadine caressed each other’s faces as a bright sun cast rays of light on them from the four story screen. It was the same as it would have been if the screen was a great window allowing in the light of the bright star as it began its climb towards the top of the sky.

  Elliot drew Nadine into a deep embrace. Her shorter stature allowed her to rest her head on his chest. They heard the distant chorus of thunder as the weapons fire of the Coalition troops mixed with the base’s internal defenses. Elliot held her head close to him. She inhaled a strong breath and then exhaled with a shudder.

  “Elliot?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m pregnant,” she said, with a whimper for a life that might never see the light of day.

  “I know.”

  Behind them the counter on a display at the back of the command center continued its count in red letters.

  Nine seconds.

  Eight.

  Seven.

  Six.

  Five.

  Four.

  Three.

  Two.

  One.

  Outside the base, lines of soldiers infiltrating the base were stunned to see one of the large domes emit plumes of flame. The flames were interrupted when the dome was blast apart by an explosion the color of thick ice.

  The ceiling of the command center caved in, allowing steel and concrete through from the levels above it. The weight of the collapsing structure above the underground complex forced the uppermost floor to collapse to the third level as more weight fell on it. Elliot threw himself over Nadine as debris rained down on them.

  The explosion from the particle warhead became a wave of energy that blasted the Phoenix Base to ruin and continued its devastating journey across the face of the Earth.

  “Something on Earth, Ma’am,” Maria’s sensor analysis officer reported from the second tier of the Excalibur’s bridge. “Shall I put it on the main screen?”

  “Yes, let’s see it.”

  The Ensign complied and the screen switched to a view of the distant planet. Its blue and white appearance was marred by an expanding circle of energy that originated somewhere near the center of the United States of America.

  “Eli,” Madison whispered.

  “Can we go back or at least send some help?” Joshua asked.

  “No, we can’t go back.”

  The Council of Twelve stood in a small room aboard the Coalition carrier Brontes near the top of the tall ship. The Twelve watched through a large window while the blue—white wave expanded across their enemy’s continent.

  “It’s almost beautiful,” Catherine said.

  “Yes,” Alexander said. “Prime Counsel, we must nominate a new candidate to apprentice with you. With Nadine’s betrayal it is important for us to main
tain the appearance of continuity for the public.”

  “And you believe that you are the best candidate?”

  “I have been a member of this Council for over ten years now and apprenticed to one of the most esteemed Council members in the history of this government. You have said yourself that Aristotle was a good man.”

  “He was indeed,” Catherine said, and turned away from the spectacle taking place on Earth, “and you believe that qualifies you? Invoke one of my long dead friends and I will fall in line to your aspirations?”

  “Of course not, Prime Counsel. I’m merely giving you my resume.”

  Catherine smiled at his attempted manipulation of her.

  “You have certainly learned a great deal in your position over the years, but Aristotle was never as conniving as you are. He was also content to be a servant of this Council rather than lead it.”

  “All of which are points that lend to my abilities to improve upon my mentor’s teachings and lead this Council. Don’t you agree?”

  Catherine’s smile dropped from her face.

  “I’m afraid not. Your fate was decided months ago, Alexander.”

  He watched in surprise as the rest of the Council gathered behind her. The ancient group of eleven people dressed in dark robes was framed by the window showing the face of the Earth being devastated by the expanding cataclysm.

  “Do you think that I haven’t been aware of your constant attempts to replace me by ingratiating yourself with other elements of this council? They informed me every time you tried to sway them,” Catherine said.

  Alexander’s face changed to one of betrayal. He looked at the faces of his associates within the council.

  “Do you want me to apologize?”

  “You should,” Catherine said, “but not for the reason you think. A person worthy of replacing me would never have been as careless or as arrogant as you are. If Nadine, for instance, had wished to supplant me I would never have known until it was too late.”

  “You still need me!” Alexander exclaimed.