Phoenix Odyssey Book 1 (Battle Beyond Earth)

by Thomas, Nick S.

  “Get your weapons, and those who can, help the wounded. We are getting out of here!” King ordered.

  She spoke with such confidence and authority that CJ was astonished.

  “What are you waiting for? Move it!” she cried.

  They were soon on their feet as she helped Kaner onto his.

  “I underestimated you,” CJ said, observing how much the rest of them respected her.

  “And I thought you were a traitorous low life. Are you willing and able to prove me wrong?” she responded with no restraint at all.

  He didn’t even know how to take it.

  “We came here because we want you back, but also because we realise that this is as much our war as it is his,” she said, looking to Jafar.

  CJ nodded in agreement.

  “I never thought I’d say this, but I get it. I never wanted any part of this, but Ganbaatar, he made me a part of it. And while I live and draw breath, I will do everything in my power to end him, and all of his kind.”

  “Then you will fight for the Alliance.”

  He scowled.

  “I will fight for what I believe in, and I will fight for my family,” he said and pointed to all those around them, “If that means fighting alongside the Alliance, then yes. For whatever I think of the Krys and Humanity as they are today, Ganbaatar and his kind are far worse. You have yourself an ally.”

  “Thank you, CJ.”

  “It is not lost on me that you could have left me to rot here, and it will not be forgotten. I don’t agree with what you have done to the Krys people, and I will never accept that you and Taylor had the right to do what you did to the Krys Empire, but I do owe you my life.”

  “I can work with that.”

  “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get the hell out of this place!” King yelled.

  They had a dozen wounded, but they were on their feet and moving in no time at all. Nobody wanted to stay a second longer than they had to. King led the way with CJ close beside her.

  “I have to say, Lieutenant, you are the last person in the universe that I ever imagined would come for me. Jafar, he needs me, he has plenty of good reasons, but you?”

  “You saved my life.”

  He didn’t know what to say to that.

  “You had absolutely no reason to. I was not your friend, nor your ally. I was your prison guard. I had never done anything for you. So why did you do it?”

  He shook his head, as he couldn’t even understand why.

  “I know why,” she replied.

  He shrugged as if asking for her to go on.

  “Because there is some good in you. You play the bad boy, and yet I think you are starting to realise that you do indeed have a cause. You do have something to live for, and to fight for. It isn’t what you were born and programmed to do, but it is something new. You are adapting to this new life, and I think you are starting to accept that we are not the enemy.”

  He groaned. “Whatever, let’s just get the hell out of this hole.”

  Gunfire rang out as a number of the enemy engaged the back of the column.

  “Keep moving!” Jafar roared.

  They ran on and on, King leading the way until they reached the two breaches and rushed through to board the Phoenix. King reached the far end of the docking corridor first and punched in the access code to allow them to get back on board. Gunfire still raged at the rear of the column as several covered their route back. They stepped aboard the ship, and King hit the button for the door to shut even as several Gueros were coming through the breaches.

  CJ grabbed a rifle from one of the wounded and laid down fire with several others as the door sealed shut. They could still see the enemy through the small portholes. They kept firing at the door, but to no effect. King released the corridor, and it vented to space. They watched with glee as the enemy were sucked out through the gap as their ship parted contact with the station.

  “Come on!” King shouted.

  She rushed to the bridge with CJ and Mirov beside her. Jafar was just a few paces behind.

  “How is the Kadir doing?” King asked.

  They could see for themselves on the screen. The Kadir and both the enemy vessels were still active. They were laying into one another relentlessly, and yet still the Krys vessel fought on.”

  “Send the signal,” ordered Jafar.

  “Tell them to get out fast,” added King.

  “Kadir, this is the Phoenix. Order code 14975, verification sent. Get the hell out of there.”

  “Come on,” said King.

  They watched and waited with anticipation. Nobody knew whether they were even still capable of jumping. A last massive salvo hit the Kadir before it vanished into a jump gateway, and King sighed in relief.

  “You know what you have to do, jump!” she ordered.

  Their ship was rocked by a salvo from the station as they drifted out. At last their jump engines activated, and they were free and clear in seconds. They appeared beside the Kadir and a Krys Moon station in a system that none of them recognised. They could not believe the damage the Kadir had suffered. Several decks were utterly destroyed, and fires raged all over.

  “It will be many weeks before she flies again, if ever,” said Jafar.

  “But she did her duty, as did her crew. They did what needed to be done,” added King.

  “Hail them,” Jafar said.

  Moments later a screen was displayed before them, and Sarik appeared. He looked both exhausted and relieved all at the same time. Crews were fighting to contain a fire in the background.

  “Good work, how is the ship?” asked Jafar in a rather casual fashion.

  “Just about holding together. We could not have taken another thirty seconds of that. I hope he was worth it.”

  Jafar nodded in appreciation.

  “Head in for repairs. I will be with you shortly,” he replied, signalling for the call to end.

  They looked to CJ now for him to say something, anything. He couldn’t help but still feel angry towards Jafar, and yet he was well aware what they had all sacrificed for him. More than anyone ever had in his lifetime, and that counted for a lot.

  “I just don’t know what to say. When I left you, you were outlaws, renegades. You didn’t care for anything and anyone, and you come back to me now, as heroes. I was wrong to have no faith in Humanity, and wrong to have lost my faith in the Krys. There is strength in both races yet, and I am willing to accept that I was wrong. I still can’t say I like the way this Alliance operates, or what it has made of what I used to call home, but it’s a damn sight better than the alternative.”

  They all looked relieved and appreciative of his sentiments.

  “You know what this is? It is a family, and I do not say that lightly. I have never known what it is to have a family, and now I know. I thought I was going to die in there at the hands of Ganbaatar, and you had no reason to risk your lives to come and get me. None other than our bond to one another. Well, I promise you this. You have made a brother for life. I will fight for every last one of you until I draw my last breath. Even you, Jafar. I never thought I could see you as anything but a traitor, but I was wrong. This is a different time, and a different life. You are the Lord of the Krys Empire, and yet you came this far to help me? I will call you Lord, and I will fight for you.”

  “Good, because I will be needing your services far sooner than you probably realise. You should know that I did not undertake this mission just out of the kindness of my heart. You still killed a number of my friends, and I may never forgive you for that. The passage of time has done something to lessen the pain, but I will never forget. But I am also aware that we need men like you. You are not just a man. You are not just a soldier. You are a weapon. You inspire, you lead, and you conquer what many others cannot. But you cannot do it alone. And you need not do so. You have these people by your side. Hard fighters to a man.”

  “Humans and Krys fighting side by side against a common enemy? I never thought
I’d see the day, but perhaps it is just what is needed to heal these wounds?” he asked.

  “See to your people. Get them patched up and ready to fight as quickly as you can. I am sorry there will not be more time for you to rest and recuperate, but the war does not pause when we want it to.”

  “So what next?”

  “I didn’t just undertake your rescue for the sake of getting you back.”

  “I appreciate your honesty at least.”

  “The truth is that we need good fighters and good leaders. Ganbaatar is developing a new kind of warrior. They look like Humans, but are far stronger and harder to kill. They also have no fear and cannot be reasoned with. They are machines in almost everyway, but better.”

  “You came to find out if they were real?”

  “Yes, and to bring back an officer who would be brave enough, and tough enough to take on this new threat.”

  “So we are just a means to an end to you?” King asked. She sounded disgusted by this revelation.

  But as CJ shook his head, she could tell that he fully understood their position.

  “This is war, Lieutenant, and each of us is merely a tool in the arsenal. Don’t think everyone fights for one another out of love and compassion.”

  “I got you out because I believed it was the best course of action, for you, for your crew, and for the Alliance. I want you to take on this new threat, and I want you to destroy it.”

  “Fifty of us, less now, against how many?” asked King.

  “You weren’t created as a conventional force, and you never will be. Your job is to operate as a specialist force, small numbers of exceptional fighters, carrying out the most daring and dangerous of missions. You will strike the enemy where they never believed they could be hit, and be out again before they can even find you. Bolormaa has the weight of numbers, but we have the quality of troops. With men and women like all of you, we can win this war. See to your crew and to your people. You have forty-eight hours to rest and plan your next course of action.”

  “You are going to accept this, CJ? You are going to be the slave that you said you would never be?”

  “Mirov, I am going to be whatever I need to be to stay alive in this crazy world, and you should, too.”

  Chapter 21

  “What are you thinking?” King approached CJ.

  He was standing on a viewing deck and looking out at the moon below. There was a small city on the surface and six ships docked, including the Kadir. CJ said nothing for a while as he continued to mull over his thoughts. He looked over to see that Boron stood guard behind her as though he did not trust him. That made him smile.

  “Are you having second thoughts about working with the Alliance?”

  He shook his head.

  “I don’t see any other way. There is nowhere we can go in this life where we will not be chased down. We either side with Bolormaa, or we fight for the Alliance. If Ganbaatar is anything to go by, I will never fight for Bolormaa. She is everything I despise. You may think I was a monster once. That I fought to destroy Humanity, but I only did what I believed in. Krys prophecy taught us that the paradise that is Earth, was rightly ours.”

  “Ours?”

  “Krys.”

  She nodded along. It was still confusing to her that he did not identify as Human.

  “Earth was rightfully ours, and we were fighting for a home that was our destiny to own.”

  “And maybe you got it? Vast swathes of the Krys people now live freely on Earth.”

  He groaned as if he didn’t fully agree. “It’s not how I envisaged it would be.”

  “Well, things rarely turn out how we want or hope them to, do they?”

  “That much we can agree on.”

  “You still haven’t told me what it is you are thinking? I can see you are working through some thoughts. Share them with me. Perhaps I can help.”

  “I was thinking that if we are going to truly operate as the machine that we need to, we need everyone on board to be on the same page.”

  “I agree.”

  “Then we must release the crew that we have imprisoned, including Captain Marks. I have no love for the man, but this is his ship, and he must be more than capable of operating it.”

  She smiled in response as he finally turned to look her in the eye.

  “What?”

  “I am just surprised at how far you have come. When you awoke in this life, you were ready to kill every Human you met, and now you want to work with us all.”

  “Times have changed, and so I must change with them.”

  “And you think you can?”

  “Haven’t I already?”

  She nodded in agreement. “There’s no doubt about that, CJ.”

  “We cannot hold Alliance crewmembers behind bars any longer. We’ll release them and give them a choice. They can either work with us, or they can stay here, and get the first boat back to wherever they want to go.”

  “You would give them that choice?”

  “Not every soldier was programmed to fight like I was, and not everyone reacts well to be forced into it. I know that much about Humans. They have to want to work with us, or not at all.”

  “It’ll be a pretty hard sell to get Marks back on board. I don’t think any Captain would react well to being asked to work for the man that took his ship from him.”

  “There are far harder things to swallow in this life than pride, but that will be his decision.”

  With that, he turned to rush off. “Where are you going?”

  “To make Marks an offer.”

  “Wait, I’m coming with you!” she yelled and raced on after him with a look of concern on her face.

  She could barely keep up as he strode on like a man on a mission, and she was genuinely concerned for what he might do. It wasn’t long before they were at the brig where the crew were being held, and the lone guard stepped aside. CJ strode in and opened the door to the Captain’s cell. All of the crewmembers that had been detained could see what was going on from their adjacent cells in the tiny brig. The Captain made no attempt to get up from the bed that he sat on. He looked suspicious of CJ, as if he expected to be tricked somehow.

  “What are you waiting for?” CJ asked.

  King appeared behind him, and the Captain looked to her for what to do. She just nodded in agreement.

  “CJ is working with the Alliance now. We have resolved our differences,” she said firmly.

  “How can that be true? This man is a traitor, a murderer. He is the lowest form of scum. He is a relic of a savage age and should never have been allowed to return.”

  “And these are now savage times once more, Captain, are they not?”

  He didn’t look impressed with that comment. CJ drew out his pistol and held it low, as if deciding what to do with it.

  “What are you doing?”

  There was genuine worry in King’s voice as if she had no faith in him doing the right thing. CJ didn’t say a word as he stared at the Captain. The man did the same back at him.

  “Stop this, this is insane. Nobody needs a gun here. Please, CJ.”

  CJ ignored her, and she dared not try and touch him. The tension was so high in the room that King was sweating buckets now, and yet she had no idea how to resolve it. Finally, CJ broke his silence.

  “A war rages on out there. When I took your ship, I did so because I wanted no part of it, and it was my only means of escape.”

  The Captain did not respond as he waited for the whole story.

  “But I was wrong, and I am happy to admit that. This is not the same life or world I remember, and I have no choice but to face the same enemy that you do. That makes us allies, if you are willing to be as such.”

  “I would never call you an ally. You are a mutinous dog,” he snarled back.

  CJ put the pistol down and kicked it across the floor so that it came to a standstill just in front of the Captain’s feet. King was shocked and couldn’t understand what he was doing.<
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  “I am not your enemy, and you are not mine. So long as we can both agree that is the case. I turned a gun on you because I had no choice, but now we both have a choice. Whatever you think of me, the Morohtans are worse, and I am willing to fight them with everything I have.”

  “And why should any of us trust you?”

  “I don’t give a damn whether you trust me. Either pick that weapon up and use it, or join my crew.”

  “CJ, you said they’d be able to leave if they wished!”

  “And they can. If the Captain wants to leave, he can pick that gun up and use it, and then go and do as he pleases.”

  “I have no desire to kill anyone,” he insisted.

  “Well, you’d better get used to the idea. Whether you come with me or not, this is a war, and you are a part of it. Kill or die, those are your options.”

  Captain Marks looked past him to King.

  “You are following this man?”

  She nodded, even though she didn’t agree with what he was doing.

  “These are horrible times, and CJ is not a nice man, but he is a good fighter, and I know there is good in him. He saved my life, and he saved many more, too.”

  “So this is what it has come down to? Making deals with the Devil?”

  She nodded once again.

  “Do you know how grave our situation is? The Lord of the Krys Empire came here with one ship to help us because he could not spare any more. Do you understand how bad things must have gotten for that to happen?”

  “Pick up the gun, or go back to work. Those are your options,” CJ repeated.

  Finally, the Captain stood up tall and proud, but he made no attempt to go for the pistol.

  “I won’t kill you, and I won’t be your dog. If you want my help, you will accept that this is my ship. You may have operational command of whatever suicidal missions they send you on, but the ship remains under my control, and my orders stand. There will be no compromise. I will not be your yes man. I don’t like you, and that must be understood from the very beginning. But I will work with you if it is for the benefit of the Alliance, and what the Alliance wants.”