Fury Of The Phoenix (Exodus)

by Robert Stadnik

  “The shuttles couldn’t have left the system. None of them were equipped with hyper drives,” said Tim. “And the group didn’t have the resources to build an engine if they wanted to.”

  “So what happened to them?” asked John.

  “I may have an idea,” offered Julie.

  John saw the worried look on her face and figured what she had to say wasn’t good. “What?”

  She was nervous about revealing this information, as she hadn’t told the senior staff yet either. Only Korifluxinina was aware of it. “The Onixins picked up some unusual energy signatures they couldn’t identify, so I had Unarnu analyze it.”

  “Vish, identify the source of the energy readings,” requested Korifluxinina.

  “Based on available data, the energy signatures are consistent with Io energy emission standards.”

  Fear hit John’s heart as he heard that dreaded word. “It can’t be.”

  “My analysis has a 93.47% confirmation rate,” confirmed Vish.

  “I thought the Io didn’t have starship capability,” said Chris.

  “We never picked up any vessels from their planet,” explained Julie. “But they could have had a ship hidden somewhere.”

  John could barely hear his staff. His mind was going over the implications of the Io having something to do with the conspirators’ disappearance. If they were behind this, he was certain they would suffer the same fate as Jeffrey McCail, the crew member killed by the Io and his head replaced with a computer module.

  “Jufo, set a course for the Io planet,” ordered John. “I want us there as soon as possible. Julie, contact the command council and let them know PHOENIX is leaving on a priority mission. Have them review all the files pertaining to the Io.”

  “We’re not schedule to leave for several weeks,” Julie reminded him. “We’re still in the process of bringing additional crew and supplies on board.”

  “I want that suspended immediately,” said John. “the alliance fleet here can continue to provide protection to the solar system. Chief, when we get to the Io planet I want heavily armed teams ready to launch to scour the planet for the Io.”

  “Yes, captain,” replied Davers.

  “Dismissed.”

  Everyone saw how worried John was about possibly confronting the Io again. As he left the board room, Chris chased after him and into the lift.

  “Hey, it’s going to be ok,” Chris said, trying to reassure his friend.

  “Hold lift,” blurted John. He began pacing around the lift. “Chris, if anything’s happened to our people because of the Io…”

  “Stop right there, sweetie,” interrupted Chris. “Let me remind you that the group missing planned to kill you and take over the PHOENIX. So I wouldn’t shed too many tears over them.”

  “No one deserves that fate,” said John. “I still have nightmares about Jeff.”

  “We don’t know what happened,” said Chris. “Maybe they defeated the Io, took their ship and left the system.”

  “I wish,” said John. “But I already know what happened.”

  “Sweetie, you can’t blame yourself. You had to put them off the ship to protect the mission,” said Chris. “If the Io’s behind their disappearance, you’re not responsible for what happens to them.”

  Chris’ words had little comfort for John. “If we so much as pick up an Io vessel, I’m firing all our weapons at them.”

  Back in the board room, Chief Davers requested Julie to remain behind so he could talk to her in private. “I wanted to talk to you about the body found in Smitty’s.”

  Julie was aware of the situation from an earlier meeting with the security chief. “Have you found some new information?”

  “We completed our forensic examination of the crime scene. We found alien DNA in the victim’s wounds. When we ran it through the medical database we identified it as Rifva.”

  “Mu?” Julie’s mind instantly went to the Rifva who was now running the Stardust Café.

  “No, it’s not Mu, leaving the only other Rifva on board as the culprit.”

  Julie, along with many of the crew, had warm regards for Mu, who had become more friendly and outgoing since Mario took him under his wing and taught him his culinary skills. But the other Rifva Julie knew nothing about. She only encountered him once at the coilquin, and the brief encounter bothered her. There was something about that Rifva that didn’t sit well with her.

  “I’m having the Rifva brought to security for questioning,” explained Davers. “This is the first instance of an alien committing a violent crime on the ship.”

  Davers was right. Ship regulations were very specific if a crewmember committed a crime, but they were written with the thought PHOENIX would only be staffed with a human crew. Could they really apply the same rules to an alien on board?

  “I’ll have to consult with the captain on how to proceed,” said Julie. “But for now, we’ll question the Rifva and keep him in custody.”

  “Understood,” said Davers.

  In his apartment in Central, John was sipping a glass of chardonnay as he reviewed some ship status reports while X was in the kitchen making the captain some food to snack on. He had just gotten off the line with the command council, who wanted more information about John’s intention to take PHOENIX to the Io planet. After making it clear he was going to the planet with or without their permission, the council approved his request to leave.

  “Command deck to Captain Roberts,” as John was getting comfortable on the couch.

  “Go ahead,” said John, hoping it wasn’t the council calling back to rescind their approval.

  “I have Chief-Of-Staff Charles on the line for you.”

  This was unexpected. “Put him through.”

  The image of the English young man appeared on the wall monitor, and he didn’t look pleased. “Captain, would you mind explaining what the hell Kevin Jacobson is doing?”

  John was perplexed. “Come again?”

  “The conference he just held a few minutes ago here in Sydney,” said Charles.

  “Vish, was there a conference call held by Kevin recently?” asked John.

  “Affirmative,” said Vish.

  “Play it.” The feed popped up on the display and there was Kevin, standing in front of the capital building and surrounded by several individuals. Kevin was holding up a stack of papers.

  “The government doesn’t want you to know that the human race is dying. This study provides conclusive proof that if nothing is done, we’re at risk of becoming extinct. But the president doesn’t think it’s something to worry about.”

  “End play,” said John. The image was replaced again with the image of Charles. “I’m sorry. He did that without my authorization.”

  “You’re saying you had no prior knowledge about this?”

  “That’s correct. I’m sure President Butu told you I didn’t agree with the government’s position, but I also told Kevin he needed to respect their decision.”

  “Apparently, your advice carries very little weight with him,” said Charles. “The president isn’t happy. Now she has to contend with this public relations fiasco.”

  “If there’s anything I can do…”

  “I think you’ve done enough, captain,” interrupted Charles.

  “Then at least communicate this only piece of advice I gave to the president again,” said John. “We’re not alone any longer. We have the resources of the alliance races at our disposal to help solve this problem. I’d suggest the president and Congress consider utilizing the alliance as a resource. It may be the only way for humanity to survive.”

  Charles considered John’s words for a moment. “Good day, captain,” he said before promptly terminating the comm. link.

  John sat back down on the couch. He didn’t agree with what Kevin did, but he couldn’t help but be proud of him. Only a couple years ago, John would have done exactly the same thing.

  “Will Kevin Jacobson be returning to the ship?” X ask
ed John.

  “No, I’m afraid he isn’t coming back. But that’s ok. He’s doing what he feels is right.”

  “Would you like another glass of wine?” asked X.

  John handed the bot his glass. “That’d be great.” As X went to the kitchen, John leaned back on the couch. “Vish, send a personal message to Kevin Jacobson. Let him know that I wish him well.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  David Block couldn’t believe he was actually on the PHOENIX. He made a decision to join the crew as the auxiliary communications officer. As soon as John found out about David’s application, the captain quickly approved his friend to join the crew.

  His first trip to medical was a bit disconcerting. Everywhere he looked there were aliens. Even the doctor who injected him with a micron and DAT wrist implant was an alien, an Aldarian. David couldn’t believe how he could suddenly understand the doctor with the micron.

  After being cleared in medical, David dropped off his luggage bag in his quarters and went to a new officer briefing in the board room. A Lieutenant Tim Richardson held the briefing, which gave new officers a general overview of how the PHOENIX crew operated, which included a cultural overview of the aliens serving on the ship.

  After the briefing, David headed to the command deck to meet with his direct superior officer, a Lieutenant Michaels. The deck was busy with officers and crew members. David had read all the available specs on the ship, but was still amazed how big everything seemed. It was hard to imagine his friend John commanded this massive starship for three years.

  David spotted John and Julie at the operations table. He wanted to say hi to them, but they were busy having a discussion with several other individuals, human and alien, around the table. Their discussion seemed to focus on what looked like a holographic display of a planetary surface.

  “You must be Lieutenant Block.” David turned to see Bret addressing him. “I’m Lieutenant Michaels, but you can call me Bret.”

  “Excuse me, sir?”

  “That’s my name. We don’t go by titles around here. It’s something Captain Roberts never adhered to. We only call the captains by their titles, except for the aliens.”

  David was already confused. “Huh?”

  “You’ll get used to it.”

  “I see. It’s nice to meet you, sir…I mean Bret.”

  Bret chuckled. “A lot of what the Academy taught doesn’t work on PHOENIX.”

  “I’ll do my best to get through the learning curve,” promised David.

  “Good.” Bret led him over to the communications station, which was manned by an alien David recognized as Onixin. “This is my counterpart, Rudov.”

  “David Block, it is good to meet you,” said the Onixin as he stood up and vacated the station. He motioned for David to take the seat.

  “Already?” asked David.

  “From what we’ve heard you’ve proven to be a whiz at communications systems,” said Bret, referring to David covertly sending PHOENIX’s transmission to the media. “I’m sure you can teach us a thing or two.”

  “But your communications setup is different. It has alien technology,” David pointed out. “I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

  “Best way to learn is to get your hands dirty,” said Bret.

  “Communications, we need your input,” Julie called out.

  “I will take care of it,” said Rudov, leaving Bret and David together as the Onixin joined the others at the operations table.

  “You’ll find a lot of the communications processes have been streamlined and automated,” explained Bret, pointing out some of the controls. “Vish analyzes most of the data relevant to us, so it’s pretty much a matter of interpreting what he’s presenting you.”

  “Vish? Oh, the ship’s computer.” David was aware of the AI intelligence that governed PHOENIX’s computer systems. “Is it sentient?”

  “Semi-sentient,” replied Bret. “There are programming safeguards preventing Vish from becoming fully autonomous. He’ll always obey the crew and wouldn’t do anything to endanger us.”

  “You two having fun yet?” They looked up to see John. The meeting at the operations table had ended.

  “I’m just getting David situated,” said Bret.

  “Can you give us a moment?” John asked. Bret nodded and left them alone. “It’s good to see you here David.”

  “Same here, captain.”

  John shook his head. “No way. You and I are not doing rank. We’ve been friends for too long. You call me what you’ve always called me.”

  “But Bret says everyone calls you and Julie captains,” David pointed out.

  “They do because they choose to do so. I won’t have one of my oldest friends address me by title. Agreed?”

  “Sure, absolutely.” David was amazed that John’s accomplishments and high regard with the public didn’t inflate his ego. If nothing else, he seemed tame now.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to meet you when you came on board,” John said. “I wanted to give you a personal tour of the ship, but there’s a lot going on right now.”

  “You mean the planet we’re going to?” David knew they were going to a star system PHOENIX had visited in the past, but didn’t know the details of their mission.

  “That, and there’s a matter I need to attend to in security.”

  “You think maybe I could join the team that’s going to the planet?” David asked. “I always wanted to set foot on an alien world.”

  “Absolutely not!” John’s words came out sounding harsh and caught David off-guard. He had obviously hit a nerve.

  John realized his emotional outburst. “I’m sorry. It’s too dangerous, especially for someone with no exploration experience. The only crew members going to the planet will be heavily armed security officers.”

  “Are we going into a warzone? asked David.

  “Bret will give you the details of the mission.” John didn’t want to go through the details of their encounter with the Io. Doing that would force him to relive what he saw on the planet.

  John patted his friend on the shoulder. “I’ll see you later. Maybe we can hang out at The Lounge tonight.”

  “I’d like that.” John smiled and left his friend at the station as the captain headed out of the command deck. As he left, Bret rejoined David at the station.

  “Bret, the planet we’re going to, you’ve been there before.”

  “Unfortunately,” admitted Bret. “We encountered a hostile race, and a lost a crew member. The captain was on the planet and saw them first hand. If he felt he had a choice, he wouldn’t be taking the ship back there.”

  “It was that bad?” asked David.

  “Pretty bad,” replied Bret. “The captain’s said numerous times how lucky we were none of us saw what he found down there.”

  David was curious. He never saw John bothered by anything.

  In medical, Doctor Myers was handling a small crisis of his own in his office.

  “You have to wake him up,” pleaded Betty Christen. “Jeffrey can get a new body from them.”

  Myers had already sent a message to one of the ship’s psychiatrist through his DAT to come to medical and get Betty. Since Neeman Harthy resigned his position and returned to Earth, the care of Betty had not been reassigned to another doctor.

  “Betty, you know we can’t reactivate the module,” explained Myers. “And it’s too dangerous to try and negotiate with the Io.”

  “They gave him a beautiful gift and will give him a new body,” said Betty.

  “You don’t know that,” countered Myers.

  “He needs to bond with his son and see how much he’s grown.”

  Myers saw Professor Mavis and motioned her in. “Professor, please escort Betty back to her quarters.”

  “No!” said Betty. “I need to see Jeffrey.”

  “Let’s talk about this back home,” said Mavis. “Maybe we can arrange something. I’m sure your son needs you.”

  Myers br
eathed a sigh of relief when Mavis got Betty out of medical. Why the hell was she still on the ship? She should have been removed and taken to a hospital that could properly treat her. But with everyone busy trying to staff the ship with additional crew, it was overlooked.

  Myers made an entry on his desk terminal that as soon as PHOENIX returned to the solar system, Betty was to be transferred.

  John arrived at the security office and found Chief Davers and Mu in the observation room. Through the glass John saw the only other Rifva on the ship, Zuk, who was flanked by two guards.

  “Have you interviewed him yet?” John asked Davers.

  “No, and he doesn’t know why he’s been brought here,” said Davers. “But I have explained the situation to Mu.”

  “Captain, such violence does happen on my world, but it is very rare,” explained Mu. “I cannot begin to express the regret I feel that one of my fellow Rifva has taken the life of a human.”

  “It’s not your fault,” John said, trying to reassure Mu.

  “I am not sure what my presence here will do to assist you,” said Mu.

  “I need you as a witness,” explained John. “If Zuk does confess, I’m going to need to contact your homeworld.”

  “Zuk acted against one of your own. The Rifva Centronimo will simply delegate the punishment to your discretion.”

  John wanted to explain the unique position he was in regarding diplomacy and interstellar relations, but it was too confusing to get into. “I need to ensure we proceed carefully. All you need to do is recount what you witnessed here today.”

  “I will oblige your request,” said Mu. John looked to Davers and nodded to him to begin the interview.

  Zuk didn’t react when Davers entered the interview room. The Rifva had all three of his hands resting calmly on the table. He never once questioned why he was taken into custody and never voiced any concerns about being in security. He was here for unknown reasons, yet it didn’t seem to bother him.

  Davers punched up a biographical image of Geoff Sauners. “Do you know this person?” Zuk looked at the image, but didn’t respond.

  The chief then punched up the images of Geoff’s body in Smitty’s kitchen. “He was found murdered. His body was found in Smitty’s, but he was killed somewhere else.” Zuk again showed no reaction, so Davers continued. “His body was ripped by claw marks, marks that contained Rifva DNA.”