Phoenix Reborn

by Joseph Mackay

  Closing her eyes, she listened to the chatter on the communicator while she pieced together the battle. Seven UEDF Battle Frigates had entered the system undetected and engaged the three Independent defensive Battle Frigates in orbit around Aeris VII. The ambush had cost Aeris one of her frigates already and the other two were sorely pressed. Three whole squadrons of Anubis fighters had begun attacking the two grounded independent frigates as well, along with the militia troops. Both battles were hopelessly one-sided without Skoll and Tizona.

  When she finally got her Anubis fighter into the air, Marlena began heading back toward the city as fast as the ship would take her. Each minute that went by caused more anxiety about her son and the state of the planet she had called home for the last six years.

  As she got to the edge of Lake Amsvartnir, she saw the battle raging above the city. Fortunately the enemy fighters had been focusing on military targets and had avoided, thus far, the civilian population. She could see the small boat clipping across the water, nearing her island home, and knew that her son would be joining the fight soon.

  She passed over him in the water and circled around to make sure that no enemy ships were engaging him while he was vulnerable on the boat. Seeing none, she proceeded over the city to the airfield beyond. Her instruments picked up eighty-two vessels in the air, fifty-four of which were enemy. She could see one of the grounded frigates burning already and the other was being fired upon heavily.

  The militia had responded quickly, but were outnumbered and outgunned. Locking on to the nearest squadron of UEDF Anubis fighters, she declared forcefully over her communicator to her allies, “Phoenix is in the fight” while launching a barrage of missiles.

  “Good shooting, Mom,” she heard Alex’s voice over the communicator.

  “Thanks, baby” she said, grinning. The fight had been going badly for Aeris, but it was about to turn around.

  “Mephisto in the fight,” came his declaration as she saw the Battle Armor Vessel fly past her position into a squadron of enemy fighters with a large spear. Skoll moved with amazing agility and Alex’s control of the vessel was practically flawless. When the strange ship emerged from the other side, half of the enemy ships in the squad were falling from the sky.

  “Mephisto, they need you in Orbit, we’ll clean this up,” she ordered now that the numbers were a little more even.

  “Affirmative, Phoenix,” Alex said, using her call sign for the first time.

  She watched as the black samurai armor stopped mid-flight and blasted into orbit. Turning her attention on the battle, she formed up with three other ships from the Aeris Militia and started calling targets.

  ~ ~ ~

  Alex knew the fight on the surface was under control, with his mom in charge of the defenses; she had been the UEDF’s most highly decorated pilot, after all. As his sensors recalibrated for zero gravity, Alex watched the numbers come back on the planetary defenses. RA fighters littered the sky from both sides; three frigates were disabled and fortunately one was an enemy, making the 6:1 ratio a little less daunting for the defenders.

  The remaining Aeris Frigate was maneuvering between the two disabled ships, using them as cover.

  Alex didn’t waste any time when he got into the fight. Reaching through the Neuro-Sync to his OMBI, he activated the highlighting function, which proceeded to identify enemy ships by encasing them with a soft red glow. One of the enemy frigates had targeted him, but after raising his force shield and armor, he flew straight through a barrage of heavy cannon fire toward the attacking ship. He had danced to this song before and knew where UEDF capital ships were vulnerable.

  “No time to be merciful,” Alex said quietly to himself as he flew in front of the heavily enforced walls of the Battle Frigate’s bridge. He looked through the three small windows at the crew, all scrambling to get out of the way as he smashed through using a giant hammer that he manifested in Skoll’s hand through his OMBI.

  The vacuum of space took care of the rest. Knowing that a ship without its commander and communications was almost entirely ineffective in combat, he moved to the next frigate.

  ~ ~ ~

  Captain Balvoon’s grin turned into a deep frown when the strange Battle Armor Vessel entered the fight, crippling two of his frigates in under a minute. The ship worked fast, and it seemed like no matter how many guns they turned on it, the enemy vessel was always one step ahead.

  None of his intelligence up to that point indicated anything about a ship that was possibly stronger than his entire force. He ordered all remaining vessels to close their blast shields and use their sensors to continue the fight.

  Balvoon heard the pounding outside his blast shield as the strange ship went to work. He doubted for a moment that those shields would be strong enough to hold back the vessel until the pounding stopped.

  The captain of the Cortez was in mid-sigh when the officer at the communications station started screaming.

  “It went where?!”

  As if to punctuate the remark, Balvoon heard a strange banging sound from somewhere below his deck, followed by the sound of an explosion.

  “Sir, reports from the UEDF Marion say that the enemy vessel has boarded the Cortez!”

  They listened quietly as the sounds of destruction raged through the decks below.

  “Well, where is it headed?” Balvoon asked, trying desperately to keep his mind focused.

  “Power core, sir.”

  “Damn.”

  Balvoon knew it was over. His surprise attack had been a complete success up until that strange ship had interfered. He didn’t know what it was or where it came from, but there was no way that his remaining three ships could put up a fight against it if they remained in battle.

  “Order a full retreat. Eject the core. Send all available data on that ship back to command.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Alex watched the core eject and followed it out of the ship. The commander had been smart enough to cripple himself and spare his crew. Had Alex been able to disrupt it, they would all be dead. He watched the ship listing lazily through the darkness as the other three enemy ships began to turn in retreat. Their Ra Squadrons were returning to the docks as well, under fire from the Aeris defenders.

  “Stand down, Aeris defense. They’re retreating,” Alex said into his com.

  “Yes, sir. Standing down,” replied the squadron commanders who had been in pursuit.

  It had been easier than Alex had thought; the fight was all but over as Alex maneuvered Skoll through the debris. He used the strong hands of his ship to repair what he could on the damaged Battle Frigates in order to prevent excessive oxygen leakage.

  Knowing there would be a lot of survivors from both sides, he mentally prepared himself for the task of hauling a half-dozen Battle Frigates to the planet’s surface.

  Chapter 8

  Cat and Mouse

  Connor’s dreams had been dark ever since he had returned to the OMBIcademy. He wasn’t too upset by it, since he was no longer dreaming about his mom or stepfather dying. Mostly they were about him talking with robots or fighting other kids. However, he wasn’t getting as much sleep at night as he wanted to. Ever since joining the OMBIcademy six months prior, he hadn’t slept much. But lately it was down to three to four hours, leaving him groggy and volatile during the day.

  So when he woke up after just two hours, he was not in a happy mood. He knew it was late and he could still feel his muscles aching from the battle they had fought with Yellow Army earlier that day. The battle had gone well; Yellow had modified their tactics since Connor’s last battle, and no longer just hid the entire time. It had been a “capture-the-flag” type game though, so Blue Army didn’t have to kill everybody.

  Manzar had tried to give Connor back command of Blue Army, but had not been allowed by the Head Commander. Instead, Manzar led the army around the academy, through the morning training rituals, and to the arena. But when they got there, he listened to Connor make plans, and agreed to pu
t him back on his own “specialist squad” that he’d been using when he was the commander.

  It was an awkward arrangement, since every time Manzar issued an order, every other soldier would look at Connor, who would nod before they accepted it. But Blue Army was back to form after a couple of days.

  In the melee battle with Yellow Army, Connor had started by walking straight toward the enemy base, squads flanking his progress. He never stopped walking, disarming and disabling his opponents with no weapons in his hands until he had the flag. He walked back out and back to Blue Army’s base like he was walking to the commissary for lunch. It had been an embarrassment to the Yellow Army commander, who complained the entire match.

  That night Connor’s OMBI indicated that it was still only 2300 and he wasn’t sure what had woken him up. When he sat up, he felt someone sitting on his bed and almost cried out.

  “Shh,” the person said.

  “Whose there?” Connor demanded quietly.

  “Cat.” Her voice was thick with an Irish accent.

  “What’s the matter, Amanda?”

  He and Cat hadn’t said anything to each other since Connor had been back at the OMBIcademy.

  “When you left that day, I cried for an hour. I went out into the training room to find you, but I didn’t know where you went,” Cat explained in a whisper.

  “You could have asked Omega,” Connor said, referring to the holographic training program that he ran in the training rooms in order to test his skills.

  “I tried. But he didn’t appear after you ran off. I searched as far as I could without getting lost. What happened to you, Connor?”

  He really liked the way she said his name. Her accent always did make it sound cooler than when he said it.

  “That day I ran until I collapsed, Cat. Omega led me from there to a cave and when I walked down into it, I came out in another part of the OMBIcademy. A dusty place that didn’t look like it had ever been used. That’s where I found that ship I flew to the Eagle Nebula,” Connor explained as honestly as he could, hoping to bridge the distance between himself and his friend.

  “The Battle Suit you said looked like the one your brother had?”

  “Yeah, that’s the one. I would have come back to find you, but I was so worried about Alex. I still don’t know what happened to him.”

  “I’m sorry I’ve been cold to you. I felt like you abandoned me here. I was even called into the Head Commander’s office and interrogated about you.”

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  “I told him everything, Connor. I was scared; I didn’t know what to do.”

  “He is the Head Commander; you did what you were supposed to. I tried to tell them everything too, but they didn’t believe me.”

  “I felt like I was betraying you. It was the worst feeling ever.” Cat sniffled. Connor could tell she was crying.

  He got up out of his bed and put his arm around her while she cried, waiting patiently for her to calm down. When she did, Connor spoke.

  “It’s all right, Cat; it’s over now.”

  “So we’re okay?”

  “Yeah, we’re okay. I couldn’t do this without you, you know. We need to be okay,” Connor said, smiling in the dark room.

  Cat hugged him tightly before going back to her own bunk. Connor sat back against his pillow and thought how strange it was that she was mad at him for feeling like she betrayed him. He thought he would never understand girls as long as he lived, but was glad that he and Cat could be friends again. He’d really missed her.

  He eventually found sleep again that night, after thinking for a couple of hours. When he woke up the next morning his mood had brightened a little bit. And when Amanda smiled at him from across the room, his mood brightened a lot more.

  ~ ~ ~

  Vector was not happy to be back at the OMBIcademy after living on Station Sigma for more than a year. Not that the space station orbiting around Mars was more comfortable than the Academy, it was a matter of pride. He had graduated near the top of the class, his battle statistics were among the highest in the school, and yet here he was, training babies how to fight.

  His attitude was apparent on his face when he entered the Head Commander’s office in the observation lounge of the OMBIcademy. He marched up to the man’s desk and saluted before sitting down in one of the room’s many chairs.

  “Welcome back to the OMBIcademy, Mr. Wick,” Head Commander Setzer said with an edge irritation in his voice.

  Vector grunted in response.

  “As I am sure you know, I am the new Head Commander. My name is Colonel Setzer.” The bald man spoke slowly. Vector started to wonder if the man thought he was dumb.

  “Yes, I figured that. So I am supposed to help you guys train some lizard babies?” Vector asked indignantly.

  “Indeed. We have re-opened the training rooms; I want you to supervise some training there.”

  “Why do they need to be supervised? My class used them without getting hurt.”

  “The reasons are not important. What is important is that you are there to make sure that the kids don’t do anything they aren’t supposed to.”

  “Fine,” Vector agreed in a huff.

  “That said, what are your feelings about Connor Pereira?”

  “That stupid hisser? His brother was a good commander, but that kid is irritating. Ever since they cheated on the first day I haven’t been sleeping right.” Vector’s disdain was written all over his face.

  The Head Commander smiled.

  “I have received a request from the leadership of Red Army 2126 that they want to have a training session with him. I want him to explain to them how he is able to give himself tests.”

  “Wait, that kid gave himself tests? How?” Vector asked, sounding sincerely impressed.

  “If I knew that, Mr. Wick, I wouldn’t be asking you to find out,” Colonel Setzer replied dryly.

  “Right. Okay, well I’ll get on it!”

  The smile spreading on Vector’s lips told the Head Commander that he was on board with the plan.

  “I trust you won’t interfere when they begin ‘practicing.’ Boys will be boys, after all.”

  The man’s usage of air-quotes was necessary.

  “Uh, yeah. I get it!”

  “Good. Now get out of here, I’m busy,” Setzer finished, turning his attention back to his datapad.

  Vector had just begun to like the man too.

  ~ ~ ~

  When Connor got the message the next morning, he was in the commissary eating chocolate chip pancakes. He’d realized that the more he thought of what he wanted to eat, the more likely he would get it when he ate. He wasn’t sure how he was doing it, but he was having a fun time getting only his favorite meals over and over again.

  Message 1: Training Room! “You are to report to training room seven at 1100 to train with Red Army”

  Delivered 0830 2121-07-15

  From: Private Wick, Phillip (Vector)

  When Connor first read it, he thought about ignoring it. He had heard someone say that they’d seen Vector back at the OMBIcademy, but Connor hadn’t thought much of it. The kid was an idiot, and Connor couldn’t stand him. The more he thought about it though, the more he thought it would be fun to taunt him and Red Army. He wasn’t sure why he had to train with a rival army, but in his foul mood, he planned on making them sorry for ever sending a message to him to begin with.

  Connor found training room seven using his OMBI’s return function easily enough. It was right next to the Red Army barracks. With no one waiting outside, Connor assumed that Red Army had found someone to let them in. Going to the door, Connor took a deep breath and begun to visualize himself having a good training session; no one else, though.

  With a grin on his face, he entered the room.

  Training room seven was different from the other rooms Connor had trained in. He came through the door into a cramped hall of what looked like a space station. Going to a nearby port
hole, Connor looked down to see the planet below. He knew that the training rooms were connected somehow, but the idea of an entire virtual planet was staggering. How many other places could these rooms exit to?

  Connor followed the hall down to a room that was labeled in an unfamiliar language. When he opened the door, it looked like some kind of cafeteria that had a large bay window on one side. Normally any space vehicle or station only had small windows, as they had to be thick and were seen as a weak point, structurally. This window was massive and Connor wondered what it would be like to be in space, in a virtual world. Would he freeze? Could he breathe?

  His questions were interrupted when a familiar baritone voice called his name.

  “Pereira!” Vector called out. He was standing next to Johnny and three other boys, all with red glowing OMBIs.

  “It’s ‘Raptor’ to you. How did you survive the battle of Eagle Nebula?” Connor asked bluntly.

  “How did you know about that, hisser? I wasn’t there; I got injured before the mission,” Vector barked defensively.

  “Lucky you,” Connor quipped, looking across the room at the other boys.

  “Hi, Connor,” Johnny said, disdain dripping from his greeting.

  “What’s up, Johnny?” Connor asked, sounding sincere. They weren’t friends anymore, clearly. But a part of Connor was always reminded of the simpler times of his childhood when he saw him.

  “I heard about your stepfather. He was a good guy. I’m sorry,” Johnny said back, surprisingly genuine.

  “Whatever. You guys ready to do this or what?” Connor wasn’t interested in condolences. He just wanted to get back to the point.

  “Yeah, so the objective today is to teach other kids how to test themselves, so we can all acquire points faster,” Vector said, emphasizing the word “points” eagerly.

  “What do you mean? I activated a training program to test me. Everyone in Blue Army used it. Doesn’t Red Army have their own?” Connor asked, confused.