The Phoenix Wars: Book I, Reprieve

by C. R. Daems

  When I looked up, the same small woman stood in front of me with a glass of water. "Drink, child, water will help."

  I'm expected to talk for Black Eagle, and water will help? I was having trouble getting my brain to stop spinning.

  "Kayla, I'm not asking you to run Anixia for me. I'm just giving you the authority to override any objections when you want to do something and someone or some group won't cooperate. When you leave Anixia, you won't need it as you are the Black Eagle's captain and the most senior person on the cruiser."

  I drank the water, and along with M-Seer's explanation, it did help.

  "Thank you, M-seer. I hope I can live up to your confidence in me," I said, thinking I was much more comfortable as a K-box pilot.

  "Well, what did he want?" Hyun asked as soon as I returned to the room, and she and Hanna grabbed my arms and dragged me to our table. I just raised my Sleeve.

  "What did he promote you to?" Hanna asked while holding my Sleeve like it would give her the answer.

  "Updraft," I said and had to smile at the look on their faces. "You have to be a bird to appreciate it."

  "What does that mean?" Hyun pressed. "You are keeping too many secrets. You knew information before I did."

  "That's because I'm the captain," I quipped, but neither of them thought that funny or a good answer. "All right. What I'm about to tell you is a secret that you can't repeat without my permission." I shook my head when they both put their arm across their chest and their hand over their heart. I locked eyes with each woman until they nodded. "This is a triad secret." I waited for them to nod. "Each Anixia cruiser has AI software that can monitor and run all of the equipment on the cruiser. Only authorized, well, actually, only Anixian captains can access the software. The one on the Black Eagle is called Oracle. If it detects a hijacking, it can cut all power or turn the cruiser around and navigate it back to Anixia."

  "Can't someone learn the code and then access Oracle?" Hyun asked.

  "No. That is the beauty of Oracle. You have to understand the Anixian language to gain access, which I doubt anyone can do in a lifetime."

  "So Oracle could replace all of us?" Hanna asked.

  "To a degree," I said. "I suspect Oracle was created to fight the Tullizor but rather than think like a human it thought more like an Anixian impersonating a human. Therefore, they need humans, but Oracle is a great resource. One we should use but not rely on as it could get destroyed or compromised, and we would be unable to get home."

  I was pleased to find it was unnecessary for me to participate in the hijacking inquiry as Armin's camcorder was sufficient to convict Tate and Carter, and Oracle's record of the Bridge to convict Abbott, Shaul, Petru and Marie. They were each banned from the houses, which meant they were doomed to live their short lives on the planet's surface. I hoped that would discourage others from trying, but unfortunately, the reward appeared greater than the assumed risk, at least in the eyes of the greedy.

  Chapter 51

  Teaching Tricks

  "The Anixian have asked me to recount the actions the Black Eagle took at our most recent encounter with the Tullizor," I said, trying to ease into the discussion as I felt like a little girl asked to give a report on her recent vacation to a group of adults.

  "We had just settled an attempted hijacking when I was notified that six Tullizor cruisers had entered Anixia space–"

  "Captain Kayla, we all would be interested in the hijacking," Basson interrupted. "That is not an uncommon event we all must guard against."

  "After Doug's and Carl's recent attempt, I felt it could happen again," I said. "So I decided to issue weapons only to the first shift, but I didn't activate them–"

  "Why?" someone shouted.

  "To tell the truth, I deactivated all weapons, including the police. That way, weapons couldn't be used to aid the hijackers…" I went on to explain the events between lots of interruptions.

  "That attempt was clever as was your approach, but what made it work was your access to the system computer," Borvo said. "Without that, Abbott and his group had control of the Bridge."

  "Very true, Captain Borvo," I said, knowing that having access to Oracle was a huge advantage. "Perhaps we should get the Anixia to give the captains emergency commands in the event of a hijacking. If you send me your suggestions, I will bring it to their attention." When I realized my mistake, I quickly revised my statement. "Sorry, I keep forgetting I have been reborn an Anixian without wings or feathers and think of myself as human. So let me revise my last remark. I will bring it to the attention of the Anixians that work on the system software." That generated a few laughs.

  "That is an excellent suggestion, which may even cut down on the hijacking attempts," Dmitry said. He was the captain of the Haast, elderly, gray hair, with a round face that didn't have any laugh lines but didn't look unfriendly.

  "As I was saying, we were heading home when I was told six Tullizor had entered the system. For reasons I will cover when we discuss the K-box fighters and the new Griffons, they are most effective when the cruiser is facing the enemy. Since I wanted the Tullizor to consider me an annoying fly rather than a hornet, I decided to make the 360-degree turn-around, vertically rather than horizontally. That loop would move us closer to the Tullizor formation, which probably had the lizard command salivating at the thought or laughing. What it actually did was permit me to release the K-box fighters and Griffon missiles with their engines off and basically ignored by the Tullizor. We also shot off a few standard missiles to keep their eyes off the real threat." I went on to explain the scenarios we had been developing. "My instruction to the Wing Leader was to wait to see the damage from the Griffons before selecting targets." We spent the entire day discussing the action in detail.

  "That was very interesting," Captain Borvo said when we had finished. "If you would have presented that scenario to me before the battle, I would have thought you crazy and dismissed it."

  "Yes, sometimes the craziest ideas are the best because the enemy doesn't anticipate that scenario and isn't prepared to counter it," Captain Yarona said. She was a middle-aged woman who was short and average-looking with short-cut light brown hair but piercing eyes, and her face had a devilish look.

  The next week, I included the Bridge personnel, which was a little less intimidating as a lot of the attendees were young.

  "The K-box theory is relatively simple," I said to start the session. "You determine your opponent's and your speeds, the distance between you, and calculate the time it will take to smash into him. Then cut your engine and count that number of seconds minus ten, start your engine, release your missiles, and head for open space." I heard multiple gasps, statements of disbelief, and "that's crazy."

  "That's true, it is crazy. The first time I tried it, I was desperate and thought the worst that could happen was that I smashed into the Tullizor cruiser. They were killing my friends and comrades. At least, I would die knowing I took the murdering lizards with me to my grave. Well, not my grave, as there wouldn't be anything to find, but you get the idea. Thanks to the Anixian Weapons House, we have come a long way, and we now have a box, dubbed the K-box, which does all the calculations. The pilot merely has to wait for the engine to start, target, fire, and beat a hasty retreat. It has proved a successful tactic in our last two encounters with the Tullizor. Anixia is no longer a friendly playground for the lizards." That greeted me with hoots and clapping.

  "We used this technique in our last two encounters…" I went on to explain what we did each time and the calculations involved.

  "A good example, Captain Kayla, of how desperation can frequently be the mother of invention," Captain Dmitry said after I had finished. "And just in time. We were only a year, if not months, away from extinction. We will be a tough nation to beat when we all have K-box trained pilots and the new Griffon missiles, which I understand are modified similar to the K-box."

  "Yes, that is the next lecture," I said. After more small talk with the attendees, I r
eturned to my room, where Hyun and Hanna were waiting.

  "How did it go?" Hyun asked.

  "Good, I think," I snorted a laugh. "The audience is interested and attentive since the subject is about tools that might save their lives. Normally, they would dismiss me because of my age."

  "Don't discount your age, Kayla," Hyun said. "There have been many teenaged leaders, for example, Joan of Arc, and many more from every nation on Earth."

  I gave the lecture on the new cruiser Griffon missiles the next day, explaining that they were similar to pilotless K-box fighters, and explained how we used them in our last encounter.

  The next day, I asked for a meeting with the Anixian Electronics House and was surprised I had an invitation for the next morning.

  It took an hour on the underground rail system to reach their area. There, I was met by two Crows.

  "We are Watcher and Listener," the older of the two crows said. "We are pleased to meet you and provide any help you need. You are held in high esteem by M-seer."

  "It is my pleasure to meet the Anixians who created Oracle. It is a fantastic achievement," I said, meaning it but also hoping to create a good working relationship with them.

  "Fun work," Watcher said. "What do you want changed?"

  "I found that during the recent hijacking of the Black Eagle, my ability to communicate with Oracle helped to resolve the issue. Specifically, the ability to lock and unlock the Bridge door and to tell Oracle to take control of the ship and return to Anixia."

  "But the captain could be forced to rescind the order," Watcher said. The discussion went on for hours; in the end, we agreed on two commands.

  "I am Captain X, and I am declaring a hijacking in progress." To gain access to Oracle, followed by:

  "Unlock the Bridge door." or "Lock the Bridge door." or "Take control of the cruiser."

  If the Unlock or Lock phrase was used, Oracle would automatically take control of the cruiser fifteen minutes later.

  The following day, I met with the House of War and was surprised when Sees All met me.

  "Welcome, Captain Kayla. What can I do for you? A new missile perhaps?" he said, followed by laughing.

  "It would be helpful if we could launch the cruiser Griffon missiles under power then have them shut off under K-box control," I said. Sees All said nothing for several minutes, and I was beginning to think he might want more of an explanation when he spoke.

  "That would allow the Griffon to be fired without having to be pointed in the enemy's direction or having to slow down afterward." He nodded. "You fire the missile, it gets oriented and up to speed, then cuts its engine. Clever."

  Chapter 52

  Packing To Leave

  Anixia was a beehive of activity over the next two months. Bradley was taking each of the fighter houses in turn and running all pilots through the K-box training and certifying those who passed the minimum requirements because we needed all we could train, and they would improve with more experience they could get when they returned to their house. I, in turn, took my first shift operators on a one-week training where we actually practiced the concepts I had lectured on using Simon's wing.

  The second month, we went on a two-week training exercise with each of the cruisers, but this time using the newly certified K-box fighters from the house supporting that cruiser.

  The fourth month, each cruiser spent a week practicing on asteroids using the newly modified Griffon missiles.

  On the fifth month, I took the Black Eagle out for a month of training, hoping to give the new replacements time to adjust: one K-box pilot killed, six crew killed, and the six hijackers. The first time against the Tullizor, it took a week to clean up the mess, and we had several injuries from loose objects flying around. For a week, we did vertical loops in an effort to ensure we had all the items either bolted to the floor or secured.

  On the last day, as we headed back to Anixia, I decided to say a few words to the crew.

  "Hyun, put me on the ship's speakers," I said, feeling these men and women were going to be away from the comforts of the planet, their friends, and going into an unknown and probably hostile space and need to feel connected.

  "Crew of the Black Eagle, your captain," Hyun said and nodded to me.

  "Fellow survivors and people of Phoenix. We are returning to Anixia for two weeks of rest and relaxation you earned with your performance this month. When the two weeks are up, we will be leaving for an extended period, probably around a year. Our responsibility is to map the surrounding area and check out our neighbors. We are therefore modern-day explorers, who in the Anixian and Phoenix history books will be the Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, and James Cook of our generation. Where they sailed the oceans, we will be sailing the Milky Way, looking for new planets and people. I am looking forward to sharing the adventure with you." I nodded to Hyun, who gave me a thumbs-up gesture.

  When I arrived back, I had a message to see Black Eagle, and the lift was waiting. He was in the same chair as my previous meetings.

  I gave a small bow. "Good evening, M-Seer," I said and sat when he waved to what I considered my chair.

  "You have been very busy. Everyone is impressed and feels we are in the best condition to fight an invader than ever before in our history. Your quiet and competent handling of the training has made you their fleet commander. No one is complaining about your youth. Well done, Kayla."

  "Thank you, sir," I said, not sure what else to say. I did think I was well received by the cruiser commanders and that they appreciated the training, but I was not sure they would accept me in command. I was sure I didn't want to be in command…well, of anything other than the Black Eagle. I had to admit I was enjoying commanding a cruiser, and I had my best friends along with me as a bonus.

  "Where do you plan to go, Captain?"

  "They…we make regular trips rimward to Earth, so we have a star map of that area. Since no one has invaded Earth, I will assume there are no space going nations in that area. I thought I would try either a spinward or anti-spinward direction. At least I know space isn't flat, so I don't have to worry about sailing off into nowhere." I quipped without considering who I was talking to. Black Eagle, to my relief, gave a long laugh.

  "No, but I believe there are other monsters in space besides the Tullizor. The Anixians do not want to dominate space. We just want to live in peace. To do that, we need to understand our neighbors and their intentions because we also don't want to be hunted or live in a cage. I hate sending you because I could lose you, but you are the only one I trust."

  Chapter 53

  Into the unknown

  "Kayla, you will never believe what just happened," Hanna said as we were packing our gear for our anticipated exploratory cruise. "The Anixian who captains the expeditions to Earth just took me aside and gave me a comprehensive explanation of how they locate the entrance and exit points into and out of worm holes in space and a star map of the area around Earth. They certainly trust you."

  "True. I have apparently died and been reincarnated as an Anixian, although I didn't get the feathers and wings," I said. "Anixians trust their fellow Anixians. Oracle told me I was Anixian. Therefore, she had to obey any order I gave her."

  "Wow. On Earth, no one trusts anyone else," Hyun said, "even in the same country. You can't get the local state police to work with Homeland security or the FBI. Organizations like the CIA and the FBI have departments that don't trust each other."

  "Rightly so," I said. "America is a country divided, each group willing to do anything they can to gain power. The Anixians only want peace, and they are united in that goal. I think it’s a worthwhile goal, and it has our triad's support." I looked to Hyun and Hanna, who put their arms out, and we put our hands one after the other on top of the other's.

  "One for all, and all for one," Hanna recited like a sacred oath.

  It took a full day for the shuttles to transport everyone and their equipment on board, for everyone to get their gear se
ttled, report to their duty station, and ensure everything was functioning correctly.

  At eighteen hundred hours, the first shift took their places on the Bridge. Hyun was first to speak. "Captain, all units are reporting fully manned and functional. Where are we going?"

  "XO, plot us a vector to the entrance to…spinward," I said. I felt it was a toss-up whether to go spinward, east, or anti-spinward, west. Rimward, south toward Earth had been sufficiently traveled by Anixians and would be a temptation some may find irresistible. "According to the rumors, we have more neighbors than just the Tullizors."

  "Captain," Hanna said. "We are approaching the Spinward entrance. The purple-robbed Peregrine said we should enter at one-tenth the speed of light."

  "XO, increase speed to one-tenth max," I said, having decided to take the speed of light to be the maximum speed for humans without help from worm holes and max was an easy term to use.

  "Pilot, increase speed to one-tenth max," Hyun said, with a crooked smile, which I was sure everyone had. We were about to leave Anixia space to explore the Milky Way.

  "Hanna, how do we know when to get off?" I asked, confused and grateful for the Peregrine, One who knows, to have tutored Hanna.

  "The pilot should notice a pull to the left or right, which will grow in strength as we approach. I've told Jorge to watch for it and inform you when he detects it. He notified the second and third shift pilots."

  "Any recommendations for exiting?" I asked, while concerned about what we would find waiting when we exited.

  "No, once you elect to give in to the pull, you are flung into the system's space," Hanna said, smiling. "There may or may not be planets with intelligent life."

  "XO," I said. "We will take each exit we encounter since we are mapping space around Anixia, but I want us to exit with all power off except for life-support systems. Our tests on Anixia showed it was next to impossible to detect Blacky, the abbreviated name we had chosen to use for the Black Eagle, at more than a hundred thousand kilometers. No sense advertising our presence until we understand the lay of the land. The inhabitants may be the shoot first and ask questions later type."