Phoenix Rising: The Covenant (Phoenix Rising Infinitology Book 1)

by Angela Timms

  Kel smiled. “Now you are talking.”

  Rennon picked up his bag. “Good job I’ve already got the go ahead to go off base and for the mission. Dr Samson can’t go with us as he’s tied up in this meeting with Joniel as they seem to have medical supplies that we could do with. Come on, let us go and pick out a Follower for ourselves. I would suggest that we go to a non-technological planet and grab one from there.” Wordlessly they went to the crew room, kitted up and when the go ahead for the Hopper came up on the screen they made their way on board and slipped off into space.

  Nearly an hour later the silent cloaked Hopper glided across the night time skyline of Elanos, a small planet within the cluster known as Eukatius Minor. Below them the wide tracts of forest spread in the darkness, broken by the mountains and the many villages and settlements that clung to the valley sides and nestled in clearings. The village they were looking for was one of the larger ones, set on the east side of the planet.

  Rennon checked his screen again trying to memorize the village’s set up. It had been reported that there had been Followers sighted there though not in full force as yet. That ran through his mind like a mantra as he tried to calm his nerves. That there wouldn’t be many of them was what he was counting on. As they circled the village everything seemed quiet and nobody was about. The sun had set many hours ago and other than the meeting hall there was little movement although candles burnt in every window.

  Kel looked up. He had been thoughtful for the whole journey and they had hardly spoken. “So why did you choose Elanos?”

  Rennon was reaching for his scanner. “It has been occupied for almost five years though not with a full force so hopefully we can pick off a guard or something. It had been a mid-level technology planet that had been welcoming advancements, now it seems to have slipped back to low technology. The Followers have made few if no developments and if anything have taken away more than they provided. They have just removed the technology that was already here. I’m interested in this planet and getting one of them from here precisely for that reason. I want to know why. Do you see, the communications array still hasn’t been repaired, can you see it there blackened and twisted. That burnt out warehouse housed the village’s heating and power supply as you can see is beginning to be grown over. I can’t believe how little they actually do for the people they take over. The people on this planet nearly froze to death last winter as they had no heating. Similarly with other planets, the Followers have allowed them to slip back technologically while others have advanced at a frightening rate with every device and machine you can think of.

  I’m just going to check again if they have any scanners working. Our scanners will pick up the distinctive signature of their bio scanners and protective shields. We have been caught out before by intermittent scans and shielded devices. I’m part thinking that may be what is happening here. They may have moved the technology underground and are using the locals as a shield. That is a bonus, there is nothing showing on screen. You see those watch towers, they are registering as empty. Everyone seems to be in the big meeting room, elsewhere there seems to be nobody about.”

  Rennon looked up from his hand held scanner. “Everyone seems to be in there, there seems to be a meeting going on. It will give us a chance to get into the village fairly easily. No, hold on, not so easily. There are heat signatures in the woods around the village and I have no way of knowing who or what they are but we might be in luck if we can land, grab one and get out of here quickly.”

  Kel was pressing buttons and preparing the Hopper to land. “There’s one way to find out. Might as well take this down and go in and have a look around.”

  They glided the invisibly cloaked Hopper silently over the ridge line and brought it down in a clearing not far from the village. The trees were tall evergreens with very little ground cover growing under the towering canopy. The distinct smell of the pine forest filled their lungs with clear air and the damp aroma of the rotting needles and other vegetation as the rear ramp of the hopper descended.

  So as not to be seen they had switched off the hopper bay lights. It was dark outside but the light from the twin moons gave them enough light to look around.

  Outside the night seemed still and silent. Kel’s body tensed. All he could think about was that it was too quiet. He would have expected some sort of noise. The hopper landing would have silenced anything really nearby but as it was cloaked he would have expected the normal forest noises to start again fairly quickly.

  They left the Hopper and the door swished almost silently closed. The groundcover was a springy moss which they knew in daylight would have a slightly blue hue. In the moonlight it was just a shade of grey. Moving quietly on the moss was easy as it muffled their steps so they were able to run without being overly cautious about what sound they made. They headed for the tree line and what little cover that offered and both crouched down behind a fallen log at the edge of the clearing to take a look around.

  All was silent so they moved through the trees, using night vision goggles as well as listening. It was still silent which was beginning to really unnerve Kel. There was a low ridge line which ran parallel to the clearing. They made their way over it and again crouched down.

  Ahead of them lay the forest. Pine so very little cover, the canopy being a good thirty feet up leaving no ground cover and precious little actual cover which only came from the trunks of the trees. In Kel’s mind that was a very bad thing. Rennon was just generally terrified as he often was in these situations and totally dependent on Kel to take the lead when it came to what to do next. Kel signed to him to move out with him and they began to move between trees. The trees offered little cover but there was a chance that if anyone was out there and they fired that the tree might stave off the blast. All they could do was keep going and trust to the sensors that there was nobody out there.

  As they neared the village the trees became less dense giving the undergrowth a chance. Bushes and long grass offered them more cover and they made the most of it, moving from bush to bush. Kel caught Rennon’s arm and they dropped to the ground. Kel scuttled off sideways and rolled into the undergrowth. The next thing that Rennon knew was when he heard a loud thump to his right as a body hit the ground and rolled beside him.

  The body was bulky, about six feet tall and dressed in a carapace of armour. Seeing it close up he could see that what had looked like solid metal when he’d seen these fiberglass. The unconscious skeleton faced soldiers. Rennon was just reaching out to touch when Kel leapt on the body and with a great deal of force managed to cut the creature’s throat. He then ran a scanner over it. “I can’t find a transmitter but I know there is one. Don’t look at me like that there’s no way we could take one of these things back to the base until we find that. I’m sure there’s a transmitter on it but I just can’t find it. They have an internal self-destruct. Take him home and he’d blow a hole in the place.” He held out a hand held scanner which was showing a reading in red letters and numbers.

  Rennon pulled out his bio detector and ran that over the body. “That’s because whatever they use is not metal, it is some sort of grown organism. I’d reprogrammed this scanner to look for this sort of thing. Don’t ask me when, I can’t remember but I’ve seen something like it before. Wait a moment.”

  He pulled out a small roll up kit and unrolled it, taking out a scalpel and tweezers. He cut the tendons that held the exoskeleton onto the skin and lifted up the plate and then cut down into the white desiccated flesh below. After digging around under the near featureless face for a while he held something up to the torch light. “Et voila! There it is, a small transmitter. I’ve just had a thought, if this sends back life signs they are going to know we’re…”

  His timing was perfect. He almost finished his statement as they heard noises in the woods all around them. They couldn’t tell how many but they were surrounded by more of the soldiers. In response to the first green bolt of deadly energy they started blasting i
nto the darkness at any movement they saw. Then they came under fire from the woods all around as laser blaster beams flashed a deadly green through the darkness of the night. The first bit deep into Rennon’s arm, the second into Kel’s leg. Rennon let out a howl of pain, Kel bit his lip slightly but they both kept firing. They were firing blind into the woods with little hope of hitting anyone except by a lucky shot.

  They rolled to a position between two tree trunks and kept firing at the soldiers they could see. The shooters in the woods still hadn’t revealed themselves but the occasional blaster beam reminded them that they were still out there. Another soldier fell but moments after creatures before was actually a type of body looked like one of the Followers’ Kel took a blast in the shoulder from one of them and there were others coming out of the wood now to join them. They were trapped.

  Rennon swallowed hard. “So, what do we do now?”

  Kel replied, his voice monotone. “We keep firing. They are getting ready to rush us. Just keep firing.”

  Rennon smiled. “Fair enough.” He kept firing alright and hit a soldier clean in the chest. It fell and was replaced by one coming up behind.

  Kel roared as he took another blast in the shoulder. The bolt lit up his face momentarily as the pain twisted it into a horror mask. No blood flowed from the wound, the skin and tissues below sealed by the searing heat from the bolt. Horror became shock became anger as Kel leapt out of the overestimated safety of the fallen trees and charged into the darkness of the woods.

  The firing stopped and an eerie silence descended.

  Rennon had stopped firing and he tried to stare into the blackness, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone. He tried in vain to evaluate the situation and to work out where Kel was so he didn’t shoot him. He was still peering into the darkness when Kel landed beside him having leapt over the fallen tree. “Did you miss me? Thankfully they did. Come on, they won’t be confused for long.”

  He grabbed t h e b o d y and they rolled out from under the trees. He threw it over his shoulder. They then ran. Zig zagging through the trees they made it to the Hopper. Rennon was fumbling for the uncloaking device when they found it by running into it, felt their way around the hull as Rennon found what he was looking for and the door opened. They jumped inside and Rennon leapt into the pilot’s chair. “Straight home?”

  Kel landed beside him. “Straight home.”

  Rennon hit the auto-return as Kel reached for the

  medical box. Kel bandaged Rennon’s arm. “How does it feel?”

  Rennon winced with pain. “It feels like I’ve been shot. How about you? Go on, look on the bright side, if you are really lucky the doc will put you in a room with Kyla.”

  Kel looked a little confused. “What do you mean by that?”

  Rennon’s smile faded. “You have to be kidding me. She’s one of your people and when those bruises fade I wouldn’t mind putting money on it that she’s going to be worth a look. What about the Kel all- embracing statement that you wouldn’t touch a woman other than your own kind? Come on, you can’t kid me that you aren’t interested.” Kel scowled at him, Rennon grinned and shook his head. “Ah, I get it now. That was your get out of jail free card when they got too close wasn’t it? So do you prefer men or are you a be alone type then?”

  Kel pulled Rennon’s bandage comfortably tight and taped it so it didn’t unravel. “This isn’t the time to consider things like that. I want her on our team, anything else would complicate matters. What should happen, will happen. For now she must recover and if we don’t get up to a full crew soon we’ll end up being divided between other units. We’re three, we need to be four, even five to get our own missions. This one today would have gone better with a full crew. The Commander will probably want to assign us a new leader. Better that Kyla joins us before we are assigned someone else. Dr Samson will want to be back in the Infirmary so that rules him out. If life were different I’d be very interested in her by the way.”

  Rennon had just finished bandaging Kel’s leg where he couldn’t reach it. “I can see your point. She’s not human either though. Well at least Dr Samson is going to be happy, I guess his trip out is cancelled now. Did we achieve anything really?”

  Kel smiled. “Anything we find out has to be useful in some way. There is no way of knowing what is important. We got the body we wanted. Hopefully you can get something from that.” He leaned back in the co-pilot’s chair and closed his eyes.

  5

  Rennon looked up from his notepad where he had been doodling a design for an auxiliary power unit for his hand held modulator. They were in a meeting in the briefing room and up until that point it had been the same old round of protocol and administration. Now he’d heard something that had really made him sit up and listen. “Could you repeat that please sir?” He almost made himself jump as he said it.

  The Commander cleared his throat and turned to Rennon. “Certainly, we have been informed that Shantara may well be on the Planet of Alexandrinos. We have been working with Kyla and she has managed to activate an ancient piece of technology which has boosted our scanners enough to pick up Shantara’s implant.”

  Rennon raised an eyebrow. “Kyla?”

  The Commander smiled. “Yes, we had been aware for some time that a mystic can activate various pieces of technology. We are fortunate enough that she appears to be particularly talented in this field. On a scientific level as you may know that is basically what her training was all about, attuning the mind’s vibrations to access the technology. Her DNA is quite remarkable and allows her to be able to access artefacts that others have had no luck with. She has what they call the “Noble DNA”. This is probably why Maran’s deception wasn’t detected. She could use their artifacts. While she has been recovering we have been working with some of the pieces we have been unable to activate until now. It seems our new guest is proving very useful.”

  Kel grunted. “How did you know you wouldn’t kill her? She is still very weak.”

  The Commander turned to face him. “She is willing to help and understands the risks involved. We need this technology and she is happy to do anything in her power to help us. It will come as no surprise to you all that I have extended an invitation to her to stay and join us. I am waiting on her reply.

  I am putting together a team to investigate the planet and to try to locate Shantara. This will have to be a more diplomatic mission than the ones you are used to. This is not a Follower occupied planet. It is a highly developed civilization with a very well established political and governing system. They have managed to fight the Followers off so far. That in itself makes them interesting to us. We have tried to open diplomatic channels but we have received no reply as yet.

  I have spoken with High Command and they have suggested that we send a small reconnaissance party to go and take a look around under the guise of traders. They have also informed me that there has been a lot of activity in that quadrant of late. They would like to find out more about what is going on there.

  I’m taking it as read that Rennon and Kel will be willing to be part of this expedition. Dr Samson I would like you to go too. This is a peaceful planet so you’ll need to tread carefully.”

  Kel laughed.

  Commander Zack put his papers down. “So your usual style of interrogation will have to be toned down, won’t it Kel?”

  Kel swallowed. “Yes Sir.”

  Commander Zack picked the papers up again. “As I have already said, Alexandrinos is a highly developed technological planet and a highly developed civilization. It is well known that they have been gathering some of the brightest minds from all over the galaxies and taking them there. I have no intelligence as to whether this is willingly or unwillingly but it is known that slavery is legal on Alexandrinos. You may find this distasteful but you must under no circumstances try to interfere. If Shantara is being held as a slave then your orders are to secure a price and buy her back. It is possible that Shantara was taken there as she is able to read
many languages. Far more than anyone I have ever met. That would immediately appeal to them. Until we know the situation your directive is to investigate and report back.”

  Rennon was taking notes. “So, you think they took her to translate and to work on languages. Surely they would let us speak with her.”

  Zack turned to face him. “Not if she is a slave who has been taken against her will. They are yet to answer any of our hails and diplomatic overtures. They are also a closed world. Little is known about them so you would be going in blind and reporting back is not going to be easy. But, Rennon, I am sure you can find a way.”

  Kel had been folding a piece of paper, he stopped. “So how are we going to get in there?” He looked concerned.

  Zack looked serious. “They may not accept outsiders going in there without a good reason. It is known that we are against slavery so it is not possible for you to use this as a form of subterfuge. We have no way of knowing how much they know about us. Our only alternative that I can see is for you to take Kyla with you. Her ability to activate the artefacts would make her a valuable commodity. I don’t have to tell you that you would have to protect her while she is there but she is willing to go. I have spoken with her and she has told me that they already had trading relations with her people. The emissaries from the planet have dealt with her before when they visited her home world so no doubt will be more than willing to deal with her again which gives us an “in”. She has never been to the planet despite countless invitations from them. Their eagerness to get her to the planet is something of a concern in itself. Needless to say I have not revealed her identity in any messages to them and it would be a good idea if she travels incognito. We’re going to have to be exceptionally careful as no doubt she is a prize they would like to keep. I don’t think any of us would like that to happen. In order to give you all a reason to be there I have arranged identities for you. You Doctor will be travelling as Kyla’s personal physician. She is still recovering and I want you there in case anything does go wrong. Rennon as her brother and business partner it would be acceptable for you to accompany her and with Kel as her husband we can ensure that you have access to any quarters they may allocate to you so that she is protected at all times. It also assures her marital status. It is part of their law that a woman can be claimed if she is single. As her planet is part of the Ert’la’Karis Consortium this would leave her vulnerable to falling foul of this law. Her official status now is undefined. Technically she is still a citizen of her home world as we have no standing in the universes. So she would be bound by any treaties and laws that apply to that world and the one you are visiting. Our knowledge of their legal system is very limited.” Kel threw the paper aside. “You would put her in that sort of a danger to get Shantara back?”