The Phoenix Fallacy_Book III_Magnus

by Jon Sourbeer,

  She smirked, “He decided to give you the day off in celebration of your promotion,” she raised her hands at his narrowing eyes, “He was already considering it – after all that you’ve done.”

  Jennings cocked his head slightly in disbelief.

  “Well, I suspect he may have been pressured by certain unnamed parties. He was muttering something about ‘like father, like daughter’,” she added. Her father nodded knowingly.

  She paused and smiled, “Besides, he believes it will give Barts a bit more of a challenge, which we both know is nothing the Major can’t handle.”

  Colonel Jennings looked pensive, “Well, that’s certainly true – the Major is one of the most capable officers I know.”

  “Great!” She clapped her hands in excitement. “The Praetor just happened to give me the day off as well, so you and I can spend some quality time together for once,” Natalie exclaimed. “Which reminds me, this is for you.” She pulled out an object wrapped carefully in a cloth, and handed it to him.

  “What is this?” Lt. Colonel Jennings asked as he unwrapped it. “My,” he stared in disbelief, “it’s beautiful!” It was a silver pistol, intricately engraved with a half-moon upon the handle. He checked to see if it was loaded and then spun it in his hand. The weighting was perfect, and the lines…

  “Do you like it?” She asked nervously. “I’ve been working day and night for the past three months, whenever I’ve had free time, to finish it for you.”

  “It’s incredible.” He said, still awed by it.

  “Sergeant Heinsohn down in the machine shop has been imparting his expert craftsmanship to me for the past year. After you made me my Ghostblade…” she touched the sword on her back, “I felt like I should make something for you. But, of course,” the corners of her mouth tugged upwards, “I felt the need to be different. The Sergeant says I am one of the best gunsmiths he has ever seen. I inlaid the symbol myself with gold and Blue Immutium.”

  The Lt. Colonel studied the symbol, the half-moon symbol of SHADE was overlaid with a blade and a rifle.

  “The blade represents you, while the rifle represents me. The whole weapon was treated with an Immutium bath, so it will never rust or break, and can be loaded with some of the heaviest rounds. I spent nearly three months shaving the edges before it was treated so that it would still be extremely light for its size,” she said proudly. “I’ve been wearing my first attempt for months,” she flashed the plain weapon on her hip. “It’s functional, but not nearly as elegant.”

  “Thank you, Natalie,” Alexander’s eyes glistened. “Now, after working on these personnel files for the past few hours, apparently all for naught, I might add.” She gave him a hurt look and he laughed, “I’m feeling a bit hungry, so let’s head down to the mess.”

  Chapter 3: The Fierce Shipmaster

  Adepts stopped and saluted the pair as they passed. The Fields, in some respects, was more akin to a rabbit burrow than a city - tight and enclosed. Colonel Jennings had never cared much for the design. There were three main rooms or halls where the base came together. The first of the three was known as the warren, because of its proximity to the dormitories and the mess.

  Passing through the warren, another figure quickly fell into step with them, and the pair stopped, saluting the newcomer, “Colonel Wethers,” father and daughter said in unison to the female officer. Wethers was tall and thin, with bright blue eyes, and a crop of long silver hair over an unlined face.

  Wethers smiled and saluted back, “At ease. Alexander, wish you’d stop saluting me, you’ll be a full Col’nel soon anyway.” Her voice had a pleasant drawl.

  “Best not to take things for granted, sir.” Col. Jennings said.

  “See? That’s why you keep getting promoted. You’ll have to stop that or soon replace me,” Wethers chuckled.

  Alexander smirked, “I’ll try…” Wethers raised her eyebrows, “To stop, that is,” he finished.

  Wethers laughed, “I knew the Lieutenant got that sa’castic sense of humor from somewhere. I’m on my way to the command deck to oversee the transfer. The Praetor’s already at the docking bay. We should be arriving at Phoenix mom’ntarily.”

  Col. Jennings nodded.

  “I understand the Praetor gave both of you some leave today,” she smiled at Natalie. “If you’d like, join me on the command deck. The Col’nels obviously seen it all, but you might enjoy the experience Lieutenant. Ever since you became an active member of SHADE, we’ve hardly given you a moment to breathe, and it’s been ages since you’ve been up there.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Natalie said.

  “Well, just like your father, I have no doubt you’ll soon have more duties. The Praetor’s been very pleased with your progression as a leader of your squad. That, and you can be very persuasive when necessary, from what the Praetor tells me. Although, youthful charms won’t last forever, Lieutenant,” the Colonel said knowingly.

  Natalie piped up quickly, “That’s why I must learn from my superiors. How do you manage your elegant beauty, Colonel?”

  The Colonel smirked, “The Praetor was right about how dangerous you are – now I understand where today’s leave came from!”

  Jennings raised eyebrows at his daughter, “I thought that the Praetor was already considering the leave before you spoke to him.”

  Natalie coughed nervously, “Colonel Wethers, speaking of dangerous things, how long do you think we will be able to get away with this before the Corporations finally figure how badly they are getting gypped?”

  Wethers smiled, quickly picking up the change in conversation, “I don’t know. The Corp’rations are notoriously stupid when it comes to the castes. Maybe, one day, if they finally wizen up enough. Course, then we might get Adepts from the upper castes as well, although I can’t imagine that would happen too frequently. The Corp’rations don’t believe we can teach all the valuable skills any future Executor might need.”

  “You’ve obviously considered this subject before,” Natalie said.

  “Oh yes,” Wethers nodded firmly, “The Col’nel and I have had many a long discussion on the matter with Praetor Samson. It’s a concern for all Adept Legions – but for now at least, the Corp’rations, for all their resources and might, remain blissfully unaware of their mistake.”

  “Let’s hope it lasts,” Natalie said.

  “Indeed,” Alexander Jennings agreed solemnly.

  Alexander made it a special point to always visit the mess on an arrival day. It was an important tradition that the mess always served real food – no Passers. The idea was that real food would make the new cadets more comfortable, and give the rest of the Adepts a sort of celebratory atmosphere to welcome the bluebacks. And he knew that for his daughter, it was a special day, for she was one of the few who had grown up in the Legion. This was as close to a real holiday as she ever had – that and her birthdays, which always seemed to attract more attention than originally planned.

  Like the Cornucopia Cake disas– he snapped out of his reverie as Natalie shoved a tray into his hands and started loading it up. He glanced over and saw her tray was already bursting to the brim with as much food as it could handle – in particular, as much fresh fruit as she could get. It was a special treat, and one of the few things that an Adept could save for the next few days after the arrival.

  The mess hall was packed, as Adepts struggled to squeeze into the hall so that they too could enjoy the rare occasion. The elder Jennings searched around, eager to escape the cramped space, “It’s too busy, let’s take the Colonel’s invitation and head up to the command deck to watch the exchange.”

  Natalie nodded and followed him up, laden with food, to the command deck high at the top of the city. It was bustling, and their loaded trays received more than a few longing looks. Natalie tossed a couple of pieces of fruit out to the hungry Adepts.

  “You, no eating on duty,” Colonel Wethers marched over, the sweetness in her voice gone as she pointed at a young Adept about to p
eel an orange. The Adept sighed and set the orange aside, resuming his work, which looked to be very boring.

  Colonel Wethers watched over the bridge regally from the center. She was on an elevated deck, watching over her crew like the captain of an ancient seafaring ship. Five large computer screens were unfurled before her, watching the world outside the Fields at all times. Below her, the bridge crew monitored all the aspects of the city. Flight control, weapons, and security were all located in the tactical stations to the left, while engineering, engines, and systems control were on the right. General monitoring stations made up the center rows.

  Wethers whispered to them, “You’ll have a better view from over there.” She smiled and motioned to a thick, panoramic window, along the edge of the bridge and out of the way of the busy Adepts. The orange-eating Adept glanced up at her change of tone and she glared at him.

  The panoramic view revealed Phoenix in all of its glory. Its large factory levels produced a layer of haze that blocked the highest levels from sight, while the lower levels glowed in the constant darkness of the city’s huge shadows. In many ways it resembled a giant anthill. Even the people on the platform below more closely resembled ants as they scurried about their tasks of hauling goods between the two cities. The pair could make out the lines of potential Adepts, ready for their final examination.

  Two figures stood away from the line of potentials, surrounded by four imposing S.T.s.

  “Overlords,” Alexander said quietly to his daughter, “They’ll oversee the transaction for Phoen—” but he was cut off by Colonel Wethers.

  “This is interesting,” she pointed to a screen from her vantage point in the center.

  “What?” The elder Jennings asked with concern.

  “Nothing serious – just looks like we may actually have an Executor representing Phoenix t’day.”

  Colonel Jennings walked over to the view screen suspended above Colonel Wethers head, surprise on his face, “Really? That’s nearly unheard of…” He trailed off; there was no mistaking it. Whomever he was, standing proudly with regal, white hair, he was clearly an Executor. Colonel Jennings shook his head. Today was certainly getting interesting.

  Chapter 4: Day of Infamy

  All eyes in the room turned to Norm.

  “Magnus and I were responsible for overseeing the delivery of the new recruits to SHADE. I was the other man standing with Magnus on the loading platform.”

  “I’m surprised both of you survived, let alone just one,” the Praetor locked eyes with Norm.

  Norm met the Praetor’s gaze for only a moment, and then cast his eyes at the table. “In truth, the fact either of us survived is due mostly to Magnus. In all honesty, had he not been present there, I am not sure how any of this would have turned out – or even if the attack would have happened. Phoenix wanted to launch their assault against the other corporations, but I doubt they would have done so without a convenient method to eliminate Magnus. They could not let him gain any more popularity or power, and they could not afford to make his death look like anything other than an accident.”

  “But why were you both there, Norm?” Keats asked. “As the Praetor said, it is highly unusual to see an Executor at such an exchange.”

  Norm cleared his throat, “That may have been my fault…”

  ***

  “Why did I agree to this again?” Magnus’s voice was heavy with boredom as he looked doubtfully at the three figures emerging from the Avalon class fortress.

  Norm cleared his throat, “You agreed because we can ascertain a better idea of how to deal with ODIN when the time comes. Because after so many months of arguing, it was worthwhile to mollify the other Executors.”

  Magnus looked non-plussed, and instead fiddled with one of the ruby-eyed Immutium phoenixes upon his neck.

  Norm leaned over and added in a whisper, “Because of the beautiful Merc women?”

  Magnus smiled and laughed, “Ah yes – they are so much more interesting.” He looked wistfully in the direction of the Elysium Fields, and scowled when he realized it was three male officers approaching him. He sighed, “I suppose this will be valuable – although ODIN might be more wary of us when the time comes – SHADE is exponentially more powerful and secure.”

  “But we will have our assault force ready when ODIN arrives. They will not still be waiting in cryochambers to hide them from prying eyes,” Norm interjected.

  Magnus nodded, “Still, I’m glad I convinced the other Executors to hold off – our losses might have been substantial if we had...” The sound of clomping footsteps gave him pause, “What’s this?”

  An S.T. sprinted forward, heavily winded. “Executor, sir,” the trooper said breathlessly, taking a heavy gasp of air to collect himself, “the attack’s ‘bout ‘ta start. Should ‘ya be out here?”

  Norm looked at the trooper oddly, “Attack?” He turned to look at Magnus, “Attack? What is he talking abou…” Norm stopped – the color had drained from Magnus’s face.

  Without a word, Magnus’ turned and sprinted back towards the city – yelling something vaguely like “Hold!” towards the S.T.s near the edge. Norm struggled to understand what he was saying, but the hurricane like winds of the Elysium Fields carried Magnus’ voice away, and Norm looked back to the Trooper, “Attack?”

  Norm eyes’ went wide. He sprinted past the ST as a rush of air ruffled his hair. Behind him came the sickening sound of a helmet shattering just before the sound of a Zeus reached him – he knew what came next.

  Lt. Colonel Alexander Jennings felt compelled to look at his daughter as he turned to face Colonel Wethers, yelling to the bridge “We are—“

  The dead ST tumbled forward.

  “Under—“

  The S.T.’s helmet touched the ground, crashing loudly into a world that had, for a moment, gone quiet.

  “Attack!”

  A missile streaked into view, and Col. Jennings was slammed sideways as he clung to a railing on the bridge.

  Jennings steadied himself and yelled, “Get the Praetor off the platform!”

  Chaos consumed the bridge, and Wethers roared orders to reestablish control.

  “Helm: Engines to full reverse! Sound general quarters! Tactical: weapons free – give them everything we’ve got!” A huge metal door slammed down to cover the panoramic window as tactical displays lit up. Ports sprang open all along the Fields, and huge, automatic Zeus cannons emerged, firing relentlessly at the city. Missile bays opened all along the walls, returning salvos towards the incoming fire.

  She touched a button on the console in front of her: “Deployment bay. We’re pulling out – seal those doors, but secure the Praetor!”

  “Yes, Sir!” A voice came back.

  The Fields lurched as the engines powered the city away from Phoenix.

  Wethers looked anxiously at the monitor, “Come on, Samson! Move!”

  Alexander looked up to see that the Praetor, Barts, and Oris were already well on their way back to the Fields – they must have started moving as soon as the Executor had sprinted away.

  The Praetor ran full out towards the Fields, Zeus rifle fire erupting all around him as the loading platform filled with S.T.s and Inferni. Major Barts took a round to the leg and slammed into the ground. Both Samson and Oris skidded to a halt, but Barts waved them on, grimacing and shouting “Go!”

  Barts turned and fired into the visor of an Infernus that was boosting towards him. The Infernus slammed into the ground, skidding by. Firing off shots fast and furiously, he claimed a few of the encroaching S.T.s, but another Infernus landed directly on him, crushing him instantly and firing flamethrowers towards the Praetor and Oris. Together the pair sprinted for the Fields as it separated from the platform.

  Hundreds of S.T.s streamed onto the platform now, racing to catch the retreating fortress. Inferni flew over their heads, firing at the Adepts who covered the Praetor and Oris’ retreat.

  Alexander could only watch helplessly as a new Infernus booste
d towards Samson and Oris, spraying his flamethrowers wildly. They dodged, but did not slow. A fourth Infernus landed in front of Oris – who slid between his legs, slicing the armored hulk in two with his Ghostblade. He was up and running within a moment – only to be caught by surprise by more Inferni arriving from behind. A huge foot connected with Oris as one of them landed, and he slumped backwards, not to rise again.

  Now only the Praetor remained – but his blazing speed had put a small buffer between him and the Inferni. Adepts protecting the door shouted for him. The fortress was a good distance away now, and the Praetor pushed himself even harder, gearing himself for the gigantic leap. The doors stopped closing, remaining open just enough for the Praetor. Rifle fire danced around him as he reached the edge, leaping high and far. An Adept ran forward, stretching for him.

  Arms extended, the Praetor sailed through the air, and the whole of the battle focused upon him. Alexander felt a surge of triumph as the Adepts’ fingers wrapped the outstretched arms – just as a round clipped Samson in the neck. Samson grunted in surprise and went limp. The Adept, however, was ready and caught him, cushioning him as he smashed into wall of the city.

  The Adept lifted him up, shouting over the noise, “Don’t worry, sir! I have you. We’ll get you to medical and you’ll be—“

  A Zeus round cut him off, and both he and the Praetor toppled over the edge.

  Shocked silence filled the command deck.

  The Fields rocked, an ear-splitting screech sounding throughout the Fields.

  “What was that?” Wethers shouted, distracted from her despair.

  “Sir!” A Major named Holston shouted, “Phoenix is targeting our engines! We’ve been hit by a tactical nuke!”

  “Defensive measures! All cannons priority target incoming missiles!” She glanced at Holston, “Can you get me a bead on their launchers?” He nodded and went to work.