The Phoenix Fallacy_Book III_Magnus

by Jon Sourbeer,

  Marcus turned to the mess, leaving Janus staring behind him. He was stunned by Marcus’s admittance. But he didn’t really care; Marcus was acting like an arrogant idiot. He taunted Marcus’ back, “Yes, because you’ve done such a great job of protecting her yourself.”

  Marcus froze, “She wouldn’t have been in that situation if you hadn’t gotten us captured.”

  Janus stepped forward, “At least I try to do something. The only time I’ve heard a strategy from you was the one that Wouris shot down faster than a stationary drone during a training exercise.”

  Marcus whirled on Janus, “Just because I don’t leap into situations without regard to others doesn’t mean I don’t protect the people I care about. I’m not the one who abandoned my mother just so I could get out of the hellhole I called home.” Marcus sneered at him, “You’re just like your father.”

  Janus felt himself boil over and cocked his fist back.

  “Yeah, come on, Janus. Show me you’re the superior. You’ll just get her killed someday,” Marcus said angrily, raising his fists.

  Janus stopped and lowered his arm. He hung his head. Marcus lowered his fists, confusion evident in his eyes. “I’ll be dead before anything happens to Celes.”

  Neither spoke for a moment. Marcus slowly nodded, “Both of us will be.” They stared at each other silently. With nothing left to say, Marcus turned on his heel and headed for the mess, leaving Janus alone by the trunk.

  Sudden exhaustion overtook him, and he wandered back to the barracks, his mind a jumble. It had been a mistake not to address his issues with Marcus sooner. His promotion was undoubtedly a sore spot, no matter what Marcus had said. But Janus had also failed to know anything about Marcus’ past. No matter Marcus’ part in it, Janus had made mistakes. Now, he would have to work to convince Marcus of his leadership. If anything can…

  Janus looked up. He had returned to the barracks, the common room empty and dark. As he crossed to his room, he couldn’t keep himself from snatching a quick glance towards Celes’ door. It was shut tight. He shook his head as dropped into bed. In the end, he wasn’t quite sure what would happen.

  Chapter 40: Those We Rely On

  The next morning, every available Adept in Valhalla was summoned to the mess.

  Janus hustled to clean up, fighting the exhaustion that threatened to creep upon him. He arrived with just a minute to spare. The buzz of many voices mixed together in a way only Valhalla’s mess hall could create.

  The mess hall was so packed it took him nearly a minute to find Celes. She sat next to Marcus and Lyn, laughing as Marcus waved his hands around earnestly. Ramirez sat next to Lyn, and Janus grinned – it was Ramirez he had spotted first.

  Marcus was in the process of telling an elaborate tale, but he paused for a moment as Janus sat down. Celes shot the pair of them a quizzical glance, and Marcus gave Janus a quick nod, quickly resuming his tale about a peddler in the Chimera streets.

  Janus had just settled in when Colonel Hawkes appeared next to him.

  “Up,” he said succinctly.

  Janus quickly stood.

  “This way,” he said irritably. Janus motioned for the others to follow, but Hawkes reached an arm across to stop him, shaking his head, and stomped out of the mess. Janus took off after him, hurrying to catch up.

  “May I ask where we are going, sir?” Janus said.

  “Officer’s meeting,” Hawkes growled.

  Janus followed him silently, realizing that his questions were not appreciated. Stepping onto one of the lifts along the trunk, the great seal took on a dark red color in the light as they rose past it towards the command center.

  Northcott, Tourneg, and the high-ranking officers waited for him. They all looked rather displeased. The Praetor was not there. Janus shifted uncomfortably, waiting for the storm to break.

  “We’ve been waiting for you. Do you always cut it this close?” Tourneg asked.

  “I went to the mes—”

  “You will address me as Major or sir! Always! And I didn’t ask for an excuse, Lieutenant,” Tourneg said harshly.

  Janus was taken aback. He looked around the room. No one else seemed surprised by her outburst. Janus swallowed difficultly and snapped to attention.

  “Major Tourneg, apologies! May I ask why I am here – sir?”

  Tourneg sat back slightly, but the tension did not drop from her demeanor.

  “You are here because we need you to start acting like the officer you are supposed to be,” Wouris said, stepping forward from the shadows of the room. Her face was inscrutable, “You have clearly been allowed to get away with far too much up to this point, perhaps even promoted too quickly. But there is little we can do about it now. We need you, and that is all there is to it.”

  Janus struggled to stay still. Wouris’ demeanor suggested a simmering anger, about to boil over.

  Tourneg looked Janus in the eye, “Sergeant Wouris has returned to inform us that we will not be receiving any aid from the other Legions.”

  Wouris leaned onto the table. “Three of the twelve legions have accepted the Corporations invitation to join in the assault, seeing it as a premium opportunity to gain prestige and power. Those fools are just as arrogant as the idiotic Executors. Another four do not believe they should be involved, believing this to be an excellent chance to weaken all of the Corporations’ power. None of them believe the conditions of the SHADE Continuum, the call for all Legions to band together, have been met. They are stupidly confident about their chances against Delacroix’s forces, despite my warnings of our failed assault against them. The remainder wouldn’t respond to my summons.”

  “Fools. It shows how quickly everyone forgets old alliances and friendships,” Northcott hissed. Hawkes shook his head in agreement at the old soldier.

  “Yes, this week has been filled with bad news,” Tourneg leaned forward with a hard look on her face. “So imagine the displeasure of the command staff when we learned that last night, one of our officers got involved in another personal conflict with a member of his team, the day before the largest offensive strike we have ever mounted.”

  Janus’ eyes shifted over to Wouris.

  “Eyes on me, Lieutenant!” Tourneg barked, and Janus’ eyes snapped back. “It is absolutely unacceptable to allow such conduct from an officer!”

  “Sir—”

  “I don’t remember giving you permission to speak, Lieutenant.”

  Janus’ jaw snapped shut.

  “We made a critical mistake by allowing you to stay with your fellows after your promotion. We were blinded by how well all of you seemed to work together. However, it is quite clear that you lacked the experience to lead. An officer cannot allow a subordinate a single chance to step out of line. Whatever personal issues exist between you and Marcus should never have come up right before a mission. As an officer, it is your responsibility to ensure nothing of the sort occurs - ever.’

  ‘Part of the fault lies with us; we are now correcting the problem. Leaders earn the respect of their subordinates, and never assume they will blindly follow. Marcus has raised legitimate complaints against your decisions – but he never should have felt as though he could address them in this way. Your lack of discipline and leadership has allowed you and Marcus to destabilize your team right before what is quite possibly the most important assault ODIN will ever be engaged in.”

  “Right now, the majority of our forces are being briefed on our assault strategy for the Phoenix ruins, including your team. You will be responsible for informing your team about the change in orders for this mission. That is why you are here: We need your team whole. You alone will pass our orders along. It may not help improve your standing with Marcus, but it will help to cement in your team’s mind that you alone are in command of the squad.”

  “We are—” Janus stopped cold at the look Tourneg gave him. “Sir, we are receiving different orders, sir?”

  Northcott sat forward. “Yes. After the Titan assualt, we sent out
advance scouts to scour the Phoenix ruins. We knew that there must be other, primary entrances to the Phoenix facility. They have been working diligently for months, living by the wilderness alone.”

  Tourneg clasped her hands, “Unfortunately, they had been rather unsuccessful. So, just over a week ago, we sent out more scouts. Obvious ones. And thankfully, Delacroix’s forces have done two things exactly as we had hoped: they have slowed activity in the area, down only to the most crucial forces, and they have been extremely careful at avoiding our newly added scouts. Our Valkyries have channeled them along paths where we expected our recon forces to be lying in wait. This morning, we received our first report from the recon: four different main supply entrances.”

  Hawkes spoke in a growl, “Food shipments from Titan have increased exponentially.”

  “Delacroix is waking up his troops from cryo, and salvaging what he can,” Wouris spat.

  Tourneg nodded, “Yes. Which means that every day we wait gives us worse odds. We already have quite a fight on our hands.” She touched the screen in front of her, and the MuDi Man emerged from the table. It lit up to show the Phoenix ruins, and zoomed in on the base. “From your assessments of the facility, the superstructure was severely weakened during the original assault against Phoenix. Delacroix spent many years excavating those entrances – we plan on burying them again. If we can seal Delacroix’s forces inside the ruins, it might buy enough time for us regroup with the proof the Corporations need.”

  Janus’ mouth opened and promptly closed. “Is there something you would like to add, boy?” Hawkes asked.

  “Sir, that plan is highly risky. We will have to bottle up thousands of troops. And I’m sure Delacroix will have additional exits he has kept unused and hidden just as precaution. Even if he doesn’t, he can always put the troops back into cryo. It will be a temporary measure.”

  Wouris nodded appreciatively. Tourneg allowed herself a small smile, “You are absolutely correct. And depending on the size of the forces Delacroix has ready to defend, we may be unable to collapse all the exits, if any at all.”

  “Sir?”

  “Yes, Lieutenant?”

  “Have you considered asking Norm about the entrances? Surely he would know the numerous hidden entrances and exits to the Phoenix base,” Janus said, respectfully.

  Tourneg nodded, “Norm has already provided all he can remember.”

  “Well, perhaps he can come with one of our strike forces. He may remember more when he returns to Phoenix.”

  Tourneg looked serious, “No doubt he would…”

  “…if he were here.” Hawkes finished disgustedly.

  Janus looked at the officers in surprise, “What? Er, sir. What happened to Norm?”

  “Gone,” Tourneg said simply, “One of the longboats went missing, as well. We suspect he picked up a few more tricks from your mother than he let on. Where he went we have no idea, but we certainly can’t use him to identify any more entrances. Which is why you are here…”

  “Sir, there is at least one other entrance to the Phoenix ruins we know of, sir,” he said.

  “Just one sir will do, lad,” Northcott said, “Just spit it out.” Tourneg nodded.

  Janus paused, thinking through the plan, “The ODIN assault is a distraction, designed to empty the center of the base of Delacroix’s forces while they rush to defend the main entrances. The chaos and confusion will allow me and my team to slip in undetected – but to accomplish what, sir?” He suspected he already knew.

  Faint nods of approval came from all sides of the room.

  “As you know, we suspect Delacroix plans to wipe out Titan, and the attacking Corporate armies, using his nuclear arsenal. But we find it very unlikely that it will be launched from Titan’s own facilities,” Tourneg responded, eyeing Janus.

  “Most people would have a hard time nuking themselves,” Northcott said ironically.

  Tourneg watched Janus for a moment longer and then spoke, “As you might guess, we believe Delacroix has a solution to that problem. Records from the original Phoenix assault indicate that when the Corporations excavated the active nuclear silos and material from the rubble, many were surprised by how small Phoenix’s stockpiles proved to be. It was eventually dismissed as the reason why Phoenix was so eager to take another Corporation’s weapons. But we believe the remainder of the Phoenix stockpile is ready, and waiting in that complex. Do you understand?”

  Janus nodded, feeling his heart beat faster, “My team is to locate, and detonate, the nuclear stockpiles that Phoenix possesses in the complex before it can be used to destroy the forces at Titan.”

  Wouris nodded. “Do you understand all that this mission entails?”

  Janus considered the ramifications of the mission he was about to accept. It was truly awful. The soldiers of Phoenix, though intentioned for evil, were…he pushed it from his mind. And who knew what would be required to finish the mission? To truly ensure that there was success… What was it Marcus had said? Janus hesitated. He shook the dark thoughts from his mind.

  “Let me alert my team,” he said simply.

  The command staff sat back in their seats, where they had been waiting on edge. They gave each other satisfied nods.

  “Good.” Tourneg said, and nodded to Wouris, who stepped forward. She hefted up a Ghostblade. It was the Praetor’s. Wouris glanced at the sword and then at Janus, “As ODIN is depending on you and your team to complete this mission, and seeing as there hasn’t been time to forge you your own Ghostblade, the Praetor wanted you to have the chance to use it again, should you so choose. He expects it back.”

  Janus carefully picked up the artfully crafted weapon, holding it in both hands. He stared at it silently, and the eye in the pommel seemed to stare back.

  Tourneg gave Janus one final look and said, “Your final orders and the assault plan will be uploaded to your personal display by 1800 hours. You are dismissed.” The others began a hushed conversation.

  Janus stood unmoved until Hawkes looked at him. “Is there something else, Lieutenant?”

  “Yes, sir. Will any other teams be following us in, or are there any contingency plans that I should be aware of?”

  Northcott sat forward, “Wouris will be leading her team in right behind you, but only to secure the exit. The more teams we send in, the greater the chance of discovery. She will hold that exit for you as an escape, if at all possible. If her team is discovered, she has been ordered to seal that exit unless she has a compelling reason to believe that your team has failed. In that event, she will try to complete the mission.”

  Janus nodded, albeit hesitantly, “Should Wouris be discovered, it will up to my team to locate another exit.”

  Tourneg motioned to the display, “There is still a chance that all of this can be avoided. Colonel Keats may yet succeed. But we cannot plan for that, and to be honest, it never seemed very likely. We believe that you and your team has the greatest chance of success, for a variety of reasons. I’m sure you can guess a few, but it really isn’t important. Should you fail entirely, it is unlikely we will know until it is too late, so once the assault is in motion, our forces will be committed to collapsing as many exits as we can find. We can only hope it will slow Delacroix down enough to make a difference. In the end, it all depends on you. Don’t let us down. Dismissed.”

  Janus understood. Victory for ODIN did not require every soldiers’ survival. He made to leave, and then realized his error, and snapped to attention, saluting the command staff, the Ghostblade flush with his side. They saluted back, holding it for a brief moment. Worry and concern reflected in their eyes. They released the salute, and Janus turned on his heel and left the room.

  As he rounded the corner, Tourneg’s voice floated from behind him, “Most of my time has been spent on the command deck. I don’t know them as well as you do. Can they do it?”

  “Can they survive?” Hawkes grunted.

  “You are putting a lot of faith in them, especially given the rela
tionship between Janus and Marcus.” Wouris’ voice was full of disapproval, and Janus grimaced.

  “I trust them. I trust them all,” the Praetor’s voice interjected. “They will find a way to succeed, and Janus will be the leader we want him to be. You all have doubts, and for different reasons, but you all came to the same conclusion I did. They have the best chance.” The Praetor’s voice was heavy. “They will complete the mission.”

  “That isn’t what Colonel Hawkes asked, Praetor,” Wouris responded.

  There was a pause. The Praetor’s voice was reflective, “Once again all that stands in the way of Phoenix is a single, desperate group of Adepts. I fear that this time will be just as painful as the last.”

  Janus gritted his teeth and walked away.

  Captain Rogers’ voice rang out loudly from the mess as Janus approached the hall. He stopped just outside the far door, and waited.

  What do I say to them? The implications are obvious.

  His eyes traced every line and detail of the great seal. Odin would be watching him carefully.

  Rogers’ voice had become a drone in his ears when the sudden shuffle of many bodies roused him. A mass exodus had begun from the mess, and Janus scanned for his team – mostly by looking for Ramirez.

  He jumped when Celes poked him in the back. “We wondered what happened to you!” she said.

  “Hawkes didn’t look too happy. Well, less so than normal,” Lyn mused.

  Marcus eyed Janus, “It looked as though you managed to get on his bad side.”

  Janus returned his gaze, “He was reminding me of the importance of the chain of command.”

  “I see.” Marcus nodded grimly.

  Lyn’s attention flited back and forth between the two, “Did I miss something?”

  Celes smiled and shook her head, “No. They’re just a little slow and need more attention than the rest of us.”