The Phoenix Project

by Kris Powers

  “Elliot. I need to talk to you.” Michael DePietro’s wizened face did not resolve itself into his characteristic smile as it usually did.

  “I can tell,” Elliot said. Michael had been the teacher who had trained him to be a Defensive before letting him go into the world, as all mentors eventually do.

  “We sensed something,” Michael’s face distorted as he concentrated on the memory, “awakening in the dark.”

  “An extra—terrestrial beam of energy has exited the anomaly we detected and is headed for Earth.”

  Michael’s eyebrows rose underneath his dark hair. “What’s this weapon going to do?”

  “The most recent information we have says that it will probably hit the moon,” Elliot paused as he considered what he had to tell his friend, “and it may also hit Earth.”

  “What about the lives at stake?”

  “We’re beginning evacuations immediately. We’re pretty sure we can get everyone out in time.”

  “We have that much to be thankful for,” Michael said. “I trust you to do what is best for us.”

  “Thank—you,” Elliot replied.

  “I’ll tell you this much Eli: there is something very wrong here. I’ve talked to others and we all agree. The Coalition is planning something.”

  “They’re always planning something,” Elliot said.

  “This is worse than usual. I wish I could tell you more, but that’s all I know.”

  “I’ll keep it in mind.”

  Michael smiled and turned off the link.

  Elliot rose from the seat in Joshua’s office with the thought of whom to choose for his staff. The answer came readily a moment later. A mischievous smile was on his face when he launched himself onto the bridge. He forced the smile away once he reached the Captain and first officer of the AWS Endeavour.

  “Joshua, Madison, I need to see both of you in private,” Elliot requested with a solemn expression.

  Joshua vacated his position at the captain’s chair and Madison, the place to its right. The couple converged behind the Admiral on his way from the command center to Joshua’s office. Once the doors closed on the small teal setting, Elliot sat on the sectional couch opposite to Joshua’s workstation.

  “The Horizon Project has been shelved.”

  “Why?” Madison asked.

  “We no longer have the resources to build the new fleet. Once the moon is destroyed most of the weapon systems will be destroyed as well.”

  “So what do we do now?” Joshua asked. He took a seat on one end of the sectional couch.

  “We always had a sort of a Plan B in case something occurred to render Horizon unworkable. It’s called Phoenix and I need people and resources to make it work.”

  “What kind of people?” Joshua asked, suspiciously.

  “To start off, I need an adjutant or two.”

  “You don’t mean,” Joshua said.

  “I do.”

  “I didn’t sign up to be an errand boy Eli,” Joshua said.

  “You won’t be. You will keep your command and still be attached to the Third Battle Group. You’ll just have a little more work. Fair enough?”

  “I guess so,” Joshua replied.

  “This is a big project and I need people I can trust. You two are a good start.”

  “Okay Eli, but what does the project do?” Madison inquired.

  “No one would willingly tell you this within the admiralty, but Horizon is already being widely regarded as a failure.”

  “Eli, we’ve been in a cold war for eighty years,” Joshua said.

  “Not after their fleet launches. All analyses indicate the Coalition would declare war on us within six months after that date at the most. We can’t win under those circumstances.”

  “So this is what Phoenix is for?” Madison asked.

  “It’s basically an escape plan. We take the ships we have and as many civilians we can take with us, then we leave for a new home.”

  “The Coalition will be distracted by the old fleet,” Madison speculated.

  “Yes,” Elliot said, nodding to acknowledge her astute observation.

  “That can’t be all of it. The Coalition won’t just stand by and watch us leave,” Joshua said.

  “No, they won’t. We’ll also build a Particle Warhead.”

  “I see,” Madison said. She broke eye—contact with Elliot and stared at her lap.

  “It won’t ever be used, but the Coalition will think twice before attacking us with that in our possession.”

  “Elliot, won’t that weapon level much of the Earth’s surface?” Madison asked.

  “It could.” Elliot released a long exhalation of breath. “We won’t use it, but this weapon would give us the time we need to get away. The warhead will be purposefully sabotaged in the event that it is captured by enemy forces.”

  “That’s Phoenix?” Joshua asked.

  “In a nutshell. I need people I can trust on this one. I don’t want to force you on this, Josh. It’s your choice. If you say no, I’ll respect that. Will you sign on?” Elliot regarded his two friends, noting they had a mixture of dismay and contempt on their faces.

  “Eli.” Madison got up and sat next to him, taking his hands into hers. “it isn’t for you. I just can’t believe that we would resort to using scorched Earth tactics.”

  “Madi, I fought this when it was proposed, believe me I did. I lost and now I have my orders.”

  “In that case,” Madison said and winked, “I’m in.”

  “Well, if Madi’s in then I don’t have many choices, do I? What do you need?” Joshua asked.

  Elliot found his shoulders relaxing at the sign of renewed loyalty from the two. “First we have some people we need to talk to.”

  A record fourteen hundred and seventy—three ships evacuated the populations of the Moon and the Central States. Of this grand number, the Coalition provided a mere thirty—seven. The common belief is that they were indeed doing everything within their power to sabotage Alliance efforts to finish their new fleet. Contrary to that opinion is the evidence discovered by Frederick Grant which shows a deeper conspiracy by the Twelve to undermine the Alliance itself. The evidence is incomplete, however, and doesn’t lend any clue as to what this higher conspiracy was.

  Avoiding Disaster: Large Scale Evacuations and Their Consequences

  by Rodney Giles

  Chapter III

  Less than a hundred Ferine left Helas. The survivors were piled into a few shuttles by their rescuers and lifted into the dark sky. They looked through the windows of the small departing vessels and stared at the massive blackened maw of the ancient weapon. Lathiel knew that great titan would never hurl another spear at their enemy. Helas was, once again, a lifeless world.

  The great chasm on Helas was visible in the night sky above his childhood home on Cartise. As a youth, he had spent many nights looking up in wonder at the artificially constructed station on that orange planet. The shadowed world had always sported that dark eye, scaring him as a boy. It frightened him more once his parents told him what its original purpose was.

  Now the night sky would forever be altered by that cracked face. The people of Helas had always found a sombre reminder of their ancient and bloody past in the presence of that monster. Hopefully in the future, it would remind them that they still had hope for survival.

  Lathiel had spent the last day recuperating from a few cracked ribs caused by the collapsed support beam. The realization of the possible consequences to his actions had forced him out of bed to call Elik. Lathiel was invited over at once for an evening of relaxation at his house.

  He strode up the walkway cutting through the lime coloured lawn to the entrance. The bright entry button sparkled next to a set of elegant stone—grey doors. Lathiel pressed the button and Elik answered the door shortly thereafter.

  “Good to see you again.” A face of grey skin said. Lathiel accepted the invitation with the palm up welcome and entered into the warm glow of his hom
e.

  “The same to you.”

  “Come on in to the game room. I’ve already set the pieces up,” Elik said, referring to the game of Scholars. They both had affection for the complex game played by their society’s elite.

  Lathiel kept stride with Elik into the game room. The Scholars table sat in the middle of the many curious pieces of entertainment in the room. Two glasses of Ruby Brandy glowed on each side of the square table. The two sat opposite to each other and began the game.

  As the visitor party, Lathiel made the first move.

  He moved his piece through the north side of a square and into the adjacent place. The Student Piece stood out in the empty area between the two armies of academia.

  “I heard what happened.”

  “Everyone did,” Lathiel said, while Elik contemplated his first move. The soft light of the study gave Lathiel’s feral gold features a more bronzed look accentuated by the small spots of obsidian.

  “You and your group prevented the Nevargh from annexing our world and our last colonies as planned.”

  “I don’t think I’ll ever be the same after this.”

  “No, you won’t,” Elik confirmed as he moved a piece. “I have to ask, Lathiel: will the cannon fire again?”

  “You knew the answer to that a long time ago,” Lathiel replied.

  He launched an attack on a Professor.

  “I hoped that you would find something that would allow you to preserve the cannon for a second firing should the Nevargh return.”

  Elik moved his Doctor.

  “There are no more miracles. If the Nevargh return, we’re on our own.”

  “Our defence is limited to a few science ships. There are reinforcements that are supposed to arrive from the other colonies next week. Only half of them have the upgraded weapons,” Elik said.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Up against the one hundred and twenty thousand warships the Nevargh still have? We will consolidate the remains of our fleet and make our stand here.”

  Elik took a long drink from his glass.

  “Do you think that will make any difference if they return?”

  “They have to protect their overextended empire now.”

  Elik moved his Department Head.

  “You hoped this would cripple the Nevargh fleet?”

  “This gives the other races who were part of the Old League the ability to rebel. This might give us some allies.”

  Another piece exited the table.

  “I wish I was there when the Wallick confronted the Nevargh fleet,” Lathiel said, thinking of recent history.

  “I thought you believed the Wallick were too militaristic.”

  “Past experiences have enlightened me. Can you imagine the Wallick’s Leviathan Class warships confronting the Nevargh fleet?”

  Lathiel moved another piece.

  “What was it? One thousand against five thousand?”

  “And they still destroyed their advance force before reinforcements arrived.”

  “It was the best battle we had,” Elik said.

  “Until now.” Lathiel moved his Doctor in for the kill. “Elik, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “Yes?” Elik asked, while concentrating on the game board.

  “The discharge from the cannon: I want to track it.”

  “With what?” Elik asked.

  “My ship. Anything else you can give me would be appreciated.”

  Lathiel moved his Director to avoid a confrontation.

  “It wouldn’t be easy to convince others.” Elik moved another piece into a confrontation. “Impeachment.”

  “Elik, if we lose our moral judgment in all this, we become as ruthless as the Nevargh.”

  Lathiel countered with his Director piece.

  “Some would say that’s necessary for survival.”

  “But you know better than that,” Lathiel replied.

  “How many ships would you need?”

  “My ship, possibly an escort.”

  “I can probably get you two,” Elik said and moved another piece.

  “You’re in danger of dismissal,” Lathiel said.

  He examined the board and moved his Professor. Elik removed his trapped Director from the board.

  “Dismissed,” Elik said.

  He removed the patriarchal piece from the checkered board. With the game over, Lathiel arranged the pieces back in order.

  “Another game?” Elik asked over two empty glasses. “I’ll break out the special vintage brandy.”

  “Which one?”

  “The Forty—First Edition,” Elik replied.

  “I’m in.”

  Elik got up, opened a large liquor cabinet, and retrieved a dusty bottle of the glowing liquid. He smiled as he opened it and poured Lathiel and himself half a glass.

  “I haven’t opened it until tonight. I hear it’s one of the best ever made,” Elik said.

  “One more game.”

  “Two. This is the best Ruby Brandy you’ve ever had.”

  “It’d better be,” Lathiel said and allowed Elik the first move.

  Lathiel enjoyed the old vintage as the pieces moved around the board in the candlelit room.

  Fifty—seven ships appeared in the darkness surrounding Earth to join a growing evacuation force. Ships resembling birds of prey, long faceted cigars, and all other make and colour of vessels were rising and falling from the United States of America.

  The largest evacuation in Earth’s history was underway.

  Maria had been put in command of the evacuation by Fleet Admiral Nelson and had the displeasure of confronting a large group of hyperactive reporters.

  “Will all of the people in the affected zone be evacuated before this weapon arrives?” one reporter demanded.

  “We have near completion of the evacuation of the Moon and are one quarter through the evacuation of the possibly affected areas of the United States.”

  “Is there any possibility that you won’t be able to complete the evacuation in time as some experts in the media have suggested?” the same reporter asked.

  Maria balked. “I have personally seen the numbers and we do believe the citizens of the United States will be in safe havens within the time allotted. Those who cannot find other places on Earth to find refuge are being taken to other colonies. There are hundreds of evacuation vehicles that have already arrived and more are on their way.”

  “Some scientists have said the Moon’s destruction will lead to Earth’s destruction. Their opinion is that large portions of the Moon will impact our planet. Do you have any comment on this?” a reporter demanded.

  “There is some truth to that statement,” Maria said and had to pause when a dissonance of noise answered her. “Please let me finish. A large portion of the moon will be vaporized on impact. The rest of it will be fractured into smaller pieces. Some of these pieces will be no larger than the size of your fist. Some of these pieces could be up to five miles in diameter.”

  “Won’t debris that large be a threat to Earth?”

  “Normally, yes it would. That is why the Coalition and the Alliance have agreed to pool their military resources on this occasion. All ten of their battle groups and all six of ours will be around Earth after the Moon is hit. That is over six hundred heavily armed warships and thousands more fighters that will take care of this threat if it happens. Keep in mind that it will take hours, even days for this debris to hit our atmosphere.”

  “How much longer will the evacuation take?” the same reporter asked.

  “We are expecting to finish the evacuation a full two hours before the weapon arrives.”

  “What of this weapon? Is it an attack? Where did it come from?”

  “We cannot be sure of anything so early on. What we do know is that the origin of the weapon is over ten thousand light years away. Our most advanced ship would take nearly eleven years to cross that distance. At this time we do not believe that this was a
deliberate attack.”

  “There are rumours suggesting that this may tip the scales in the Coalition’s favour. Is there any truth to that?” the first reporter asked.

  “I will not speculate on that matter. I’m sorry, that’s all the time I have.”

  The reporters shouted after Maria as she left the glass dais atop the small platform. She left them to harass a civilian who got up from his chair on the stage and crossed to the podium. The monotone of the small, bald man receded into the distance while she walked down a bright corridor to her ship.

  After hearing of Elliot’s promotion and his move to the Phoenix Project Maria was relegated to take control of the massive evacuation. Horizon had been put on indefinite hold while the brass reassessed their position.

  She had stopped at the main port in Colorado to see the progress of the evacuation before continuing on to New York. Tens of thousands of people in a state of mass hysteria were crowded in and around the large interplanetary space port. Every entryway was clogged with panicked people trying to board the next ship, and more were arriving every minute. Ships filled past capacity took on more people and lifted off into the sky towards other countries and even to other planets within the Colonized Sphere.

  Outside of the port, ground cars streamed in long lines all the way past the city limits. The only life off the major highways was the Allied military, going from house to house, and building to building, ensuring that no one was left behind.

  Maria returned to her shuttle for the trip back to her fleet. The view from her small window changed from the tarmac to the blue of the sky. New York quickly shrank to a large assembly of toothpicks standing on end. The entire outline of the United States came into view. Maria couldn’t help but think of how vastly changed that vista might be in just a few short hours.

  Nadine felt her gorge rise at the news. She had spent her entire life learning how to combat Defensives, trick them, confuse them, and even kill them if necessary. But to try and seduce one?

  Nadine found herself vomiting in the latrine. She grabbed a cool, blue towel from the nearby rack in the reflective obsidian tiled bathroom and wiped her mouth. Her close—cropped black hair shone with sweat from her exertions.