The Phoenix Project

by Kris Powers

  “I’m just your tour guide, Admiral,” Peter said.

  “Not anymore. I’m sure you can take care of things here until the rest of the senior staff arrives.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Peter said.

  Joshua and Elliot walked from the platform and towards the nearest exit. Peter took the command chair with ease and began issuing orders.

  “Do you really want to leave everything up to him?” Joshua asked once they were out of earshot.

  “He seems capable enough.”

  “I don’t know. He is only a Commander.”

  “You were too, once,” Elliot said.

  “Yeah, but I was better looking.”

  “You still are baby,” Elliot said with a grin.

  “Shut up.”

  “Give me a kiss, you sweet southerner,” Elliot said in an improvised accent.

  “I’ll call Madi and tell her you’re sexually harassing me.”

  “I’m scared!”

  “Trust me, you don’t want to see her mad,” he said and smirked, “or jealous.”

  “Enough said,” Elliot replied as they exited the command center. “Come on, we’ll go get a drink with Lathiel.”

  “I don’t think I can handle another night of that.”

  “A cup of coffee instead?” Elliot asked.

  “Alright, I’ll tell Madi to meet us.”

  “And let her come between us?”

  “You wish,” Joshua replied. Elliot guffawed in response as they entered the lift.

  A large, empty court of oak fittings greeted the Ferine as they headed uncertainly down the center isle towards an unknown future.

  “Where do we go?” Lathiel whispered to Elliot.

  “Down to the front and sit at the desk to your right.”

  “Will you come with us?” Lathiel asked.

  “We both will. We are still your liaisons,” Nadine said from their other side.

  “Thank—you,” Ranik said at her shoulder and grasped her hand. Nadine squeezed it back. “Look confident.”

  The foursome proceeded down the center isle of the courtroom. They walked past the gallery and found themselves at a large desk with four chairs behind it. The Ferine took the two central seats. Elliot took the chair to their right. Nadine took the one closest to the aisle.

  Once they had seated themselves, a column of the judiciary emerged onto a raised platform complete with a long desk for the dozen officials of Alliance and Coalition allegiance. The colors of their nations adorned the hearts of their black gowns in regal colors to indicate their disparate loyalties. They sat only after the rest of the audience had taken their seats. With the loud bang of a single gavel the lead representative, an Alliance citizen despite their minority status in the proceedings, called the hearing to order.

  “On this day, September Thirty—First, Twenty—Two Ninety—Nine, I call to order a public hearing into the events surrounding the loss of Earth’s moon, Luna, as well as hundreds of thousands of square miles of Earth’s soil,” the speaker stated. He passed the floor to a Coalition board member next to him.

  “The defendant in this case is the Ferine Assembly, represented here by delegates Ranik and Lathiel. For the beginning of this hearing, we would like to establish some background regarding the culture and history of our guests. The questions will be fielded by the panel. Do you understand what I have said, Delegates?” the speaker asked. He narrowed his pale blue eyes as he studied the Ferine.

  Elliot and Nadine took the lead by slowly getting to their feet. The lost Ferine caught on to their body language and stood with them. Nadine whispered up to Ranik’s high placed ear.

  “Both of you need to say “yes”.”

  “Yes, we do.”

  “Excellent,” the salt and pepper haired speaker responded. “Please be seated.”

  All four of them sat down and the board member to his right leaned forward.

  “I would like to hear from the delegate Lathiel, first,” A grey suited aid from a corner of the room walked to the Ferine’s table and placed two earpieces on the table in front of them. Each of the Ferine took an earpiece and clipped it to a small triangular ear near the top of their heads.

  “Delegate Lathiel, may I call you Lathiel?” the Coalition member asked.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Tell me, how far back does your recorded history go?”

  “Much of our history is lost, Sir. It is reliable until approximately one thousand ago. Prior to that our records are much more fragmented,” Lathiel replied.

  “Why are they fragmented past that point?” an Alliance panel member interrupted.

  “That time marked the end of the Great War.”

  “What was this war?” the Coalition board member asked, reasserting himself.

  “It was a great interplanetary war between three of our nations. Our weapons of the time weren’t as advanced as yours, but still issued a great deal of damage. Many of our records were destroyed in the conflict.”

  “I see. After this you gained the weapons technology to destroy a planet,” the Coalition inquirer stated. The Ferine looked to each other and then back to the panel.

  “No Sir, you misunderstand. The weapon was a remnant from that time,” Lathiel said.

  “Remnant?” the Coalition member repeated in angry disbelief.

  “Yes,” Lathiel responded in honest confusion. The Alliance member, who had earlier intervened, did so again.

  “I apologize for my colleague, Lathiel. It’s just difficult to believe that a weapon of such destructive power is, in actuality, a relic from a millennium old war.”

  “It was the last one and in disrepair when we chose to reactivate it,” Lathiel said.

  “There were more?” the Coalition panel member asked.

  “Mister Bell, please, this is best left for a later discussion. I would suggest we return to the subject,” the Alliance member said.

  “At what point did you achieve our level of advancement?”

  “Our best estimate places that event at fourteen hundred years ago,” Lathiel replied. The board members began whispering to each other before Bell spoke again.

  “In fourteen hundred years, how much farther have you advanced?”

  “We’re less advanced than your race,” Ranik replied.

  “Excuse me, Sir?” Bell inquired, having momentarily given up the familiar.

  “Our weapons technology is less advanced,” Lathiel replied. “Our propulsion and sensory technology are more advanced by, perhaps fifty years.”

  “Forgive me, Lathiel, but how can you expect this panel to believe that after fourteen hundred years, you are only perhaps slightly more advanced than us?” Bell demanded.

  “The Great War.”

  “Yes, your “Great War”. Just how does that event explain this?”

  “It was a lasting conflict,” Lathiel replied.

  “It was more than that,” Ranik said, taking the hot seat. “The war lasted for a century just as your own cold war has, but it was devastating to our colonies and our home world.”

  He left his chair and stood so everyone could clearly see him. “Thousands of warships were involved. Entire cities were the subject of spatial bombardment and fully four of our worlds no longer exist in a void beyond our current borders. At the end of that war we did not surrender to each other.”

  Bell took the bait to the hanging story. “If you did not surrender in your Great War, what did you do? Did one nation crush the others?”

  “No, Mister Bell.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “We had nothing left to fight with,” Ranik replied.

  “You had exhausted your resources.”

  “We no longer had the capability to fight. Cities, towns, and villages had been blasted back to a primitive state. Every station and warship had been destroyed. We no longer had the ability to reach into space and punish our brot
hers. We had been leveled to a barbaric civilization barely able to speak,” Ranik said. He sat down quietly and stayed mute.

  Silent in reflection, the room waited for an awed panel to regain it composure. Lathiel stood to replace his emotionally stricken comrade.

  “So you see, Mister Bell, it has taken a thousand years to return to this level of civilization and we have always looked back to remind us of our violent past and be better for it. We repaired and reactivated the cannon in desperation.”

  Bell regained his composure and meshed the fingers of his hands. “The cannon you reactivated, can it be repaired again?”

  “No, Mister Bell,” Lathiel replied.

  “Why can’t a repair be accomplished?”

  “These were doomsday weapons. We can not reactivate them any more than you can detonate a bomb twice.”

  “This apparatus was also responsible for the destruction of the four colonies your colleague mentioned?”

  “Yes,” Lathiel replied.

  “The one that struck our only natural satellite as well as our world; what exactly was its original purpose?”

  “It was intended for the destruction of our home world.”

  “So why were they not all used? How many were there?” Mary Bourgeois asked.

  “Five in total, more were under construction, but never finished,” Lathiel replied.

  “Your ancestors never chose to use the last one?”

  “The three nations of the time had equal populations on our home world. The nation, we believe they were called the United Front, never thought to use it until it was too late.”

  “Too late?” Bourgeois asked in confusion.

  “The weapon’s personnel were massacred in a massive onslaught in response to the destruction of the other four colonies, so was the population of the nation planet side,” Lathiel said.

  “All of them?” Mary asked.

  “The other two nations went into a killing frenzy when they heard news that four entire planets had been destroyed by the United Front. They went so far as to try to strike every reference of the nation from history which is why we aren’t sure of their name.”

  “And they killed everyone who belonged to that nation?”

  “There were rumors of survivors who hid among the other two nations’ populations, but nothing was ever proven,” Lathiel replied.

  “So it was this war that led to your limited technology today?” Bourgeois asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Your weapons should still surpass ours in destructive capability given your species’ past experience,” Bell interjected.

  “After the violence of the past, our people swore to never be so lethal or bloodthirsty ever again. All standing armies were dissolved. Over the following centuries we became pacifists consumed by a hunger for knowledge rather than war. Today our people are scientists, artisans, and explorers. We deliberately left weapons research out of our government. The PBCs aboard our ships are designed for use against navigational and environmental hazards.”

  “But my understanding is that you are at war again Lathiel,” Bell said.

  “Not by choice.”

  “How so?” Bell asked.

  “A race called the Nevargh has forced us to defend ourselves.”

  “The Nevargh,” Bell said and paused while he quickly consulted one of his links. “Yes, there is very little information concerning them. Who are they?”

  “They were once a member race of an organization called the League that we also belonged to.”

  “I was under the impression that you represented the Ferine Assembly,” Bell said.

  “The League is gone,” Lathiel said.

  “I see. Why was it dissolved?” Bell asked while he looked at one of his links.

  “It was annexed by the Nevargh over the past year.”

  “Why didn’t the League mount a defense?” Mary asked.

  “The League was an economic union only. There was no mutual defense pact or common fleet to confront the enemy.”

  “Please educate us on the events of the past year,” Mary said.

  Lathiel exhaled a long breath and launched into the story. “The League comprised over three hundred inhabited worlds and ninety—eight member races at its height. Over the last several years, the Nevargh became dissatisfied with the League and secretly constructed an armada of three hundred thousand warships over a period of ten years.”

  “And a year ago they began their invasion,” Bell interjected.

  “They left only a tiny fraction of their fleet to defend the twenty—seven planets already under their control. The Prinax we were able to speak with said the fleet resembled a massive cloud of stars in the sky. The planet fell to the Nevargh in less than an hour,” Lathiel said and looked to the ground in remembrance of lost souls.

  “That was the first planet invaded?” Bell asked while Mary continued to look at the two Ferine with a sympathetic gaze.

  “Yes. Within one week a dozen planets were taken,” Ranik interrupted him to continue the tale. “They moved from system to system with that terrible armada. Many friends among those species fought despite insurmountable odds.”

  “You have my condolences, Ranik. If you need a recess,” Mary said.

  “No,” Ranik said after a pause, “I can continue.”

  “Please,” Mary said, softly.

  “That fleet was a wave crashing through planets, systems, and civilizations. We watched for a year while they murdered our allies,” Ranik said and found his voice choked.

  “You stood by while they destroyed allied nations?” Bell demanded.

  “Yes,” Ranik said and dizzily got to his feet, “and you would have too, because the Nevargh always promised to stop with every system they conquered. We were too scared to defend our allies and be named accomplices. We were too frightened to watch the slaughter. So we turned away and did nothing.” He finished, feeling tired and sat down.

  “We are a passive culture, Mister Bell, as I have said. To revert to our previously violent ways would invite the same destruction we have already faced. We no longer even have the capability to wage war because we are not able to conceive of it now,” Lathiel said to supplement Ranik’s speech.

  “But you decided to conceive of it once you were directly threatened by it,” Bell said.

  “We are scientists. We can repair an ancient device. Six of our colonies are already occupied,” Lathiel said.

  “They’re occupied by the Nevargh?” Bell asked.

  “They are. One point seven billion Ferine are under the rule of the Nevargh Empire.”

  Another murmur of disquiet filled the gallery and began to escalate. The bang of a gavel silenced them. “Quiet please. Lathiel, won’t your species even try to defend itself?”

  “Each colony had one thousand explorer ships to defend it.”

  “They weren’t viable against this fleet of three hundred thousand warships?” Bell asked.

  “The Nevargh fleet left behind a minimum force of ships at each annexed plant to protect their interests. They also suffered loses to the individual Old League planets. There were one hundred and twenty thousand by that time.”

  “The Ferine fleets were outgunned one hundred and twenty to one?” Mary asked in horror.

  “Each fleet had only low level PBCs to defend themselves with. They were no more effective than to provide target practice,” Lathiel said.

  “Why didn’t you better arm them?” Bell asked.

  “With what, Mister Bell? We have only Level Three Particles Pulse Cannons. The Nevargh have far superior weapon capabilities compared to us,” Ranik replied for Lathiel.

  “This led to the invasion of your home world, Cartise?” Mary Bourgeois asked.

  “We were the next target on their list, simply due to our location. This last leg of their campaign was to be more of a celebration and nothing more. We gathered together two thousand of our ships to defend our home world, but knew it would never be enough.”

>   “So why bother?” Bell asked.

  “To buy time.”

  “For?”

  “To bring the cannon online,” Lathiel replied.

  “These soldiers bought you time to reactivate the weapon?” Mary asked.

  “They weren’t soldiers, Ma’am. They were explorers who sacrificed themselves for all our kind. So were many in the cannon complex that died.”

  “Forgive me for the misnomer. Our culture does tend to make militaristic assumptions. Why did people, Ferine, die in the complex?”

  “We were able to reactivate the weapon in time, but it was still unstable. The recoil couldn’t be avoided. If we had more time to fully repair it,” he paused at the decision he had made, “but we didn’t. It resulted in the loss of hundreds of my colleagues.”

  “You knew them personally?” Mary asked.

  “I led the expedition to reactivate the weapon,” Lathiel said.

  The gallery erupted in a cacophony of discourse at the realization that the director of Luna’s destruction was in the room.

  “Quiet! Quiet, please!” Bell yelled. The sound continued to escalate into clamorous hatred. Many spectators began to stand and yell from their places in the room. “The inquiry is adjourned for the day. Bailiffs, clear the room.”

  The bailiffs hesitantly looked back and forth between Bell and the crowd, fearing for their safety.

  “Now!” Bell roared.

  The bailiffs moved to the imperative and were relieved to have a dozen UN soldiers join them to escort the rebelling crowd to the door.

  “Good first day,” Elliot said while he craned his neck to view the emptying room behind him.

  “Admiral,” Nadine said as Elliot rose to escort the Ferine from the room. “could I have a word with you?”

  “Certainly,” Elliot said and motioned to two guards. The pair of sentries escorted the Ferine from the room.

  “It occurs to me that the two of us will be working together for the next few months.”

  “Are you going to blame me for that?”

  “No, I just wanted to,” Nadine said and found herself tripping over her tongue, “I mean, I would like to invite you over tonight so that we can get better acquainted.”

  “Do you mean a date?”

  “Not necessarily, but let’s make this a casual meeting. We don’t have to like each other to work well together, but it does help.”