Exodus Of The Phoenix

by Robert Stadnik

  “Pretty elaborate set up for a prank,” said Billy. “And he’d get into some real trouble for using TERRA’s mail system this way. He did make it a point to say this wasn’t a trick.”

  “Priority news alert,” the house computer announced in a loud tone. Admiral Block had programmed the home AI (artificial intelligence) to switch the holovision over to the news channel when a breaking news story was being broadcasted. The admiral didn’t want to be caught off guard on any events that might involve TERRA while he was home.

  The view switched to the ELM news channel, which already showed an anchorwoman starting the report. “This is Heidi Flicker of ELM News. Moments ago we began receiving reports of a large space faring vessel of unknown origin in orbit of Earth.”

  “Oh shit,” muttered Billy. There was definitely no way John could have staged this.

  “Right now we have very little information on the vessel’s purpose or destination. However, to avoid the public assuming this is a Screen vessel, we have confirmed several eyewitness accounts of Luna residents conducting telescope observations as seeing the ship flying up from Earth. Witness accounts state that the vessel does not appear to be a TERRA military vessel, however we have been unable to verify if the ship is privately owned. According to estimates the vessel appears to have risen from the vicinity of the North American region.” A piece of paper was handed to the anchor and she quickly read the update.

  “Has your dad ever mentioned anything about a ship in that area?” asked Billy, keeping his eyes glued to the television.

  David shook his head. “He’s never mentioned anything about this. But if John is on board then this has to be a TERRA ship. But it doesn’t make sense for him to be on one, given his assignment to the reserves.”

  The anchorwoman continued her report. “We have just received confirmation that the private cruise ship STAR PRINCESS has made visual contact with the vessel. What we are about to show you are pictures taken by some of the passengers.” Images of EXODUS begin to appear on the screen. The cadets were in awe of their first view of the ship. Nether had seen anything quite like it.

  “It looks enormous,” commented David.

  “And weird. It’s hull design looks alien. What's with all those curves?”

  “The captain of the STAR PRINCESS has informed ELM News that he has been directed by TERRA to move away from the unknown vessel. We are currently working to get more information from TERRA, as well as the president’s office, and will bring you more information as we receive updates.”

  “Maybe we should play the other message,” said David, but Billy quickly hushed him up. Now that he knew this wasn't some sort of prank he wanted to be extra careful what he said and where he said it.

  “We need to get out of here. Come on.” Billy quickly got his friend off the couch and headed out the front door. He didn’t think it would be a good idea to play the second message in a council member’s home. Who knew what type of listening devices could be hidden.

  ”David, are you departing the premises for the evening?" The white house bot emerged from the kitchen where it had been busy cleaning up.

  David froze and didn't know what to say at the moment. Billy saw his friend's apprehension and stepped in.

  "We're just going to walk around the neighborhood," he quickly chimed in. "We won't be gone long, Maggie."

  The shiny bot's diamond colored ocular sensors swiveled from David to Billy and back to David. "I shall inform your parents if they call."

  "Fine, great, whatever," said David.

  "Bye," said Billy as he pushed his friend out the door.

  As the cadets left the house the EXODUS was floating high in the night sky in orbit of the Earth.

  “I can’t believe it,” said John in astonishment. He stared through the command deck’s windows at the bright stars that now dotted the scenery. The launch had been successful and went off with no problems. The ship made it through the atmosphere and moments ago the four gravity towers deactivated the antigravity field and headed back down to the planet's surface, leaving EXODUS alone in space. After twenty-years on Earth she now floated effortlessly in orbit above the planet.

  “Commander,” said Julie, standing at the foot of John’s command chair. It took him a few moments to break his attention from the scenery outside to look at his executive officer. Julie could see how elated John was to be in space. In truth, she wanted to jump up and down in celebration. Space travel was as much her dream as it was his and she was just as excited to be here. “All systems check out. The ship made it through unscathed. Lieutenant Jacobson has plotted our course and is ready to execute it.”

  “Any TERRA ships out there yet?”

  “We’ve detected a capital ship docked with Luna station, the TCS SOLARA. But scans indicate it’s undergoing a refit. Engines are off and power levels are minimal. We also picked up a civilian cruise ship not too far from our location. The ship has since changed course and is moving away from us."

  “We better get moving then," said John. "The cruise ship may have been ordered by TERRA to leave the area.” The admiral told them that arrangements were made to keep all vessels clear of the area above the launch site during liftoff. So how did a cruise ship wind up in their vicinity? John decided it was something he would have to figure out later. As for the SOLARA? It was common practice for TERRA to have one capital ship near Earth; the other four did routine patrols around Mars. The SOLARA was fifteen years old and had recently been sent to the Luna station/shipyard facility for a much needed refit of its systems. In its current state it posed no threat to the EXODUS.

  Julie headed over to Jacobson’s station. “Lieutenant, plot our course out of the system. Set speed at one half.”

  “Aye, commander,” replied Kevin. With the coordinates already set, all Kevin had to do was activate the sub light engines. Seconds later the engines activated and EXODUS pulled away from Earth. John watched on his monitor as the distance between Earth and EXODUS grew farther apart.

  “Commander, we’re getting a priority communication from Luna station,” reported Bret. Luna station was wasting no time trying to contact them.

  “I’m detecting a squadron of fifteen Interceptors being dispatched from the station,” reported Alex’sis. “They’re heading straight for us.”

  “Put the communication up on speakers,” ordered John. He couldn't help but be impressed how quickly TERRA was reacting to the ship's appearance. Bret patched the signal through for the command crew to hear.

  “TERRA Luna Station I to TXS EXODUS." Apparently the command council wasted no time in revealing the EXODUS' identity to the fleet. "Cut engine power and come to a complete stop. Repeat, halt your advance from Earth and prepare your hangar bay to receive Luna Alpha Squadron.” They didn’t mention anyone specifically by name, so John assumed they didn’t know who was commanding EXODUS.

  “No response to transmission,” he ordered Bret.

  “Should I activate the shield grid?” asked Alex’sis.

  “No, keep the shields on standby for now. Lieutenant, will we be able to outrun the Interceptors?”

  “Yes sir,” replied Kevin. “But when they see we’re not stopping they’ll probably alter course and try to catch us further ahead. I can increase speed to full for thirty seconds to keep them behind us. After that they’ll be unable to intercept us.”

  “Do it and keep us updated on any changes they make on their heading,” said John. Julie approached the ship commander and motioned him to lean down towards her so they could speak privately for a moment.

  “Shouldn’t we have the shields up? I know Interceptors wouldn’t be able to penetrate the ship but we should still have them up as a precaution.”

  “I don’t want to let TERRA know what technology this ship is equipped with, at least not yet. It’ll give us a slight advantage. As soon as any TERRA capital ship gets near us we’ll raise the shields.”

  Julie nodded. Although she agreed with John’s thinking, she
wasn’t entirely comfortable with it. They had superior defensive systems and she believed they should take full advantage of them. TERRA would have no way of countering EXODUS’ defenses in the short time it would take the ship to leave the system. Julie wanted the safeguard of an active shield in place as a precaution.

  “Commander, Luna Station has repeated their orders,” reported Bret. "If we do not halt our advance they will order Alpha Squadron to take any means necessary to take the ship.”

  John clearly read between the lines of that statement. They would open fire on the EXODUS and kill the crew if necessary. Luckily, their Interceptors were nothing more than toothpicks against the EXODUS. John wished them all the luck in penetrating the hull, if they could catch the ship first.

  “Continue to ignore their transmissions,” ordered John. He speculated what measures TERRA would take to try and stop them. Would they send the other capital ships after them or just try to overwhelm them with Interceptors? He also wondered how the admiral was doing. He never told John or Julie explicitly what his plans were once the ship was launched. Undoubtedly, TERRA would be looking for the man who was in charge of the EXODUS Project to get some answers. Was he going to hide? John couldn’t think of many alternatives available to the admiral. He still wished Admiral Johnson had stayed on the ship, but it was too late now. John could only hope that he took whatever steps necessary to avoid TERRA.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “President Butu.”, acknowledged the doorman as he opened the limo door and assisted her out of the car.

  “Thank you, Reginald,” she said as she exited the vehicle. It was a little past six here in Sydney, Australia. The president had just arrived home to the presidential manor when her chief of staff called to inform her of an unknown ship in Earth’s orbit. She watched ELM News, and like everyone else on Earth, Luna, and Mars, was fascinated by the reports coming in. It took some willpower to pull herself away from the television and head back to the presidential office located on the outskirts of Sydney. Her staff was working feverishly to contact TERRA to acquire more information about the ship, but at this point all she knew was the ship was not Screen.

  Her chief of staff was waiting at the front door of the building housing her office. He had a sizeable stack of papers in his hands, ready to brief her on what information they had so far. Her staff used DATs rather than paper, but Butu was old school. She preferred reading information on paper rather than a computer monitor.

  “What do we have, Charles?” she asked as they both entered the building, flanked by her security detail. She could always depend on him to be ready with any information she needed. He began handing her documents to read over as he spoke in his mild British accent.

  “The ship originated from Earth. We’ve been able to verify telemetry, placing the ship’s origin near Skagway, Alaska. The ship is called EXODUS. It has a TXS registry which means the vessel is experimental and most importantly, is a product of TERRA.”

  The president looked at some photos of the EXODUS. She was not very familiar with military ships and, except for the concave curves which seemed to be a prominent feature, the ship did not seem remarkable to her.

  “Has TERRA provided an explanation as to why the ship was launched?” she asked as they entered her office. Several other staff members were already inside, working to get more information about the developing situation.

  “The ship was slated to undergo stationary testing of its launch thrusters. It was never intended to go into orbit. Luna Station has been attempting to contact the ship without success and has dispatched a group of fighter craft to intercept it.”

  “Isn’t the SOLARA at Luna Station?” The president remembered receiving a report that the capital ship had been transferred there.

  “It is, but it is undergoing equipment upgrades. Currently the ship cannot leave the station under its own power.”

  “Madam President,” interjected a staff member. “We have the TERRA command council on the line for you.”

  “Put them through.” She looked at Charles and could tell he had more information. “What else do you have?”

  “Two days ago the head of TERRA fleet operations, Admiral Oliver Johnson, went to New York City; specifically Dorm Row. His shuttle then made a trip directly from New York to the Tormented Valley near Skagway. Two senior year cadets are missing and are believed to have accompanied the admiral.”

  The President’s communication's terminal on her desk beeped. “Find out everything you can about the ship,” she said. The president had great respect for TERRA, but she always preferred getting information from her own trusted sources. The TERRA command council seemed too far away in their headquarters on Luna and she only had a handful of interactions with them in her three years in office. She activated her communication line as Charles ushered the other staff members out of the office. A monitor popped up from the desk and flickered on, showing seven of the nine TERRA council members. They were seated around a half circle black table.

  “President Butu,” spoke up Fleet Admiral Jeremy Donalds in a highly respectful tone. He was the head of the command council and as such the leader of TERRA. The Donalds were one of the founding members of TERRA, and every generation had served the institution faithfully. Even the admiral's own father served as head of TERRA. The family yielded considerable clout in the fleet.

  “Admiral Donalds. I hope you can provide some details as to what’s going on up there. I need to reassure the general public that this is nothing more than an errant ship gone astray.”

  “We understand, Madam President,” replied the admiral. “The ship is a prototype to experiment various new technologies. It has allowed us to thoroughly test a new system before integrating it into the main fleet. The crew was testing new thruster technology when an overload in the main engine occurred which could have led to a breach in the primary energy grid and cause a ship wide explosion. Emergency protocols dictated that in such an event the ship would launch into space in case a catastrophic overload was inevitable.”

  The answer he provided was a little too well rehearsed for the president’s liking. Her years of experience in politics was telling her that the admiral had prepared this statement in advanced in order to appease her curiosity. His story seemed designed to answer any immediate question she may had thought of.

  “Have you been able to contact the ship?” she asked. It was a legitimate question. The council knew that communications would be monitored from Earth.

  “Luna Station has made numerous attempts to raise the ship, all without success. It appears the ship’s communication system has been impacted by the engine overload. We have been able to communicate with the vessel using visual Morse code and have directed them to head to the orbital facility at Mars to assist with repairs,” explained the admiral.

  “Why not Luna Station?”

  “The SOLARA is currently moored at Luna Station undergoing upgrades and cannot be moved in time, whereas we have been able to clear all ships from the Mars facility.”

  “If the ship makes it there,” remarked Butu. “If they can’t control the overload, we should consider mounting a rescue of the crew.”

  “We are currently preparing such a plan and hope to initiate a rescue soon.” Again he seemed to be given answers to placate her.

  “It would be a shame to lose any crew members, especially those cadets.” Admiral Donalds gave her a startled look. Got him! She had caught him off guard. Several council members looked at one another.

  “Cadets,” he almost stammered. He had received no information regarding any TERRA cadets being on the EXODUS. Such a thing would be impossible. Cadets were strictly forbidden from being involved in any classified project.

  “Well yes. The two cadets Admiral Johnson took to the ship a couple of days ago.” She quickly looked at Charles' notes for their names. “John Roberts and Julie Olson. I would hate to see the loss of these two young individuals at the start of their careers.” It wasn’t her inten
tion to make the council look like fools, but she wanted them to know that she had her own means of acquiring information and wasn’t going to simply sit back and accept everything they were feeding her.

  “Of course. They’re safety is of the utmost concern,” said the admiral after he composed himself. Although he maintained his composure, he was not happy that the president had information they lacked.

  “Then I can issue a statement to the public informing them of the situation. It will be brief of course.”

  “We would appreciate it, Madam President. We will contact you as the situation develops.” Butu nodded and the monitor went blank. She looked up at her chief of staff, who was listening the entire time.

  “We need to discover what we can about this experimental ship, Admiral Johnson, and the crew members, especially those cadets.”

  “You don’t believe Admiral Donalds was forthright with you?”

  “I’ve been in politics for twenty-seven years. I know when someone is giving me fragments of a story. The admiral was holding things back and we need to gather as much information before I speak to the council again. They seem to be trying to keep involvement by outside agencies to a minimum and we need to know why. I don’t want to depend on them for information, otherwise we may never learn what’s truly going on up there.”

  The president was not the only one plotting a strategy. As soon as they finished talking, the council chambers broke out in a multitude of conversations. Admiral Donalds allowed the council to jabber for a minute before hitting his ceremonial hammer down and getting their attention.

  “Do you think it’s wise to make her believe we have the situation under control,” asked Admiral Block.

  “The situation will be under control by the time the EXODUS reaches Mars,” replied Donalds confidently. The bulk of our fleet will be waiting for them and we can use the planetary cannon if necessary.”

  “You would destroy the ship?” asked Admiral Vespia.