CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“The fleet’s reporting in,” announced Tim.
“What’s our final number?” asked Julie, who was with Bret at the communications station.
“Fifteen Quix, ten Onixin, and five Senfo cruiser class ships,” said Tim. “The ship commanders from all the vessels are reporting in.”
After the Screen attempted to trap the Quix in their nebula, the alliance agreed that they wanted to send a message that they would not be intimidated. The answer was to create a fleet of ships to join PHOENIX on its journey.
“Notify the ships to wait for our mark to jump,” Julie said to Bret. “We’ll be heading to the last known coordinates of the Screen battleship.”
“Aye, commander,” acknowledged Bret as he sent the orders to the fleet.
“Commander,” said Jacks. “We will be limited to a speed of factor four as none of the alliance ships can exceed that velocity.”
“Understood,” said Julie. “Bret, signal the fleet to get underway. We’ll proceed at factor three.”
A few moments later PHOENIX jumped away from the Quix nebula in tandem with the alliance fleet.
“All ships reporting they’re with us,” said Bret.
“Good.” Julie headed over to the operations table. “We know from our tour of Screen battleships that they carry very little in terms of provisions and must resupply frequently.”
“That would be a reasonable conclusion,” said Korifluxinina. “Based on human medical personnel analysis of Screen cadavers, the Screen require a substantial more nutritional intake than alliance species in order to function.”
“Vish, what can we expect?” asked Julie.
A humanoid grid version of Vish appeared over the operations table. “As there hasn’t been any documented encounters of a Screen space station, it’s reasonable to conclude that any vessel would be supplied by a ground facility similar to what PHOENIX has encountered in the past. This would result in prolong supply periods, as any Screen vessel would be unable to dock directly with a ground station.”
“If we catch the battleship during its resupply, it would give us a tactical advantage,” said Julie. “And they won’t expect us to be accompanied by thirty other ships.”
“Our goal should be to secure the ground station and capture the personnel,” advised Tim.
“Agreed,” said Julie. “PHOENIX can easily take out the battleship. We’ll have some of the alliance ships work to disable the ground station defenses and fighters.”
“Based on our current speed of factor three, we should arrive at our destination in a day,” reported Jacks.
Suddenly, the ship shuddered as it exited its jump unexpectedly. Jacks checked his display. “The ship has exited faster than light travel.”
“Why?” asked Julie.
“I believe I have an answer,” spoke up Korifluxinina. “I am reading high level gravimetric readings around us. The levels have affected the ship’s engines. I am showing a disruption in both interstellar drive nodes.”
Suddenly, the ship rocked from the sound of energy impacts. “Two Screen battleships just jumped out on top of us,” reported Tim.
“Where’s the rest of the fleet?” asked Julie.
“I’m not showing any alliance ships around us,” said Kevin. “They must not have been affected by the gravimetric wells.”
That meant they were still traveling at faster than light speeds and too far to render any assistance. “Arm weapons and return fire,” ordered Julie.
“Weapons are offline,” said Tim. “We got hit by a ripple effect when the Screen jumped out so close to us. There’s disruptions throughout the n’quadrin grid and it’ll take time to bleed off.”
“Shields are up; however, only at fifty percent,” reported Jacks. A few more blasts struck PHOENIX.
“Unarnu,” Julie said to Korifluxinina. “We need to get the grid back online.”
The Quix science officer began reviewing the data to come up with a solution. “Take the grid offline.” Everyone looked up to see John racing down the catwalk and down the pit. “The grid feeds into generators that power the shields and weapons. If the network’s disrupted then we need to sever them from the generators. Shut the grid off from the generators and the weapons should come back online.”
“Do it,” Julie said to Jacks.
“One of the battleships is moving to our starboard side,” reported Tim.
Once Jacks cut the grid from the generators the offensive and defensive systems sprang to life. “Weapons are online and shields have increased to 90%.”
As soon as it happened Kevin saw one of the ship’s change course. “One of the battleships has broken off its attack and is moving off.”
“Let it go and concentrate on the one still attacking us,” said Julie. She looked at John. “Any more good tips?”
“Screen battleships have higher energy outputs, making it easier to detect fluctuations in their power output,” explained John. “Every three minutes there’s a reset in their shield grid. You should pick it up in the rear quarters where their engines are located. Fire on it right at the reset point and you should take out the engines.” Jacks began checking for the fluctuation.
“How did you come to acquire such knowledge?” asked Korifluxinina.
“Let’s just say I did a lot of homework during our time with the Ni,” answered John as the battleship unleashed a barrage of weapons fire trying to breach PHOENIX’s shields. Not only did he spend those months in isolation studying about Screen physiology, but he also dissected all the data they had on Screen starships.
Jacks’ console beeped. “Fluctuation detected. Firing plasma burst.”
PHOENIX fired a single shot at the Screen ship, and it bypassed its shields.
“Reading severe power fluctuations in the battleship,” reported Tim.
“The battleship has fired thrusters towards us,” announced Kevin. They knew what that meant. The ship would undoubtedly self-destruct next to PHOENIX in an attempt to damage the human starship.
“Move us away from them,” ordered Julie.
PHOENIX fired its thrusters and backed away from the Screen battleship. Sure enough, a minute later the battleship exploded.
John looked at Jacks. “You’ll need to do a complete cycle through the energy grid, then reestablish it to the generators one at a time.”
“I will follow your directions, John Roberts,” replied the gaseous alien.
“You showed up at the right time,” said Julie.
“I don’t know why, but something told me I needed to be up here,” said John.
“Your instincts were dead on.” Julie had no doubt in her mind, the captain was back.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
John looked at himself in the mirror. He adjusted the collar on his TERRA uniform, but it didn’t seem right.
“You sure this looks right?” John asked Franklin.
“Looks good to me,” said the owner of Smitty’s Pub.
John fidgeted in his uniform, which felt tighter. His time alone didn’t keep him in shape. He would have to double up on working out to lose the few pounds he gained. He wanted another opinion if the uniform looked good on him, and luckily Franklin was preparing the pub for the day’s business. The captain was using the mirror in the back to adjust his uniform as Franklin was behind the bar putting away some mugs.
“Screw it! I’ll live.” John abandoned the mirror and took a seat at the bar.
“You’ll do fine,” said Franklin. “You were only away from your position for a little over a month.”
“Seems like a lifetime to me,” quipped John.
“Bah! You’ll pick it right up again. Besides, you’ll be so busy meeting with the Senfo that you won’t have time to worry how your uniform feels.”
PHOENIX was en route to the Senfo homeworld at the request of the commonality to evaluate the progress of rebuilding their fleet. Apparently, communications from the Senfo officers serving on PHOENIX led t
he commonality to conclude they needed to speed up their reconstruction progress and become more involved in the search for the Screen.
“Yeah, you’re right,” said John.
“I had a group of Senfo in here last night,” said Franklin. “They’re pretty happy to be heading back home, even if it’s only for a few days. I just hope none of them leave.”
“Why’s that?” asked John.
“They drink like fish. You’d think for being so small they wouldn’t be able to handle alcohol, but they can out drink anyone.”
John chuckled. He had a hard time imagining the cute little aliens drinking glass after glass of beer.
“If we were back home, I’d be able to cash in and retire from their bar bills,” said Franklin.
“Vish to Captain Roberts. The senior staff meeting is in fifteen minutes.”
“I’d better get going,” John said as he hopped off the bar stool. “Thanks for letting me hide out for a bit.”
“Anytime, captain.”
A few hours later PHOENIX and her escort fleet were in orbit of the Senfo’s planet, Flutori. The commonality wasted little time in requesting John’s presence down on the planet. The captain headed down, accompanied by Bret and Jacks. Bret was surprised that the captain requested him to come along. This meeting hardly required the skills of the senior communications officer.
The commonality was clearly frustrated at the pace of their reconstruction efforts, and asked John how they could speed up their efforts. They went over every detail of their processes. Bret was bored the entire time and had nothing to contribute to the meeting. What was the point of him being here?
In the end, it was decided that a group of engineers from PHOENIX would remain behind, along with ten ships from PHOENIX’s group to provide defense of Flutori in case the Screen decided to attack. The commonality was pleased with the meeting and anxious to implement the proposals made by John and Jacks.
Danuo remained with his guests as the other members of the commonality left the meeting chamber. “We have selected a residential pod that can house the engineers. If you provide our constructionists the biological specifications of each engineer, they can modify each pod to their needs.”
“I’ll have Doctor Myers transmit the biometric data of our engineers staying behind,” said John as Jacks brought up its holographic DAT and transmitted the request up to PHOENIX.
“As we are in agreement with how to achieve our goals, this meeting is concluded.” Danuo stood up and tipped his hat to John, Bret, and Jacks, who bowed slightly in return. “You have brought relief to the commonality when we learned you resumed command of your starship.”
The Senfo officers on PHOENIX must have reported John’s temporary sabbatical. “Thank you, but the ship was in good hands with Commander Olson,” replied John.
“Have you selected the liaison who will be coordinating the efforts between your engineers and our constructionists?”
John nodded. “I’ll give you the name tonight once I’ve spoken to him.”
“Very well,” said Danuo as he tipped his hat again. “I will see you at the banquet at dark time.” The commonality was hosting a high level dinner with PHOENIX’s senior staff tonight.
As Danuo left the chamber, John looked over to Jacks. “Why don’t you head back to the ship and update Julie on our progress.”
“Yes, John Roberts.” The captain waited for the Ni to leave before speaking to Bret.
“Let’s take a walk,” John said to Bret. The two exited the meeting chamber and walked down the long hallway. “I’ll get right to it. I want you to stay behind and be the liaison to the Senfo.”
Bret was stunned by the captain’s words. “Me? Why me? I’m not an operations officer.”
“This isn’t about operational processes. The liaison’s going to need to make sure the Senfo stay on track with their construction. This will be the first time the Senfo will be working with engineers from other worlds. I need someone who can mitigate any cultural differences that might slow things down. From what Julie’s told me, you’ve done a remarkable job working with Rudov in the comm. position. I’ve also seen how well you’ve been bringing the different aliens on PHOENIX together during social engagements.”
Bret couldn’t argue with anything John said. And he was honored that the captain was asking this of him. If John believed Bret could do this, then the communications officer would stay. “At what point do I declare our work here done?”
“That’s the other reason why I want you here. The Senfo will build hundreds of ships and claim their defenses are insufficient. I need someone to give them an objective analysis of where they’re at. We still don’t know much about what Senfo starships are capable of. Once you’ve determined they’ve sufficiently built up their fleet, you’ll return to PHOENIX.”
“I’ll do it,” said Bret without any hesitation. “I’ll have to brief Rudov to take over my responsibilities as senior comm. officer.”
The two returned to PHOENIX to inform the senior staff of the plan. Later that evening, the Senfo Commonality hosted a banquet for the crew of the PHOENIX. The senior staff was present, along with about a hundred other crew members. The commonality went all out for the event, with rows of tables placed throughout the large banquet hall filled with a variety of different foods. Luckily, the Senfo serving on PHOENIX had educated the attendees about their native cuisine. They even had the tables raised to accommodate the taller guests.
The Senfo crew talked with their compatriots about their experiences on the human starship. The most popular topic was the concept of music and Chris Anne’s performances. The singer, who was at the banquet, was the most popular crew member there. He had a large audience of Senfo surrounding him as he explained his artistic craft to them. They were completely enthralled and asked numerous questions.
John was in the corner watching the crowd. He had talked nonstop for almost an hour to delegates from different regions of the planet. He finally needed a break and excused himself. He was sipping a gray colored drink called iquis that was a popular drink among the Senfo. Although bitter, it had a pleasant taste to it that the captain found appealing.
A Quix approached John and stood next to the captain, joining him in watching the crowd. “Captain.”
“Unarnu,” replied John, recognizing his science officer. “Needed a break from socializing too?”
“I do enjoy interacting with different species; however, my body aches after prolonged discussion,” said the Quix as her body vibrated. “It takes more effort to create the sounds that others can understand. Does your jaw hurt from talking too long?”
“I just needed to take a step back for a moment.”
“Indeed. These Senfo are intriguing, but strange creatures.”
John was curious. “How so?”
“One would assume that the Senfo would create environments to suit their small frames,” explained Korifluxinina. “Yet they build far bigger structures than what is needed. Their homeworld could easily accommodate humans, Onixins, even my own people.”
“They do seem to put an emphasis on large size,” admitted John. “I guess it’s good. It seems the Senfo on PHOENIX haven’t had too much difficulty living on the ship.”
“All of us who are serving on PHOENIX have found the experience to be most…, gratifying.”
John smiled at Korifluxinina. “I’m glad to hear that from you.”
“Service to the protectorate is the highest honor. It takes precedent above my personal needs,” said Korifluxinina. She looked around to make sure no other Quix was nearby. “I admit I have found living among different species to be a most pleasant experience. The human ability to bring species together to work cohesively is not an exaggerated statement.”
“It’s not too hard to work together when we all have the same goal,” said John, referring to their mission to locate the Screen.
“You underestimate your abilities,” countered Korifluxinina. “Because we share a comm
on goal does not mean all parties can work together.”
“Excuse me,” interrupted Julie as she joined the pair. “Sorry to interrupt, but I just received a message from the command deck. The Onixin cruiser BEREBOUT contacted PHOENIX a few minutes ago to report they’ve picked up several Screen facilities on a planet in the area they’re patrolling.”
“How many?” asked John. He realized he came across as too anxious. The last thing he wanted Julie to think was him wanting to get into another firefight with the Screen.
“They picked up fifty-two structures and detected over six thousand life forms, all Screen. They didn’t detect any vessels in orbit of the planet.”
“It may be a training facility,” speculated Korifluxinina.
“Or a staging area for an attack,” added John.
“I had PHOENIX relay an order to the BEREBOUT to retreat from the area,” said Julie. “I figured you’d want us to go in.”
John nodded. “Head back to the ship and begin preparing the fleet to assault the planet. I’ll remain down here until the banquet ends.”
“Yes, captain.”
“Do you want me to return to the ship as well?” asked Korifluxinina.
“No, I don’t want too many of us leaving and tipping off the commonality,” said John. “They put a lot of work organizing this event and we need to enjoy it. For tonight, let’s just enjoy ourselves.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
PHOENIX and her support fleet were closing in on their destination, a planet housing a large scale Screen operation. Korifluxinina’s assumption appeared to be accurate. Additional scans indicated the planet was being used as a training ground for Screen soldiers. The only ships being picked up were fighters stationed on the planet’s surface.
The senior officers from the entire fleet went over the plan John laid out for assaulting the planet. Luckily, the Screen were segregated to a large island off a continent in the southern hemisphere. This would narrow the scope of their attack to a single area.
As the fleet approached their target, everyone was at their stations on the command deck. The captain continued studying a holographic display of the island, going over all possible scenarios in his mind.
Fury Of The Phoenix (Exodus) Page 9
