The Phoenix Fallacy Book I: Janus

by Jon Sourbeer,

  A knock on the door brought him out of his disquiet. “Janus, ready?” It was Ramirez. Ramirez, too, seemed to suffer the same trouble with sleep, and for several weeks both he and Janus had woken up before the others. Janus opened his door and the pair disappeared into the dark.

  Chapter 18: Tidings of War

  They made their way slowly to the mess hall – the field test was their topic du jour. Only the early dawn sky lit the dark passages of the barracks. Fusion power may be a boon for everyone, but it wasn’t free. When you were an entirely independent city, without access to materials except through trade, every little bit helped.

  “Sgt. Wouris will throw some wrenches at us, and Colonel Hawkes will throw in something painful, no doubt,” Janus said reflectively, glancing at the dimly lit Seal. The trunk was silent but for the babble of the creek and waterfalls. It really did look like an oddly shaped tree in the darkness.

  “No doubt,” Ramirez winced at the mention of irritable Colonel. “I understand that Praetor Jennings always attends the first field test of new cadets, I wonder if he will add any tricks of his own?”

  “I am sure we will be able to take care of it,” Janus face darkened, “After living in that hellhole for years, all of this is a cake-walk.”

  Ramirez grunted, “Says you. You should realize not everyone had ya rough and tumble upbringing. And we’re not done yet.”

  The ‘jera fehu’ runes of the mess glowed faintly ahead of them.

  Janus smirked as he spread his hands wide and jogged backwards towards the mess, “Well, it’s not like anyone could compete with me anyways.”

  Ramirez sighed and took off after him.

  Praetor Jennings sipped his morning coffee in a corner of the mess, looking out through the giant, frost-covered windows. He had ‘slept in’ this morning, and was looking forward to observing the progress of his latest crop of potential Adepts. He was only slightly surprised when Janus and Ramirez jogged into the hall. As the pair sat down with their breakfast trays, the Praetor joined them.

  “Fine morning, isn’t it?” Jennings asked exuberantly. Janus and Ramirez stood up immediately and saluted.

  “At ease. May I join you?”

  Janus motioned for the Praetor to sit across from him, “Of course, sir.” The Praetor sat and leaned back, clearly relaxed.

  “You two are up earlier than I would expect. Do you usually get up at this time?”

  “The last few weeks we have, sir,” Ramirez spoke.

  Jennings nodded, “Always good to see cadets waking up early for training.”

  Ramirez and Janus exchanged a glance.

  Jennings smiled, “I’m only kidding. I usually come down to enjoy my coffee in peace.”

  “We didn’t realize, sir,” Janus said, “We haven’t seen you down before.”

  “That’s because I’m not usually up so late,” Jennings winked.

  “Why the change today? Is it because of the field training exercises?” Janus asked.

  “No, no – I was just concluding a difficult negotiation last night,” The Praetor said. Janus and Ramirez leaned forward and a slight grimace appeared on the Praetor’s face. “Nothing to get worked up about. Just a little out of the ordinary.”

  “How so?” Janus asked.

  The Praetor sat up, setting his coffee down, “Well, for one, the representative came here. Normally we negotiate during regular trading. We nearly blew him out of the sky when he first contacted us, but he held back far enough for us to send a scout party and check him out.”

  “And what else?” Janus asked. The Praetor gave him a small glare. “Sir?” Janus added immediately and apologetically. The Praetor nodded.

  “The representative was an Infernus. A fairly intelligent one at that.”

  “An Infernus?” Janus exclaimed.

  “Where was he from, sir?” Ramirez asked.

  “Didn’t say. And he had no markings on his armor. Asked only that we call him ‘Martel’. Of course, such a thing isn’t unheard of. Large operations are always planned in secret, and Corporations sometimes seek out Legions directly for important and time-sensitive jobs.”

  Martel. The name sounded familiar to Janus, but he couldn’t place it. If the oddity of the name showed on his face however, the Praetor didn’t notice it, because he kept going, “But he did offer a hefty sum. We’ll know soon enough if he was telling the truth. We are on our way to pick up the first half of the payment. A transport will meet us south of the location of the target, and we will have a month to prepare.”

  “Isn’t that potentially dangerous, sir? You said yourself it was odd.” Janus said.

  The Praetor took a sip of his coffee. “Perhaps. But what we do can never be considered safe. We choose this life for the freedom, not the safety. If you want safety, go back to the Corporations. Well, some enjoy more than others,” the Praetor added, nodding to Janus. “Besides, I have no intention of simply walking into a trap. I’ve seen more than one in my day, and I won’t simply fall into another,” he said with a note of finality that suggested a new topic was warranted.

  “Will you be present at the field training, today, sir?” Ramirez asked.

  “Yes, I will,” the Praetor leaned back comfortably again, “Although if I know Sergeant Wouris, there may be cause for a last minute cancellation.”

  “Sir? Why would that be?” Ramirez cocked his head in confusion.

  “Wouris would be most displeased with me if she thought I was giving away information to her cadets, and I have said far too much already. On a completely unrelated note, you will soon begin your advanced training and I can assure you that it will be even more interesting than any field test.” He stood up and Janus and Ramirez followed suit. “Your particular class is advancing more quickly than we could have hoped; you may be taking on your first mission sooner than expected.”

  A mysterious smile came to his face, “But don’t let it go to your head, or I have a feeling it will quickly become more than you bargained for.”

  Sometime later, Celes, Marcus, and Lyn stumbled into the briskly filling Mess Hall. They soon joined Janus and Ramirez with heavily laden breakfast trays in hand. Janus and Ramirez sipped tea and watched dryly as their fellow cadets stuffed themselves with food.

  Ramirez snorted at the display.

  Janus put his legs along the bench and looked at his three friends, “It’s a good thing that the field test is scheduled for late in the day; otherwise you could become really sick eating all that food. Normally you would need to wake up with Ramirez and me to eat well.”

  Celes glanced up at Janus from her tray, inhaling an ‘egg’ in the process, “It’s a good thing we don’t. We normal people need sleep, you see,” she gave Janus a wink and began shoveling her food again.

  Janus smiled.

  Ramirez folded his arms across his chest as he spoke sternly to them, “Ya, it’s a good thing. Because Sgt. Wouris and the officers wouldn’t tell us one thing and do another, would they?” Janus stared at the ceiling, smirking.

  At that, Celes, Marcus, and Lyn collectively looked up from their food and glanced at one another. “You know,” Marcus grimaced, “I don’t think I’m hungry anymore.” He pushed his tray away from him. Celes and Lyn did the same.

  “I don’t think I would have told them, Ramirez,” Janus chuckled.

  “Thanks a lot, Janus!” Lyn exclaimed irritably and tossed a piece of synthetic bacon into his hair.

  “Well, we know who our real friend is, don’t we Lyn? Thank you, Ramirez.” Celes gave him a light peck on the cheek.

  Neither Lyn nor Celes noticed the slight scowl that crossed Janus’ face, but Ramirez couldn’t help but grin.

  Wouris appeared like a lightning bolt, yelling as she marched into to the mess, “Form up, Cadets! Field test is cancelled for today! It’s time for a RUN! Move it!”

  For the first time in months, only five cadets were able to finish the daily run.

  Chapter 19: Monsters and Demons

&n
bsp; When most of the cadets had recovered, Wouris addressed them, “Since the field training has been cancelled, I have decided you are ready to begin your advanced training. Of course, ‘ready’ and ‘able’ are two very different things. DO NOT make me regret my decision. We’re heading into the ‘Hail’ bay. Move out!”

  The ‘Chariot of Hail’ bay, the largest of Valhalla’s launch bays, was bustling with Adepts. Some of the cadets, especially Lyn and Ramirez, were fascinated by the frenetic pace. Despite the length of time Janus had been at Valhalla, large swaths of the city remained unknown to him. A cadet’s time was extremely structured, and gave little room for even simple freedoms, like eating, let alone exploration.

  Mechanics yelled and tossed tools back and forth as they scrambled to keep ODIN’s Valkyrie fleet up and running. Valkyries were air-superiority fighters, faster and better armed than longboats, although not as well armored. Sleek and curvy, the small, pointed nose gave way to a long, slim frame and cockpit. Four wings, offset at forty-five degree angles, swept back from the back corners of the craft. The two upper wings were smaller and shorter than the bottom wings. All surrounded the main booster, which was actually three smaller engines, recessed and protected behind a large nozzle that gave the Valkyrie its rocketing speed. The Valkyries were normally a pearly white, but had the uncanny ability to become a dull blue, grey, or even brown, and absorb active sensors, when the situation warranted. Janus found it hard not to stare at the incredible craft as he passed.

  Pilots moved in and out of their cockpits, communicating with the mechanics on maintenance issues and problems. High above, Valkyries glided along as some of Valhalla’s daeduluses, giant arms of metal, reloaded weapons on the vehicles. At the edge of the platform, fully reloaded Valkyries awaited in silently suspended rows, ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice. As the cadets passed, two blast panels swept down behind the forward fighters. Firing their engines, the Valkyries disengaged from the chutes that connected them to the pilots’ barracks above and sped out of the city, two more Valkyries moving forward to take their place.

  Celes leaned over and whispered in Janus’ ear, “Odd. Sgt. Wouris has had me run a few errands down here and I’ve never seen it so busy.”

  Praetor Jennings and another officer, Captain Rogers, were waiting for them at the far corner of the launch bay, away from the hammering and yelling of the mechanics. Jennings wore the slim sword on his back he had worn at Cerberus, and there was a Skadi rifle and a disc launcher in the open case beside him. Rogers, however, wore a full set of S.T. armor, making him stand head and shoulders over the Praetor. Two heavily armored suits and a heavy plate of ceramium sat behind him. The right suit was standard Security Trooper armor, just as Rogers wore. But the left, Janus knew it immediately, though he had never laid eyes on one before; the horror stories from the slums told him exactly what it was – Infernus armor. The armor looked like something borne from a nightmare, with an almost demonic appearance to it. Tinged red, the armor was broader and taller by a full head than the S.T. armor. Thick, sharp-edged plates descended towards massive, split-toed boots. Zeus cannons and flamethrowers mounted on each arm came together on vicious, clawed hands. But nothing was quite as terrifying as the strange, disturbingly angular helmet that centered on a single, red, V-shaped slit of visor.

  Wouris saluted Jennings smartly while Janus and the cadets fell into line. She leapt over to the Infernus armor, disappearing behind it. Jennings grimaced as he spoke, “Today, you begin advanced training, and I always like to teach this particular lesson to cadets, to demonstrate how important it is, and what you are capable of.”

  Rogers touched a console on one side of the bay, and the launch platform slowly slid out, beyond the hanger.

  “All of you have seen standard Security Trooper armor,” he pointed to the right, “each suit is an exoskeleton; a strength enhancing, hostile environment suit that allows Corporate Security forces to use a variety of heavy weapons, including the Zeus. It is powered by a battery and micro-capacitor system that can easily last for several days. But it also has several distinct disadvantages.”

  Rogers stepped forward in his suit, twisting and turning in it. He looked ungainly compared to his natural grace. The Praetor motioned at Rogers’ jerky movements, “Namely, a distinct lack of agility and mobility, even with an experienced soldier inside the suit. The suits rely on their internal manual inputs to respond, making them slow. S.T.s can run fast, but only in a straight line. They have to build up a head of steam, so to speak. They also possess another disadvantage.” Jennings picked up the Skadi rifle, and shot three times through the middle of the unoccupied suit. “Your Skadi can easily penetrate the armor and kill an enemy S.T.”

  “You will not find the same weaknesses with Inferni,” the Praetor said dangerously. Wouris stepped forward in the terrifying armor.

  The Praetor walked around the suit, “Inferni are top of the line. They are faster, stronger, more flexible, and possess a powerful capability,” he tapped the cloven boots with his foot, “jump jets.” He stepped back, and Wouris the Infernus leapt into the air, activating her boosters. Three jets on each foot and two larger ones on the back carried the suit to the top of the hanger before it finally flipped over and came crashing down, landing on its feet with an earth-shaking rumble.

  “Their visors detect heat, light, and a dozen spectrums in-between. And as for weapons,” the Praetor added, picking up the disc launcher and launching a set of five silver discs, “Inferni feature a fully integrated arm-mounted Zeus cannon,” Wouris raised an arm and blasted two from the sky. “Dual flamethrowers,” two discs were engulfed in flames and disappeared over the edge, “specifically designed for engagements with light infantry like Adepts.” The fifth and final disc shot off, flying as fast as it could away from Valhalla, “Finally, for some advanced variants, shoulder mounted heavy ordinance, ranging from grenade launchers to a light anti-aircraft package,” a launcher snapped up, firing a missile. The silver disc sped away, detecting the missile, but to no avail – the missile closed in like a cheetah upon its prey. The disc juked left, and with lightning speed and accuracy the missile reacquired. Janus found himself willing the disc forward, trying to help it hang on for just a few seconds longer. The disc could not outrun the fierce predator, however, and made a desperate dive. But it was too late – the missile crashed into it from above, obliterating it in a flash of heat and light.

  Praetor Jennings turned back to the cadets, “Just one Infernus can turn a successful Adept into a dead Adept.”

  The Praetor tapped the shoulder insignia of the armor, “Inferni have their own rank and command structure separate from normal troopers, and are headed by their own Commandant in charge of all Infernus operations, known as the Commandant Novus. Below the Commandant are lesser Novus, Volcanus, and Pyrus ranks, terminating with the basic Infernus trooper. All of them should be respected as opponents.”

  In an instant, he whirled and fired a three round burst at Wouris.

  “Wait!” Janus cried and the cadets gasped, but the rounds bounced harmlessly away.

  “No penetration,” the Praetor said, “None. Your Skadi rifle is completely ineffective against the armor of an Infernus.” He tapped the chest plate, “Constructed of the heaviest grade ceramium, only a Zeus or equivalent weapon has any hope of penetrating an Infernus chest plate.”

  “But speed, skill, and stealth are the keys of the successful Adept. Your abilities will allow you to destroy any Infernus you come across.” Wouris removed the odd helmet, making her head seem strangely small within the massive suit, and tossed it high into the air. The Praetor whirled again, firing three shots into the heavy visor, shattering it completely. He snatched the broken helmet from the air as it tumbled down, and turned back to them with a stern look on his face.

  “The visor is the only vulnerability on an Infernus. A relic of design, and a counter to corporate weapons designed to knock out its vision, you must hit this spot every time,” he pointe
d a finger at the center of the shattered helmet, “or you will die. This is why we only select Adepts for training. This is where you learn how much better you are compared to the riffraff that the Corporations put in the field. You are Adepts – you are the best.”

  Whispers emanated from all the cadets, but ceased immediately as Praetor Jennings cleared his throat.

  “Don’t worry, you will be ready,” he chuckled, “Of that you can be sure. Of course, you won’t always have a good shot at the visor – especially in close combat or when attacking from behind. In those cases, I turn to this—” He drew the slim sword on his back from its sheath in one smooth motion.

  There was a sharp intake of breath from the cadets. The sword was unlike anything Janus had ever seen. Double-edged and straight, the weapon glowed blue, and had an almost ghost-like translucence to it. It seemed as if it wasn’t even really there. The two edges were thin, sharp, and separate, with a long empty channel running between them, connected only at the handle and the point of the weapon, almost like a loop of wire. But it was straight and did not flex. Outside of the sheath, it came alive, suddenly turning white-hot and looking like glowing glass.

  The Praetor tapped the plate of metal that stood between the Infernus and the S.T. with the flat of the blade, “Alpha-grade ceramium, twice the thickness of Infernus armor.” He spun, bringing the weapon through an elegant arc. In a flash, the top edge of the ceramium plate was flying and spinning through the air, and the Praetor had sheathed the blade. Wouris caught the flying debris, holding it emphatically in her hands.