Phoenix Among The Stars (Exodus)

by Robert Stadnik

  “Alright, that’s all for now,” said John as he leaned back in his chair. Julie remained as the others left.

  “You shouldn’t have let her talk to you that way,” said Julie as the door closed. “And there was no reason to apologize.”

  “She was upset and had every right to be,” said John. “She’s devoted herself to this ship and expects to be automatically included in our inner circle.”

  “Despite her feelings, she can’t forget that you’re the captain,” said Julie. “Admiral Johnson chose you for a reason.”

  “She just needed to blow off some steam,” said John. “She’ll be fine. I’m glad this happened. Now that we know Alex’sis isn’t the spy, I feel better.”

  “Hopefully, you’re right and whoever the spy is won’t try something else,” said Julie.

  Once the fighters and mining craft returned to PHOENIX, the ship, heavier with its load of ore, turned away from the asteroid field and back into open space. As she left, a Screen vessel observed its departure from just inside the asteroid field.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Julie was enjoying her weekly morning breakfast at the Stardust Café. She was a morning person and was at the café right at 0600 when it opened. Despite the early hour, the café was busy serving patrons. Mario’s cooking was considered the best on the ship, and a friendly rivalry developed between the café and Smitty’s pub.

  “Commander.” Julie looked up to see Chief Sandoval approaching her table.

  “Good morning, chief,” said Julie as she sipped her coffee.

  The chief handed her a DAT. “I got this first thing this morning.”

  Julie read what was displayed on it. “I’m aware of it.”

  “The captain’s kidding, right? Giving that alien unrestricted access to the entire ship is foolish,” said Sandoval.

  “The captain wouldn’t joke about this,” said Julie as she recalled all the pranks John, David, and Billy played on each other back at TERRA Academy. That seemed so long ago, even though PHOENIX had only been out in space not quite two months yet.

  “We don’t know enough about that alien to trust him,” said Sandoval.

  “Drix hasn’t done anything to make us question his motives,” explained Julie. “He’s helped us at every opportunity and told us what he knows of the Screen. He’s earned the captain’s trust, and mine.”

  “At least let me keep a security detail on him as a precaution,” said Sandoval.

  “No,” said Julie as she saw Kevin approaching out of the corner of her eye. “If you want to bring your concerns to the captain, go right ahead. But as far as I’m concerned, the matter is closed.”

  “Believe me, I will talk to the captain about this,” said Sandoval as he stormed off.

  “Whoa! Did I miss something?” said Kevin, who had to get out of the way of the security chief’s path.

  “Just a friendly morning conversation,” said Julie. “The chief was expressing his concerns about the captain lifting Drix’s restrictions.”

  “I don’t understand the problem? Drix has been a great help since coming on board. You know he improved the ship’s navigational software that’s cut two percent off our travel between jumps.”

  “We’re lucky to have him as part of the crew,” said Julie, motioning Kevin to sit down. The café owner, Mario, saw the navigational officer sitting and promptly brought him a menu.

  “Good morning, Lieutenant Jacobson,” said Mario. “Will you be starting off with your usual tomato juice?”

  “I would. Thanks Mario.”

  Mario looked at Julie. “Still working on your eggs?”

  Julie nodded. “I am, but I’d love a refill on my coffee.”

  “Coming up,” said Mario as he left the two officers to talk.

  “This is the first time I’ve seen you down here so early in the morning,” commented Julie.

  “I stopped by The Lounge to see if Chris was around,” said Kevin. “He hasn’t performed in weeks and people are beginning to wonder what’s going on.”

  “I didn’t realize,” said Julie as she ate some of her scrambled eggs. She was well aware that the singer had stopped performing and suspected it had to do with John confronting him about his true identity. Julie hadn’t said a word to anyone that the singer was the famous Chris Anne.

  “I talked to Max who said Chris hasn’t even shown up to work at the bar. Apparently, he’s been staying in his quarters.”

  “Maybe he’s having a hard time adjusting to life in space. The psychology department has said there’s been an increase in the number of people coming in for counseling. Chris could be struggling with life on a starship.”

  “Maybe,” said Kevin. “But to me, living on PHOENIX as it flies through space is no different than when it was docked on Earth.”

  “I’m sure it’ll work itself out.” Julie wanted to reassure Kevin, but she wasn’t sure Chris Anne would ever perform again.

  “I hope so,” said Kevin. “Chris’ performances were such a nice break from working in the EXODUS Project. It’d be a shame to lose that.”

  Julie made a mental note to bring this up to John after the morning staff meeting, but she never had the chance. She wound up spending the rest of the morning down in engineering arguing with Professor Donavin, who was protesting the changes Drix made to the engine monitoring stations. Never mind that engine efficiency improved three percent, the fact that the professor didn’t understand the algorithms the alien programmed infuriated him. It wasn’t until Julie threatened to bring John into the matter that the professor calmed down and grudgingly accepted the situation.

  After dealing with Donavin, Julie went to the command deck. She bypassed checking in with the pit crew and rang the door chime to John’s office.

  “Come in,” said John. The door opened and Julie entered, going straight to the couch and plopping down on it.

  “Bad day, honey?” said John.

  “I just came from engineering.”

  “Oh, that’ll do it.”

  “I think we need to trade off dealing with Donavin. Every encounter with that man wipes me out.”

  John brought Julie over a glass of water. “I have no problem taking on our good professor full time. I hear he’s scared of me.”

  Julie smiled. “I know. As soon as I dropped your name he began cooperating.”

  “What got him riled up this time?”

  “Drix’s upgrades to the ship’s engine software.”

  “I had a feeling it wouldn’t go over well with him,” said John. “I should have told him about the orders in person instead of sending them to his personal inbox.”

  “I’m all for trying to work with people, but if he’s going to continue like this, then you should deal with him.”

  John laughed. “I wasn’t intending on ruling with an iron fist, but I’ll make an exception with Donavin. But it serves you right after what you did.”

  “What did I do?”

  “Thanks for sending Sandoval to me about Drix.”

  “He’s mad because I didn’t agree with him,” said Julie, taking a sip of water. “I told him if he was so concerned to bring it up with you.”

  “A few weeks ago I might have listened to him,” said John. “But at some point we have to start trusting outsiders if we’re going to learn anything about the Screen. Drix has been really helpful since coming on board.”

  “No arguments here,” said Julie. Suddenly, a beeping sound came through their pips.

  “Chris to Captain Roberts.” Julie didn’t hear the call through her pip so she knew whoever it was wanted to talk to John.

  “This is the captain,” said John.

  “Captain, this is Chris, from The Lounge.”

  “Yes, Chris.” John gave Julie a surprised look. He never expected to hear from the singer again. “What can I do for you?”

  “I was wondering, if you’re not busy, if you could stop by my quarters this evening?”

  John was speechless. He
had kept his word and stayed away from Chris Anne since their last meeting.

  “Well?” whispered Julie.

  “Uh, no I’m not busy,” said John. “What time?”

  “1900 hours?”

  “I’ll be there. Roberts out.” John looked at Julie. “Well, this is unexpected.”

  “What did he want?”

  “He asked me to stop by to see him tonight.”

  “This is perfect,” said Julie. “The crew have been wondering why he stopped performing. If you can get him to start playing at The Lounge again...”

  “I’ll see what I can do, but I’m not going to push him. He was pretty upset I discovered his identity. As much as I would like for him to resume his performances, I have to respect his wishes.”

  Julie wanted to argue, but damn, John was right.

  The rest of the day seemed to drag slowly as PHOENIX continued its travel between star systems. John racked his brain trying to figure out why Chris Anne wanted to talk to him, but he came up with nothing. The only way he was going to know was by seeing the singer again.

  John stopped by his quarters and changed into civilian clothes. He thought if he was out of uniform Chris would be more relaxed to talk. After debating between casual and formal wear, John chose casual. He headed to Chris’ quarters, anxious to see what the reclusive singer would say.

  John rang the door chime. “Come in,” said Chris. John entered and found the main living area dotted with the same lit candles, but even more candles were littered around compared to last time. The candles, in conjunction with the elevator music playing, provided a very subdued and relaxed atmosphere. John made his way in, but Chris was nowhere to be seen. The blankets of fabrics had been replaced with more colorful arrangements, many of them glistening with glitter. The light from the candles bounced off the fabrics and it seemed tiny stars were popping out from them.

  “Thank you for coming.” John turned around and what he saw took his breath away.

  Standing at the bedroom door was Chris Anne, wearing the most beautiful green sequence gown that hugged his body tightly. Patterns of darker green stripes ran diagonally through the dress. The long brunette wig he wore was composed of thick curly locks that hung in almost a precision manner. His eyes were now a bright green color that complimented his sparkling dress. Combined with the makeup he wore, Chris Anne was transformed from the clean cut man John met weeks ago to the beautiful woman John remembered performing when he was a kid.

  Chris Anne moved in a very feminine manner in emerald high heels. John just stood there staring at his icon, words escaping him. Chris Anne leaned close to the young captain, his warm breath bouncing off John’s face.

  “You mind getting a girl a glass of champagne?” said Chris Anne in a sultry voice.

  “Uh, ok.” John felt like a school kid, clumsy and awkward. “Where…?”

  “Over at the bar, handsome.”

  John looked over and saw two wine glasses already filled with champagne sitting at the bar. Funny, he didn’t recall a bar as an option in any of PHOENIX’s quarters. He went to get the glasses as Chris Anne took a seat on the couch.

  “Thank you, sweetie,” said Chris Anne as John handed him a glass. John took a seat next to the singer, who held up his glass. “Cheers.” They tapped their glasses together and sipped the champagne at the same time.

  “Mmmnnn…, very nice.” Chris Anne’s smile had a tint of seduction to it. “It’s been so long since I had something that tingled my senses. Thank you for sharing this with me, captain.”

  John, not exactly sure what was going on, swallowed his entire drink in one shot. Was this turning into a date?

  “Sweetie!” said Chris Anne in a surprised tone as John put his empty glass on the coffee table. “I didn’t bring you here to get you drunk.”

  “Sorry,” said John. “It’s been a long day.” He was tempted to check if there was any hard liquor at the bar.

  Chris Anne smiled, knowing he was trying to be polite. “Don’t worry, darling. I didn’t ask you here to seduce you.”

  “Ha! Seduced? Never crossed my mind,” John blurted out as his face turned red.

  “You’re cute, especially when you’re embarrassed.”

  “I’m not embarrassed. I’m just surprised.”

  “I appreciate you coming here,” said Chris Anne. “I wasn’t much of a lady, or gentleman, on your last visit.”

  “If I would have known…” started John, but Chris Anne put his finger on the captain’s lips to hush him.

  “I did a lot of soul searching after you left.” He looked down at his outfit. “You know this is the first time I’ve dressed up since Oliver brought me here. I swore never to become Chris Anne again.” The singer looked away from John as some buried emotions began to surface.

  “You were my idol, I just wanted to know what happened,” said John. “Talent like yours is rare.”

  “I was good, wasn’t I?” said Chris. “I had millions of fans who loved my music. Everywhere I went, people wanted to see me perform. But there was a price for my fame. Greater popularity meant greater responsibility and more pressure.”

  “You never seemed to have trouble handling your celebrity,” said John.

  “No, but those representing me began telling me what to do. It wasn’t enough to be fashionable and beautiful. I had to wear what they told me, start changing my lyrics to satisfy their tastes, allow them to charge more for my concerts. They said if I didn’t listen to them I wouldn’t stay on top. I was stupid enough to believe them.”

  Chris put his champagne glass down. “The reason I became an entertainer was to create music and share it with others. I realized that I didn’t care about the money or the fame, so I walked away.”

  John was amazed. He wasn’t sure if he could have walked away from such a glamorous life.

  “My managers and promoters tried to convince me to return,” continued Chris. “They hounded me and wouldn’t leave me alone. Then Oliver appeared and offered me the chance to live at the EXODUS Project in anonymity. So I disappeared within the project, and no one here knew who I was. I eventually started performing again as Chris, the piano player, but my passion for music was gone. I guess I gave up more than fame and fortune. If my love for music was gone then Chris Anne was gone too.”

  “It doesn’t have to be that way,” said John. “You’ve never lost your passion for music. I could see it when you performed. You could be Chris Anne again.”

  “I’m not sure I want to.”

  “Sure you do. Just look at you. I can see how happy you are wearing that dress. The people who tried to control you are back in the solar system, they can’t control you anymore. You can do whatever you want, so why not be Chris Anne, the signer as she’s meant to be. The people on this ship need you.”

  “I’m small potatoes on PHOENIX,” said Chris Anne. “The scientists and professors are the important ones here. I’m just a lounge act.”

  “You’re more than that, otherwise Admiral Johnson wouldn’t have brought you here,” said John. “I saw how mesmerized people were listening to your music. You have the ability to inspire hope. You know how unique that is? None of us know if we’ll succeed with this mission or if we’ll ever make it back home. The crew needs something to hold onto. You can give them that hope.”

  Chris Anne smiled. “You sure know how to talk to a lady. I can see why Oliver chose you to be captain.”

  “Chris, people are too eager to put others down or tell them what to do. Believe me, I’ve been there. Don’t let those assholes back home win.”

  “It would be fun for this gal to get back on stage. It’d be a shame to let my whole wardrobe go to waste.” He patted his hand on John’s knee. “Ok, I’ll do it.”

  Chris Anne followed through on his word. That evening the crew saw a notification on the ship’s bulletin board that Chris would be performing the following night. John didn’t mention the upcoming performance to anyone and made sure Julie didn’t reveal
Chris’ identity.

  The Lounge was packed the evening of the concert. John, Julie, Alex’sis, and Doctor Myers were seated together at the captain’s front row table. When the lights dimmed, the curtains opened and the silhouette of a figure could be seen.

  “Hello PHOENIX. I’d like to introduce you to someone you may know.”

  The stage lights flared up and revealed Chris Anne to the crowd. He was wearing a bright red gown encrusted with various jewels that glittered from the stage lights. His wig was fiery red with the hair worn up.

  The crowd looked surprised as everyone recognized Chris Anne. No one said a word and could only stare at the famous signer up on stage. Like the performer he was, Chris Anne didn’t skip a beat.

  “That’s how I like to make my entrance. I leave them speechless. Hit it!”

  The music played and Chris Anne started off with his most famous song. As soon as the crowd heard it, they broke out in applause and cheered him on. Alex’sis and Doctor Myers were just as surprised as everyone else but joined in the adulations.

  “When did he come on board?” Myers asked John.

  “It’s a long story,” yelled John over the music.

  For the next two hours Chris Anne belted out one hit song after another. His energy never subsided and he felt he could have performed all night, and the crowd would have stayed right there with him. After two encores, he finally retreated backstage. He stood there for a moment and listened to the cheers, tears welling up in his eyes. It took him back to his performance days and he felt reinvigorated. It had been so long, but he remembered the joy he felt showcasing his music to his fans.

  An hour later, he was sitting alone in the dressing room, removing the makeup from his face that was now a blotchy mess from crying. He heard a soft rapping on the door.

  “Come in,” said Chris. He watched through the mirror as John and Julie entered. “Captain!” He got up to greet him.

  “I wanted to stop in and see how you were doing,” said John. “This is Commander Julie Olson.”

  “I’m so happy to finally meet you,” said Chris as he grabbed Julie’s hands.