The Phoenix Project (40 page)

    
The cruiser glowed white inside the
titanium skeleton of the dry dock. Maria counted twenty—five decks on the wings
alone which flowed into a primary body of thirty—seven decks. The wings seemed
a natural outgrowth of the elongated, almost cylindrical, body some eight
hundred yards long. Three columns, a hundred yards in length and fifty yards
high, extended up from the hull to connect to a pill shaped module. Large grey
domes dotted the rest of the ship.

    
The greatest surprise to her was the bow of
the new warship. Where a plasma turret should have been there was a peculiar
dark green grid nearly two hundred and fifty feet across and hexagonal in
shape.

    
“I thought you’d get here early,” Nelson’s
voice said from behind her. “It’s a good thing, too. As it turns out the
results of the inquiry were even worse than we thought.”

    
“What happened?” Maria asked. Nelson began
to walk forward at a leisurely pace towards the best vista of the prototype
ship. Maria joined him, temporarily forgetting the beautiful sculpture in the
distance.

    
“The Coalition has taken Ferine hostages. They
haven’t called them that, but that’s what it amounts to.”

    
“So what is the Alliance going to do?”

    
“That’s why I can’t stay long. I’m meeting
with Eli and the Ferine representatives at Phoenix in about an hour. After that, I speak
with the Prime Ministers.”

    
“I’m glad I don’t have your job. How is
Admiral Fredericks?” Maria asked.

    
“As well as can be expected. I heard the
Admiral was at your bedside when you were injured.”

    
“Yes, for a while. So what’s your next
move?” Maria asked.

    
“Don’t know yet. That’s why I’m going to
see him.”

    
“How long do you have?”

    
“Maybe fifteen minutes. Do you want to see
your new ship?”

    
Maria looked to the vessel growing larger
through the window. “Definitely.”

    
“I won’t have time to personally show you
through the ship, but I can give you the brochure,” he said while they
continued at their slow pace.

    
“Go ahead.”

    
“First of all, any questions?”

    
“It is a cruiser isn’t it?” she asked.

    
“Actually, no. Our plan was to construct
another fleet after we finished the battleships. The second fleet would have
had scouts, destroyers, cruisers, even dreadnaughts.”

    
“So it’s not a cruiser,” Maria said.

    
“The cruiser of the fleet would have been
over twice the length of this ship.”

    
“So what is it?”

    
“A corvette,” Nelson replied.

    
“You’re kidding.”

    
“No. The cruiser would have been over a
mile long.”

    
“God! How long would a dreadnaught have
been?”

    
“Two and a half miles.”

    
“I would have liked to have seen that
fleet,” Maria said.

    
“So would I, but this ship is nothing to be
ashamed of.”

    
“Well, tell me about it,” Maria asked with
another glance to the elegant vessel.

    
“She’s got an AI for starters.”

    
“We never got that right, if I remember
correctly. Especially after what happened with the Easter Island Agreement’s
Artificial Intelligence,” she said.

    
“I know, and this one isn’t working yet.
She and the ship don’t have a name either.”

    
“And the ship doesn’t have a crew.”

    
“I can think of one. Phoenix Base is up and
running now. The
Excalibur’s
former crew is available again. A few had
to stay behind but the rest of them are already aboard. That is if you want
them back.”

    
“They stood by me through the court martial
even though they hadn’t known me for very long. All of them did. You’re damned
right I want them back.”

    
“Then we’ll keep things the way they are,”
Nelson said.

    
“This ship might take some getting used
to,” Maria said as they approached the dry—dock entrance. She stopped, and
stood looking out the window to the bright white eagle floating in the dry
dock.

    
“You don’t know the half of it. She has an entirely
different weapons system.”

    
“I noticed those grey domes. They’re everywhere,”
Maria said.

    
“Very observant, Maria. They retract back
when the ship goes to battle stations. They’re new batteries that have improved
tracking ability. The big news is that you’ll have about a dozen plasma cannons
in addition to a dozen PBCs.”

    
“Twelve?”

    
“Twelve,” he confirmed. “Some are forward
mounted, some aft, some on the dorsal and ventral sides of the hull. You’ll
have the same number of torpedo batteries similarly mounted. We wanted to equip
you with the new plasma torpedoes, but none are available for this size of
ship. You’ll have to make do with C—9 torpedoes.”

    
“I think I can manage.”

    
“I’m sure you will. By the way, that big
green thing on the front.”

    
“I noticed that. What is it?”

    
“It’s called a PBG,” he said. “That stands
for Particle Beam Grid. It can fire a single shot that can cut a frigate in two
or it can fire multiple beams, pulses, whatever you need. Remember though, that
it has a five minute recharge time once it’s depleted of power.”

    
“Got it.”

    
“One more thing,” Nelson said while they
looked at the metallic bird.

    
“Yes?”

    
“As I said, the AI doesn’t have a name
yet,” he said.

    
“I can give her a name.”

    
“Can I make a suggestion?” Nelson asked
with a smile on his face.

    
“Of course you can.”

    
“Cali,”
he said.

    
“Why Cali?”

    
“As in
Excalibur
,” Nelson replied.
“I’m prepared to give you a special
dispensation and name the ship the AWS
Excalibur
.”

    
“It seems like the right thing to do.”

    
“Good. Well tour your new flagship,
Admiral. I’ve got a few things to take care of.”

    
“Weight of the world and all that, I
understand,” Maria said.

    
“I’ll see you later.”

    
Nelson marched back in the direction they
had come from but at a faster pace. He was bound for Earth and the Phoenix
Base. Maria released a sigh of happiness and moved towards the dry dock
entrance.

    
Nadine rushed to the small waiting room
next to the Twelve’s chambers, having taken a shuttle directly from the UN to
MERA headquarters on the east side of the Asian continent. She was relieved to
find that the acolyte in the waiting room told her the Council was ready to see
her.

    
“Thank—you,” she said and rushed past him
to the door. Nadine stopped at the centre of the room and looked up to find
only Catherine there. All of the other councilor’s seats were vacant. Catherine
impaled her with a cold stare made even harsher by her all white eyes.

    
“What were you thinking, child?”

    
“I was following your orders,” Nadine
stammered in confusion.

    
“Orders?” Catherine repeated and leaned
forward in her high backed chair on one side of the dodecagon shaped room. “When
did I give you orders to disobey us?”

    
“Disobey you?”

    
“Peace with the Alliance, we are all brothers,” Catherine
quoted.

    
“To sow trust with Admiral Fredericks.”

    
“A little far for a simple seduction,”
Catherine said.

    
“He is not a simple man.”

    
“Maybe not, but you have interfered in
larger plans and priorities.”

    
“If I had been informed of them,” Nadine
began.

    
“We decide how much information is given to
you!”

    
“I am sorry for any inconvenience I may
have caused,” Nadine said.

    
“You are lucky you didn’t completely upset
everything. There are larger issues to consider beyond the reach of your own
small world.”

    
“Again, I apologize.”

    
“We had planned to try both of the Ferine
delegates as representatives of their race. That path would have gotten rid of
them quickly.”

    
“You wanted the Ferine gone?”

    
“Don’t worry. We have found another
solution to that problem. This solution is actually better than the previous
one, no thanks to your petty interference.”

    
“Taking the Ferine ships,” Nadine said.

    
“Yes, fear of the masses,” Catherine said.
“You will have a penance to pay: You will help.”

    
“You do realize that the Alliance will attempt to recover them.”

    
“We’re counting on it and you will ensure
that happens.”

    
“Yes, Catherine.”

    
“Good. You are going to go to the dry docks
at Waypoint Eleven. Ensure that Elliot Fredericks knows of your orders to begin
interviewing the Ferine there.”
    

    
“Interviewing?”

    
“A euphemism, I know, but you understand my
meaning.”

    
“Yes, Catherine.”

    
“Part of your penance, but this is temporary.
It is more important that Admiral Fredericks knows you are bound for the
Waypoint Eleven Dry Docks.”

    
“You want them to know where you’re holding
the detainees?”

    
“It is much more difficult to mount a
rescue without knowledge of where a prisoner is located.”

    
“Yes, Catherine. I will dispatch the
message as soon as I can,” Nadine said.

    
“Once you are finished there, return here
to report on your findings and then you may continue to liaison with the Ferine
delegates. It is good practice. They trust you, especially after today.”

    
“Catherine,” Nadine began.

    
“I am being very lenient with you
considering what you have done. Tread carefully.”

    
“I sense that there is something that you
are not telling me.”

    
“Yes, that’s correct. There is a great deal
of things I have not told you. Be glad of that. Now get out.”

    
Nadine nodded and kept silent. She turned
to her right and exited through the door she had come through. Once outside and
in the hall, Nadine released a long, slow breath. Some of her anxiety left with
the exhalation, but much remained as she knew of the difficult times ahead of
her. She had hoped to never be an interrogator again and yet now she was left
with the repulsion of conducting nearly eighty in a row.

    
For the first time she could recall, Nadine
wished that Elliot was here to offer a sympathetic ear.

    
She exited the great building of dark stone
and walked across the large courtyard occupied by small groups of uniformed
MERA personnel speaking amongst themselves. Nadine boarded a small shuttle
supplied to her by the UN and set a course for the waypoint dock.

    
Many have been in awe of the gargantuan juggernauts
of the new Alliance
Fleet. They were impressive, measuring nearly two miles in length, as I have
mentioned before. Even the arks were appropriately named, with their ability to
move nearly a million people across the galaxy in a short period of time.