The Phoenix Project (59 page)

    
“What’s our status?”

    
“Nineteen ships destroyed as well as two
hundred and seventy of our fighters,” the first officer reported.

    
“It’s time to try and break free. Order all
of our ships to scatter. Anyone who breaks through is to head for Earth and
reinforce our lines there until General Order Thirty—Eight is given. All ships:
fire at will!”

    
“A message from Fleet Admiral Nelson,”
Peter said, handing a link to Elliot. Elliot read through it quickly before he
returned his attention to Nadine.

    
“I’m commander of the fleet now.”

    
“Why would they do that now?” Nadine asked.

    
Maria’s ears perked up at the conversation.
She left her attempts to locate the saboteur to a group of junior officers and
joined the conversation. “I’ve got seniority here,” she said. “I should have
been given command.”

    
“It’s only because I have training in this
situation, Maria. The Phoenix
Command Center
is equipped to handle this and I’ve been trained in its use.”

    
“Fair enough. What is the current situation
with the Admiralty?”

    
“The Admiralty is not likely to survive the
next few minutes of battle. That is why command has been transferred here.”

    
“But they were on their way to Mars!” Maria
protested.

    
“They were intercepted. The Government Body
has escaped and are on there way to board one of the new ships but a price had
to be paid.”

    
“The
Hood
and the rest of the battle
group.”

    
“Yes,” Elliot said. “Now I need you to
leave the base and join the rest of the evacuation to the new fleet on Mars.”

    
“Excuse me?”

    
“Someone needs to ensure the Admiralty
continues on. That’s you,” Elliot said.

    
“Like Hell, that’s you! You’re in command
and we need every Admiral left to rebuild command.”

    
“That’s an order, Admiral. I need to take
control of the situation here, not to mention that Nadine and I will have to
try and stop the saboteur from activating the warhead,” Elliot said.

    
“Yes Sir,” Maria replied, curtly. “There is
another seat on the shuttle. Who shall I take with me?”

    
“Joshua and Madison will accompany you.”

    
“No, we’re not!” Joshua exclaimed.

    
“You need to leave now, Josh. You weren’t
supposed to be here in the first place.”

    
“I am
not
leaving,” Joshua said.

    
“Neither am I,” Madison confirmed.

    
“You’ll have to stun us.”

    
“I will, or I can have security guards
personally escort you to the shuttle, with or without your cooperation,” Elliot
said. At the shock on their faces to his harsh words, his stern expression
softened.

    
“You have to go,” Elliot said in a whisper.

    
“Why?” Madison implored. “We’re here and you need
the help.”
   

    
“Because you are what Lily and I were ten
years ago.”

    
“Maria said there’s only room for one
more,” Joshua said.

    
“You two can share a seat. Joshua, I’m
giving you a field promotion to Commodore and Madison to Captain. Help Maria to
rebuild the brass.”

    
“Yes, Sir.”

    
“Come on,” Maria said and left for the exit.
Madison looked
at Elliot with tears in her eyes and followed.

    
“Madison!”
Elliot said to her back. She turned towards him and her husband also stopped at
the exit with Maria. “You have fallen from the sky. Your body is broken.”

    
Madison
looked at him and recited the last of the poem that Lilly had taught them. “But
I have brought you back from death. You are Phoenix: you will bathe worlds in your
light.”

    
With that last exchange the trio left the
command center for the shuttle. Peter heard a unique beep from his earpiece and
took advantage of the situation. He left his post at the communications station
and slipped out of the command center unnoticed.

    
The threesome boarded the small, abnormally
shaped ship that had two small FTL emitters mounted on its wings, giving it the
capability of leaving the Earth and reaching Mars in seconds. The high speed of
the shuttle would allow them to circumvent the Coalition blockade waiting for
orders to attack the base. Maria took the pilot’s seat. Joshua and Madison squeezed
into the chair next to her.

    
“Ready?”

    
“About as much as we can be,” Joshua
replied, while Madison
shifted herself into a better position on his lap.

    
“What was that Elliot was reciting?” Maria
asked while she readied the shuttle for launch.

    
“It’s called
Divinity Touches the
Phoenix
,” Madison
replied.

    
“I’ve never heard it.”

    
“It’s a poem by a little known author from
the Twenty—Second Century, but Lily loved it. Elliot and I know it by heart.”

    
“I hope it turns out to be prophetic in
this case.”

    
The shuttle bay doors opened above them and
Maria guided the shuttle up off the ground and then obtained a near vertical
position above the main dome in the complex.

    
“Going to FTL now!” Maria exclaimed. The
two small emitters on the shuttle flashed a bright light and the craft went to
a velocity some ten times the speed of light towards Mars. A thunderclap was
left behind in its wake.

    
The vessel’s three passengers saw a bright
flash of light, and a moment later the Earth’s ring was passing by. Just
moments later Mars seemed to warp into the space in front of them.

    
The shuttle’s view port soon had a large
number of massive white ships occupying it. Maria immediately opened a channel.

    
“This is Admiral Maria Peterson. I’m taking
command of the fleet by order of Admiral Fredericks.”

    
“We were expecting the entire admiralty,” a
voice over the speakers said.

    
“They’re not coming. Prepare to receive my
shuttle. The moment we’re aboard, activate the fold drives.”

    
“We can’t, Admiral. Lathiel said they’re
dangerous to use within our sun’s gravitational influence. We have to head for
the edge of the system.”

    
“Christ. Alright head for the edge of the
system as soon as we’re aboard. Can you do that much?” Maria demanded.

    
“She isn’t like Eli,” Madison said to her husband in a whisper.

    
“Nothing like Eli.”

    
Elliot watched their departure while the
staff continued to direct the remains of the Alliance fleet against the Coalition.

    
“When does the new fleet launch?” Elliot
asked the Tactical Officer.

    
“Just now, Sir.”

    
“And the situation?”

    
“Nearly fifty percent of the fleet has been
destroyed,” he responded.

    
“Sir, the ships surrounding Phoenix Base
have begun their approach,” the weapons officer said.

    
“Activate the outer defense grid and divert
all power to weapons,” Elliot ordered, and set his earpiece to be heard across
the base. “Everyone is to set their stations to automatic and evacuate. Take
the route to the mainland or go by air. All staff members have permission to
commandeer whatever shuttles or escape vehicles you can. The base’s automatic
defense systems will give you cover.”

    
“Communications, I need you to stay behind
for a moment. Tell whatever fighters are still out there to reinforce the
base’s defenses and do whatever they can to give the ground vehicles cover.”

    
Elliot realized a moment later that he
hadn’t heard a confirmation to his order and looked to the empty communications
station.

    
“Where’s Commander Stuart?”

    
The occupied officers at adjacent stations
looked up in surprise.

    
“Get someone to that station and carry out
my orders. Lock it down and set it to automatic as soon as they’ve finished.”
Elliot said. “Why would he leave now?”

    
Nadine was the only one to answer him.
“There might be a very good reason. What is the Commander’s full name?”

    
“Peter Stuart,” Elliot replied.

    
“How exactly is his last name spelled?”

    
“S—T—U—A—R—T. Why?”

    
“Stuart,” Nadine thought aloud. “Stuart—Hanover.”

    
“What is it?”

    
“The Stuart—Hanover
dynasty of England.
The hyphenated name marked the fact that they were the product of two royal
families,” Nadine said and then realized who she had just missed. “Elliot, I
have a younger brother. He’d be about forty—five now.”

    
“That’s about Peter’s age, but I never
sensed anything from him.”
   

    
“You wouldn’t. Peter was a failed MERA
operative. Catherine relegated him to regular undercover work because he was
too volatile for work as a MERA Aggressive, but he can shield himself from
others. You would never know his real intentions. He would use a codename like
that; it has a significance attached to it that only someone from MERA would
understand.”

    
“We’ve got to find him.”

    
“Let’s go,” Nadine said and headed towards
the exit.

    
“Wait,” Elliot said and drew his sidearm.
He walked to a small panel on the door and entered in a pass code. The panel
slid aside to reveal a small weapons locker. He took a Particle Beam Pistol
from it and passed it to Nadine.

    
“You’ll need this.”

    
There has been a great deal of debate as to how many Alliance ships actually
survived the very short First War of the Colonized Sphere. The events transpired
in an incredibly brief period of time. General Order Thirty—Eight was
transmitted only twenty minutes after the war began and brought about its
premature end.

    
Some have said that thousands survived
but my research leads me to believe this to be unlikely. The total size of the Alliance fleet prior to
the war was thirty—two hundred warships. We know that at least sixty percent of
the fleet was already destroyed by the time General Order Thirty—Eight was
given. With that conservative estimate, there wouldn’t be much more than twelve
hundred ships left.

    
I believe the latter popular belief that
there were only a few dozen at most left after the war. I must admit though,
that I have spent many nights looking up into the sky and wondered how many of
them were still out there.

Alliance
: Legend or Reality?

by Michael Ludwig

Chapter XIX

“Give Peter the
order to activate the warhead,” Catherine said. Alexander nodded and sent a signal
from a device on his wrist. The Twelve rose from their seats and exited the
chamber they had occupied for most of their adult lives. They knew they would
likely never see it again but did not so much as issue a second glance to the
twelve sided room. Their robes swished across the floor as they traveled down a
long corridor and out the main door into the courtyard.

    
The distant thunder of explosions was heard
from numerous battles playing out across the globe. The center of the courtyard
was occupied by a large shuttle capable of holding all twelve of the council
members.

    
“Is it safe to leave yet?” Catherine asked
a General standing near the entrance to the shuttle.

    
“The Alliance’s
First Battle Group has been intercepted near Mars. Their Second and Third
Battle Groups have also been intercepted over Europe and South
America. The Second is giving us some trouble, but it’s nothing to
be concerned about. The way is clear,” the General reported.