The Phoenix Project (7 page)

    
Elik moved his Department
Head.

    
“You hoped this would cripple
the Nevargh fleet?”

    
“This gives the other races
who were part of the Old League the ability to rebel. This might give us some
allies.”

    
Another piece exited the
table.

    
“I wish I was there when the
Wallick confronted the Nevargh fleet,” Lathiel said, thinking of recent history.

    
“I thought you believed the
Wallick were too militaristic.”

    
“Past experiences have
enlightened me. Can you imagine the Wallick’s Leviathan Class warships
confronting the Nevargh fleet?”

    
Lathiel moved another piece.

    
“What was it? One thousand
against five thousand?”

    
“And they still destroyed
their advance force before reinforcements arrived.”

    
“It was the best battle we
had,” Elik said.

    
“Until now.” Lathiel moved his
Doctor in for the kill. “Elik, there was something else I wanted to talk to you
about.”

    
“Yes?” Elik asked, while
concentrating on the game board.

    
“The discharge from the
cannon: I want to track it.”

    
“With what?” Elik asked.

    
“My ship. Anything else you
can give me would be appreciated.”

    
Lathiel moved his Director to
avoid a confrontation.

    
“It wouldn’t be easy to
convince others.” Elik
 
moved another
piece into a confrontation. “Impeachment.”

    
“Elik, if we lose our moral
judgment in all this, we become as ruthless as the Nevargh.”

    
Lathiel countered with his
Director piece.

    
“Some would say that’s
necessary for survival.”

    
“But you know better than
that,” Lathiel replied.

    
“How many ships would you
need?”

    
“My ship, possibly an escort.”

    
“I can probably get you two,”
Elik said and moved another piece.

    
“You’re in danger of
dismissal,” Lathiel said.

    
He examined the board and
moved his Professor. Elik removed his trapped Director from the board.

    
“Dismissed,” Elik said.

    
He removed the patriarchal
piece from the checkered board. With the game over, Lathiel arranged the
pieces back in order.

    
“Another game?” Elik asked
over two empty glasses. “I’ll break out the special vintage brandy.”

    
“Which one?”

    
“The Forty—First Edition,”
Elik replied.

    
“I’m in.”

    
Elik got up, opened a large
liquor cabinet, and retrieved a dusty bottle of the glowing liquid. He smiled
as he opened it and poured Lathiel and himself half a glass.

    
“I haven’t opened it until
tonight. I hear it’s one of the best ever made,” Elik said.

    
“One more game.”

    
“Two. This is the best Ruby
Brandy you’ve ever had.”

    
“It’d better be,” Lathiel said
and allowed Elik the first move.

    
Lathiel enjoyed the old
vintage as the pieces moved around the board in the candlelit room.

Fifty—seven ships appeared in
the darkness surrounding Earth to join a growing evacuation force. Ships
resembling birds of prey, long faceted cigars, and all other make and colour of
vessels were rising and falling from the United States of America.

    
The largest evacuation in
Earth’s history was underway.

    
Maria had been put in command
of the evacuation by Fleet Admiral Nelson and had the displeasure of
confronting a large group of hyperactive reporters.

    
“Will all of the people in the
affected zone be evacuated before this weapon arrives?” one reporter demanded.

    
“We have near completion of
the evacuation of the Moon and are one quarter through the evacuation of the
possibly affected areas of the United States.”

    
“Is there any possibility that
you won’t be able to complete the evacuation in time as some experts in the
media have suggested?” the same reporter asked.

    
Maria balked. “I have
personally seen the numbers and we do believe the citizens of the United States
will be in safe havens within the time allotted. Those who cannot find other
places on Earth to find refuge are being taken to other colonies. There are
hundreds of evacuation vehicles that have already arrived and more are on their
way.”

    
“Some scientists have said the
Moon’s destruction will lead to Earth’s destruction. Their opinion is that
large portions of the Moon will impact our planet. Do you have any comment on
this?” a reporter demanded.

    
“There is some truth to that
statement,” Maria said and had to pause when a dissonance of noise answered her.
“Please let me finish. A large portion of the moon will be vaporized on impact.
The rest of it will be fractured into smaller pieces. Some of these pieces will
be no larger than the size of your fist. Some of these pieces could be up to
five miles in diameter.”

    
“Won’t debris that large be a
threat to Earth?”

    
“Normally, yes it would. That
is why the Coalition and the Alliance
have agreed to pool their military resources on this occasion. All ten of their
battle groups and all six of ours will be around Earth after the Moon is hit.
That is over six hundred heavily armed warships and thousands more fighters
that will take care of this threat if it happens. Keep in mind that it will
take hours, even days for this debris to hit our atmosphere.”

    
“How much longer will the
evacuation take?” the same reporter asked.

    
“We are expecting to finish
the evacuation a full two hours before the weapon arrives.”

    
“What of this weapon? Is it an
attack? Where did it come from?”

    
“We cannot be sure of anything
so early on. What we do know is that the origin of the weapon is over ten
thousand light years away. Our most advanced ship would take nearly eleven
years to cross that distance. At this time we do not believe that this was a
deliberate attack.”

    
“There are rumours suggesting
that this may tip the scales in the Coalition’s favour. Is there any truth to
that?” the first reporter asked.

    
“I will not speculate on that
matter. I’m sorry, that’s all the time I have.”

    
The reporters shouted after
Maria as she left the glass dais atop the small platform. She left them to harass
a civilian who got up from his chair on the stage and crossed to the podium.
The monotone of the small, bald man receded into the distance while she walked
down a bright corridor to her ship.

    
After hearing of Elliot’s
promotion and his move to the Phoenix Project Maria was relegated to take
control of the massive evacuation. Horizon had been put on indefinite hold while
the brass reassessed their position.

    
She had stopped at the main
port in Colorado
to see the progress of the evacuation before continuing on to New York.
Tens of thousands of people in a state of mass hysteria were crowded in and
around the large interplanetary space port. Every entryway was clogged with
panicked people trying to board the next ship, and more were arriving every
minute. Ships filled past capacity took on more people and lifted off into the
sky towards other countries and even to other planets within the Colonized
Sphere.

    
Outside of the port, ground
cars streamed in long lines all the way past the city limits. The only life off
the major highways was the Allied military, going from house to house, and
building to building, ensuring that no one was left behind.

    
Maria returned to her shuttle
for the trip back to her fleet. The view from her small window changed from the
tarmac to the blue of the sky. New York quickly shrank to a
large assembly of toothpicks standing on end. The entire outline of the United States
came into view. Maria couldn’t help but think of how vastly changed that vista
might be in just a few short hours.

    
Nadine felt her gorge rise at the
news. She had spent her entire life learning how to combat Defensives, trick
them, confuse them, and even kill them if necessary. But to try and seduce one?

    
Nadine found herself vomiting in
the latrine. She grabbed a cool, blue towel from the nearby rack in the
reflective obsidian tiled bathroom and wiped her mouth. Her close—cropped black
hair shone with sweat from her exertions.

    
Slowly, she came out of her
thoughts and went back into the living area of her quarters. Nadine collapsed
onto a burgundy sofa in the dim room. She slid her hands between her legs to
warm them and then wrenched them back suddenly at the thought of an alien
presence exiting from that area in nine months.

    
Her task force had handed off
the tracking of the beam to a flotilla of science ships. Her battle group had headed
for Earth to aid in the evacuation of the Coalition’s people on the Moon, but
that was not her destination. She would take a shuttle bound for Earth.

    
The Council of Twelve required
her presence.

    
She stared into empty space
for what felt like hours in the dim light until she heard a beep. She sat up
and activated the small grey earpiece attached to her lobe.

    
“Yes?”

    
“Informing you as requested,
General. We are entering into lunar orbit,” a crisp male voice said.

    
“Thank—you,” Nadine said and thumbed
the earpiece off. She dragged her feet into the bedroom and changed into a
fresh uniform. Nadine took cautious steps toward the nearest lift and paused
briefly before the doors parted for her.

    
She thought of the man that
she was to mate with while the elevator took her to her destination. He was
forty—eight, good looking, and charming according to the initial report she
saw. The photo of him sent to her afterwards disappointed her. This Elliot
Fredericks looked stuck—up, arrogant, and God knew what else. Nadine thought of
other disparaging qualities her newly assigned mate was bound to have as she
boarded her small, biplane—sized shuttle and guided it sluggishly out of the
bay.

    
Earth grew larger in front of
her tiny personal shuttle. The surface eventually resolved itself into the east
coast of Russia.

    
Maria saluted the MERA guard
when she stepped from her duckling ship and walked into a large and lush
courtyard framed with tall hedges. A small woman rushed to greet her. The mouse
of a girl with thinning blond hair had a rank of
 
acolyte.

    
“The Council is not here,
Veteran,” she said, saluting her superior.

    
“They’re not here? I don’t
understand.”

    
“Yes, Veteran. They left
instructions requesting that you go to Communications Lounge B. The Prime Counsel
said she would contact you there,” she replied in a tiny voice.

    
“Thank—you, Attendant.”

    
She rushed through the
entrance and down the ornate corridors. Nadine ascended mahogany steps to the
second floor and hurried into a small, secluded, but comfortable chamber with a
screen on one side. A brown studded leather couch occupied the other side of
the narrow room. Nadine sat down and pumped her code into the pad fastened to
the arm. The screen immediately sparked to life in front of her and the aged
face of Catherine came into being.

    
“My student.”

    
“My Teacher,” Nadine replied.

    
“It is time to give you a new
lesson. First, do you know where we are?”

    
Nadine extended her senses.
They had played this fox and hound game before as part of her lessons. She
could feel the Council somewhere on the planet no further out than the solar
system.