The Phoenix Fallacy Book I: Janus (16 page)

‘
The Ghostblade is an archaic weapon in many ways; excellent in close combat or in situation where stealth is required, but not an incentive to charge an enemy.  It is a weapon of skill and of last resort.”

Lyn raised her hand.

“Yes, Miss…Lyn, wasn’t it?”

Lyn was momentarily taken aback, surprised the Praetor knew her name, but quickly regained her composure.  “Sir, what is that?”

She pointed to the monstrous suit that had emerged from above– or at least it was supposed to represent a suit.  It was a shell of armor, held up by a crane and wires as Rogers directed it to the ground.  It was massive – it actually stood taller than an Infernus.  Its frame was less fractal than an Infernus, with a rounded helmet, and a fractionally larger visor.  Gold and silver etchings of a Minotaur stood out clearly on the arms, while huge, ivory colored horns sprouted from the head.  Those surfaces not covered in gold and silver gave the eerie blue sheen of Immutium.

Celes whispered in Janu
s’ ear, “That’s Executor armor,” she said.  He gave her a questioning look and she quickly turned to listen to the Praetor, who was answering Lyn’s question.

“That?”  The Praetor said,
“That is Executor armor, or command armor.  I am afraid you won’t see too many of those. They’ve gone somewhat out of style, fortunately,” he said seriously.  “We were able to procure this shell in a surprising deal from Minotaur.”

“I’m sure the Minotaur Executors were only too happy to sell it,” Celes said, with disgust in her voice.  All the cadets gave Celes a strange look, and she blushed.

“Command armor was designed for Executors, and rarely, Overlords when they engaged in battle, and come equipped with enhanced communication equipment.  The horns hide the antennas in this particular model.  They, like Inferni, have jump jets and enhanced power supplies, but do not carry flamethrowers, and usually no heavy artillery.  It is also the only armored suit that is fully actuated; it does not require the pilot inside to move.

“
You might wonder why Executor armor should be so feared then, carrying fewer weapons and as ornate as it is?”  He asked.

“Executor armor is hardened with a thin layer of Immutium, capable of deflecting Zeus fire.  Even the visor has been strengthened to ceramium toughness, making them immune to your Skadis.  To compensate for the weight and to allow it to be fully actuated, the suit is far stronger and faster, sacrificing a few minor weapons for truly terrifying speed and toughness.  The only weapon with any real chance against it is a Ghostblade, or a Zeus in the hands of skilled marksman.  Pray that you never run into one.”

Lyn gulped, and many of the cadets looked nervously at each other.

“Any other questions?”
the Praetor asked.  “No?  Well, you will, in time.  However, for now I want you to understand that your advanced training will put both your minds and bodies to the limit.  You will learn to do things that you would not believe could be done.” 

Praetor Jennings paced in front of the cadets, “As you have discovered ove
r the past several months, Troopers are lousy shots, but not because of the Zeus rifles they fire.”

Wouris chimed in, “Yes, it is more the fact that they are just a bunch of gorillas crammed into clumsy suits.”

The Praetor’s grey eyes gave her a disapproving look, “Well, close enough.  Your training not only gives you an eagle eye for taking your own shots, but allows you to judge where an enemy S.T. trooper is aiming, as well.  This advantage is more meaningful than you might realize, as each Zeus round has approximately a one half-second delay between shots.  As an enemy S.T. unit brings his or her weapon to bear, you will have a short amount of time to react and maneuver yourself out of harm’s way.”

“Are you telling us that you can dodge Zeus fire?”
Marcus looked dumbfounded, “That’s impossible.”

Jennings chuckled, “That’s what the
Corporations want you to think.  But it’s actually quite easy once you realize how much time a half-second really is during a pitched battle.  All you have to do is stay away from the barrel’s cross-section, a tiny width.  Of course, there is a difference between dodging one and dodging many, especially from more than one S.T.  It all comes down to the question of how good you really are. Now it’s time we find out.”

Chapter 20: Death

Janus awoke, groggily, to the sound of blaring alarms.

Ugggh… haven’t needed alarms…since before adv…
  Janus stopped grumbling and listened – there was a voice amidst the blaring noise, “—Not a drill—” a feminine voice urgently cried.  He sat bolt upright.  The room was dark.

“—ODIN is under attack.  This is not a drill.—”

Janus leapt from the bed, swiping his hand over his locker and grabbing his Skadi and communication link.  Now that the hand signals and silent communication methods had been drilled into them, they had finally been issued comms for the main ODIN channels.  If there was an attack, there should be tactical information being broadcast on the channels.  He flipped through the main channels.  The grating buzz of static greeted him. 

W
earing his synthetic pajama bottoms, he glanced at his armor, and then his blank, unpowered chronometer, and shook his head, silently sliding open his door.

He
studied the common room.    To his left and right some of the other cadets peered hesitantly out.  He exchanged an all clear with Marcus and the two met in the middle of the commons.  Lyn, Ramirez and Celes joined them and were soon followed by the rest of the cadets.  Janus noted that only Celes was actually wearing her armor.

“We need to organize quickly,” Marcus said, “then we can find out what is happening.”

Janus nodded in agreement.

Celes
pointed at the door, and the two cadets, “We have two directions to cover once we leave Sigma 3.  Janus, you take half; Marcus, the other.”

“Agreed,” Ma
rcus said, turning to the others.  “Celes, Hastings, Jones, Holloway, Baker, Browning, and Freeham, you’re with me.  Alexis, Young and Roderick, you tag along, as well.  The rest, follow Janus.”

Janus was considering protesting Marcus’ snap judgment when the door to Sigma 3 opened.  Framed in the moonlight was an S.T., his weapon at his side.

Janus felt his heart skip a beat.  Instinct took over, raising his weapon for a bead before he even knew what he was doing.  The S.T. was moving, slowly, bringing the Zeus to bear.  Janus could feel the recoil of the weapon against his shoulder.  There was a loud Boom! and the S.T. was knocked backwards, into the hall.  The few cadets stood and stared, mouths agape.

Janus and Marcus lowered their weapons together.  Janus reflected how easy it had been.  It bothered him slightly.  He looked at Marcus.  He, too, was staring at the S.T. with a mix of shock and disbelief.  Janus swallowed, and then said, “Time to go.”

Marcus nodded.

Peering out from the entrance to Sigma section, the hall was deathly quiet, and completely dark, illuminated only by the light of the moon.  Something was terribly wrong; the barracks had lost power.

Well, Valhalla hasn’t crashed…

Janus took some solace in the thought and that there were no other S.T.s in the hall.  The two groups split silently, heading in opposite directions.  Janus took a moment to glance after Celes and Marcus as they journeyed into the dark at the front of the second group. 

Celes turned her head and smiled at him, as she and Marcus disappeared.

Janus’ gaze lingered for a moment on the darkness before he looked back to Lyn and Ramirez, who were watching him eagerly.  He motioned forward, and the group, as one, moved into the unknown.

The cadets moved slowly, but there was no resistance.  Janus, used to the dark of the slums and the need for urgency, found himself frustrated by the slow pace.  He took the opportunity to check in with Marcus.

“Marcus?  You read me?”

“Loud and clear, Janus.”

“Anything on your end?”

“Not yet, silent as a grave.”

“Let’s hope not,” Lyn chimed in.

“I’ll let you know when we find something, keep—” Marcus said, “What Celes?”  He trailed off.

Janus stopped
in the hall, listening intently.

“You’re right,” Marcus said.  “Janus, we have something going on up ahead.  Sounds like a fight in the main hall!”

“We’ll be right there!”  Janus said, turning the group around.

“No!”  Celes said in a surprisingly forceful voice.

“Use your head Janus!  We can’t afford to lose our rearguard; if there is a battle up ahead, you might be able to circle around and hit the enemy from the other side.”  Her voice was soothing, “I know you want to help, but you will help us more by letting us do our job while you do yours.”

Janus was torn, but he looked at Lyn and Ramirez.  For onc
e, Lyn was at a loss for words.  Ramirez just shrugged, “You heard the lady.”

Janus nodded,
We have a job to do.

He turned to the rest of the group,
eyeing them.  A moment passed before Janus said, “Our family’s in trouble, let’s get moving!”  The cadets nodded and raised their weapons without hesitation.

Janus hurried down the hall, his fellow cadets hot on his heels.

Up ahead, Janus could hear the sounds of intense fighting.  Three Adepts were hard pressed by a group of six S.T.s.  Janus recognized one of the adepts as a man named Dunn, with whom he had played more than a few games of Brevis Bellum.

Dunn was crouched behind what little cover he could find, along one of the ribbed supports that ran along the outside of Valhalla.  Four S.T.s pressed upon him.  One Adept was already down, while the other had just been hoisted up from the front of his armor by the leading S.T.  Struggling to break free, the Adept was helpless as he was slammed into a wall.  He went limp immediately.

“Stupid Adept,” the S.T. said.

Janus, Lyn, and Ramirez targeted the front two and dealt with them harshly, firing a burst from their rifles, as the other cadets stepped forward.  Two more S.T.s went down under a hail of fire, but in their haste, the cadets had made an uncoordinated attack – no one had taken a shot at the remaining two S.T.s.

With a yell, one of the S.T.s charged, using his powerful legs to leap forward, straight at the cadets.

Janus was surprised by the maneuver, it seemed far too quick thinking and brave for an S.T., but his trained instincts did the job when his mind could not.  He fired once into the S.T.’s chest and the armored hulk went down without protest.  He stared at the S.T. for a moment before realizing that the second, and probably smarter S.T., had tossed his weapon and was running at full speed away from the group.  The young-faced Nathans stepped up, “I’ve got him.”

He fired twice, and the S.T. fell forward, unmoving.  Janus turned to congratulate him on his quick thinking, but Nathan
s’ face stopped him.

Nathans lowered his weapon slowly, looking visibly shaken.

Janus felt a pit in his stomach, looking at Nathans, but he couldn’t focus on it.  Instead, he turned to the group, “Good work, everyone, but we can’t afford to stop.”

“I…just…killed him…and he wasn’t
even armed…he was running away,” Nathans stammered, staring at the body down the hall.  Janus turned to look at him again, not knowing what to say.

He paused, thinking about the S.T.  It was a faceless entity, a metal monstrosity that had constantly haunted his childhood and prowled his nightmares, wasn’t it?  S.T.s were scum, men and women who had sold their soul for a bit of power.

But Marcus...
  a little voice whispered.  It echoed like a mix of Clara and Celes.  Janus felt confused, and pushed it all from his mind.  Now was not the time.

Lyn came up to console Nathans, “You did what needed to be done to save other lives.  Fighting a man who wouldn’t have thought twice had the situation been reversed.” 

Nathans looked at her, still in a state of shock, but his eyes reflected his appreciation at her words.

Dunn had come out from his cover and was tending to his teammates as Lyn spoke, but he glanced over at her briefly and nodded.

Lyn smiled grimly at Nathans, “We all have to face such things eventually.”  She motioned with her head at the S.T. that she had killed.  Ramirez came up and put a huge, but gentle hand on her shoulder.  Janus looked over at her, finding himself more than a little disturbed at her words.

“Come on, we need to get moving,” he said quietly, walking over to Dunn.  “How are they?”

“They’ll recover…keep going. I’ll take care of them.  ODIN needs you.”

Janus nodded, realizing that the other cadets had already lined up to follow.  They took off, grim, but determined.

As Janu
s’ team hustled along, Marcus’ came through his earpiece.  “Janus?  Where are you?  We could use some support!”

“We’re on our way; we met some resistance in the hall.”

“Well, you’re about to meet a whole lot more!  They’re everywhere, and I can’t raise any of the officers or Sergeant Wouris.  You’ll be in a good position to hit them from the side, and get around their cover.”

“We will be in position soon
,” Janus responded, “How’s your team holding up?”

“So far, so good.”

“Good,” Lyn interjected, “because here we come!”

Janus, Lyn, and Ramirez came rushing into the main hall, firing as they went, and diving for cover behind the wide columns that dotted the outside of the grand hall. 

A fierce battle was raging around the trunk, Adepts and S.T.s in the thick of it.  They needed to reach the center, secure it, and beat back the S.T.s.  The trunk was the key to the whole city.  Janus searched for more cover, looking for a way to get there.  There was nothing.  He had walked around Valhalla for months and it was only now that he realized how open the grand hall was – other than a few benches and plantings, the huge distance between him and the canal that ringed the trunk was essentially a dead zone.  Any Adept or S.T. that tried to cross it was quickly taken down, and bodies lay all around the space.

Most of the S.T.s seemed to be pouring from two sections, the primary launch platform, and the mess.  Adepts still controlled the
trunk, Janus noted with relief, but the S.T.s were making great strides to the center, using their numbers and strength to break through.  Janus could see a group of S.T.s already clustered around one of the doors into the central column, attempting to force their way in.  A few of the more intelligent S.T.s leapt into the canal and were using it as cover.

“Marcus!  We need to take the canal before the S.T.s realize how valuable an asset it is!  If we can eliminate what little forces are in the canal, we’ll have a free run to move around wherever we please with the canal providing cover. 
We can hit the S.T.s on both sides!”

There was a pause.  “Good idea, Janus.  I’ll go. With a few of my squad, we’ll take the canal as you cover us and then clear it so you can join us,” Marcus responded.

“No,” Janus responded without hesitation, “The S.T.s haven’t responded to us yet, my team can surprise them.”

“And when you do move, the S.T.s will instantly turn and begin firing on you,” Marcus replied, “which will provide my team with just the distraction it needs to get into the canal, while you retreat back to cover.”

“Why don’t you both just run out screaming and get your heads blown off?”  Celes interjected sarcastically.

There was a poignant pause.

“Good idea, Celes,” Marcus said seriously.

“What?”  Celes exclaimed.

Janus thought about it.  “No, no, Marcus is right.  If we both go out together, it may freeze the S.T.s for a moment while they decide who is more important to shoot.  We may be more exposed, but we will be in a much better position to cover each other as we run.”  He paused.  “Besides, with more targets to shoot at, it’s much more likely that at least one of our groups will make it into the canal.”

“So there’s no downside, really,” Marcus laughed.

“Marcus, divide your group up.  I’ll give the count in fifteen seconds.”  Janus said.

Janus turned to face the group.  “Lyn, you’re in charge of the team here.  Give us cover.  I just want a few at my back.  Valers, Thomas.”  The pair slid up behind him.  “You two up for this?”

              “We’ve got you, Janus,” Thomas responded.