The Phoenix Project (25 page)

    
“I guess I never really thought of it that
way.”

    
“To someone on the field of battle, victory
can overcome the greater scope of the war,” Lathiel said.

    
“I thought your species was passive?”

    
“We are,” Lathiel said.

    
“So where does that come from?”

    
“An old axiom of ours from over a
millennium ago when we were a much more aggressive race. It’s one of the few
remaining relics from that time,” Lathiel said.

    
“And still has meaning today,” Ranik said
with a slow shake of his head.

    
“There is wisdom to it, though,” Elliot
said. “Who were you at war with a thousand years ago?”

    
“Each other,” Ranik replied and walked back
into their dark quarters.

    
“Excuse us, we do need another hour or so
of sleep,” Lathiel said.

    
“Yes, I was going to suggest you get some
rest.”

    
Lathiel gave him an appreciative, but
fatigued smile before closing the door.

    
Maria looked at the door with a forkful of
food halfway to her mouth. The chime was not entirely unwelcome but surprising
considering she had no reason to expect any visitors. Maria had never served on
Outpost Fourteen and knew of no one from her past serving there now.

    
“Come in,” she said just before the fork
entered her mouth. She was chewing on a piece of chicken breast from her dinner
tray when the door slid open. Fleet Admiral Nelson stood at the threshold. His
coal colored eyes seemed to absorb the light of the overhead lamp lighting her
meal. She nearly upended the tray as she scrambled out of bed to stand at
attention.

    
“At ease,” Nelson said. “Sit down Maria. It’s
alright.”

    
“Yes, Sir,” she relaxed onto the raised
backrest of the bed.

    
“How’s the food?”

    
“Not bad for hospital food, Sir,” she
replied.

    
“There’s no need to stand on formality,
Maria. This is just a friendly visit.”

    
“A friendly visit all the way to Outpost
Fourteen?” Maria asked.

    
“It was on my way.”

    
“To where? Antares?” she asked, doubtfully.

    
“Okay, this isn’t entirely a friendly
visit.”

    
“What are you really here for?”

    
“I wanted to give you the informal version
of this before you received the official one.”

    
“The Fleet Admiral has come all this way to
hold my hand.”

    
“Do you have the crystalline implant yet?”

    
“Don’t change the subject,” she replied.

    
“I’m getting to it. Do you have the eye
yet?”

    
“Yes. I have depth perception again. Now
get to the point.”

    
“Same old Maria,” he said and sighed.
“We’ve called for a court martial.”

    
“For what?” she asked.

    
“You know better than to ask that question.
A ship was lost under your command. It is standard procedure.”

    
“Sacrificing that ship won the battle,” she
said.

    
“I know that and I agree with your
decision.”

    
“Then call it off,” she said.

    
“Even I can’t do that. It would violate
military law.”

    
“Fine.”

    
“This is just a formality. I’ve got half a
dozen Admirals that want to pin a medal on your chest for God’s sake.”

    
“I said fine.”

    
“Why are you acting like this?”

    
“Is there anything else, Admiral?”

    
“It’s not happening for a couple of weeks. You
will have time to recover,” he said.

    
“When am I expected?”

    
“In three weeks. Will you be well enough to
attend?”

    
“Yes, Admiral. Where is it being held?”

    
“Honolulu,
Hawaii,” he replied.

    
“Yes, Sir.”

    
“No bikini or beach jokes?” Nelson asked.
Maria regarded him with a cold stare and said nothing. “Good—bye, Maria.”

    
“Fleet Admiral,” she said and gave him an
official salute. A disappointed Nelson turned away from her and left the
hospital room.

    
Peter traveled by ground car to Phoenix
Base. The great body of water was showing signs of life, thanks to the many
rivers entering and exiting from it. Peter had been one of the supporters for
physically connecting the island to the mainland. The idea gathered more
momentum when it was discovered the growing sea had a large collection of tiny
islands dotting its surface. The process of using them to link the base with
the rest of civilization was difficult but rewarding. Nearly twenty islands
were connected by a series of bridges that began near Minnesota
and ended at Black Hills
Island. Peter was on the
last one in an open ground car speeding towards the islet on a foot of air. He
had called in a favor from one of his ex—
Excalibur
crewmates in order to
ensure he would have it all to himself.

    
He breathed deeply of the natural, non—manufactured
air. Three gleaming white domes some five hundred yards in diameter at their
foundations appeared on the horizon. As he closed the distance to the pristine
complex, the large multi—tiered connecting structures rose into view.

    
With the completion of the base, the
Excalibur
crews had been kept on with the promise of a permanent assignment in the near
future. The brass had been elusive as to exactly what this new posting was
despite numerous polite inquiries as to what had been planned. Peter had
carefully manipulated the Alliance
network in an effort to uncover the information. After hours of effort he had
discovered their secret.

    
A prototype.

    
That was all he could uncover without
further investigation into the files. They were of such a high level of
classification that only the admiralty had full knowledge of it. Any attempt by
him to access those files would bring a slew of security forces on him. It took
him far less effort to manipulate the system into a posting that would allow
him to remain at the base. Peter was now one of the officers that would handle
incoming and outgoing communications once the base was completed.

    
He looked up into the sky as he neared the
massive installation. The last debris of the Moon had been forced into a ring
around Earth now visible as a silver band across the sky.

    
The INN
had spent weeks reporting on the changes to Earth as a result of the now absent
lunar tides.

    
He shifted the car to a lower gear and
entered the Phoenix Base through a large garage door. The concrete tunnel led
him into the underground area of one of the three domes. The vast area beneath
this portion of the base housed parking for the fleet of assorted vehicles
stationed at the base. The other dome had a large engineering complex beneath
it, and the final one had the four story command center.

    
Peter felt invigorated as he shut off the
engine and walked towards an elevator that would be the first step toward his
quarters. His first assignment was to finalize last preparations for Admiral
Frederick’s inspection tomorrow. He thought of the many chores to complete as
he whistled to himself in the empty parking garage.

    
Elliot exited the shuttle that had taken
him and Joshua to the completed Phoenix Base. He squinted in the bright light
of the afternoon sun. An officer greeted him on one of several tarmacs for
visiting craft. Joshua came out of the shuttle behind Elliot and stood beside
him as the officer approached the two.

    
“Admiral,” The officer said and saluted
them. “I am Lieutenant—Commander Peter Stuart, formerly of the
Excalibur
.”

    
“Commander, I take it you served with Maria
Peterson,” Elliot said, extending his hand.

    
“Yes, I had the pleasure of serving with
Admiral Peterson,” he said, shaking Elliot’s hand. “We are all very proud of
what she did to win the battle against the Coalition. Shall I show you the
base? I think you’ll be very proud of what we have accomplished in the short
time given to us.”

    
“Please show us the way,” Elliot said to
his new acquaintance.

    
Peter brought them through a small access
way into the innards of the nearest white dome. The corridors were bright and
smelled of fresh paint. He took an abrupt left into a small elevator. Joshua
gave Peter a questioning look as he pressed a button for one of the underground
levels of the base.

    
“I know it seems odd to start in the
basement, Captain, but I think you’ll want to see the command center first.
It’s definitely the most impressive part of the complex.”

    
“Lead on,” Elliot said. The elevator
stopped its downward movement and chimed arrival to a subbasement level.

    
Peter led them down a long corridor with
several doors which led into the many corners and crevices of the large
structure. After several minutes of walking down the corridor with Joshua taking
note of the many small signs indicating barracks, lavatories, generator rooms
and a plethora of other locations the trip ended with a large double door at
the end of the hallway.

    
Peter tapped a code into a small panel on
the wall next to the doors. They parted to reveal a four storey open area three
hundred feet long and eighty feet wide. Every level had a wide surrounding deck
lined by a railing and each deck had a row of stations on every wall. The head
station of each floor looked out on the large space and rose no higher than the
railing so as to not obstruct the commanding officer’s view.

    
The bottom floor was covered in horseshoe
shaped consoles. A raised platform was at the far end of the room. A grey,
cushioned chair sat on the platform and was surrounded by four wedge shaped
consoles.

    
“That is the command chair,” Peter said,
following his gaze. He led them through the many stations on the main floor of
the command area and finally, to the center seat. For the first time, Elliot
noticed a railing around the edge of the platform. Peter swung open a small
section of it, allowing the two to pass onto the platform, and closed it behind
the three of them.

    
“I like this part the best, Sir,” Peter
said and tapped a small button on the armrest of the chair. A surprised gasp
escaped Elliot’s lips as he felt himself accelerated upwards. He looked around
to discover the platform was hovering next to the top floor of the command
center.

    
“Does it fly around the room or what?”
Joshua asked.

    
“Just directly up and down,” Peter said.
“It will give you quick access to the other decks if there is anything that you
need to personally view.”

    
“And I don’t have to take the stairs.”

    
“This place is big enough to command the
whole fleet,” Joshua said.

    
“If necessary,” Peter said in a calm,
steady voice. “The brass decided that Phoenix
should be a backup to command operations if necessary.”

    
“All the better for you,” Joshua said to
Elliot.

    
“Thanks. Peter, when will the center be up
and running?”

    
“It is now.”

    
“I thought the deadline for full
operational capability was tomorrow. I was willing to extend the deadline if
necessary.”

    
“We were able to finish ahead of time,” he
replied.

    
“Very good, Commander.”

    
“Are you going to get off my ship now?”
Joshua asked Elliot.

    
“No.”

    
“You are supposed to take command,” Joshua
said.