Omega Force 6: Secret of the Phoenix (15 page)

There’d been a really awkward incident where everyone assumed Kage was in his quarters and didn’t feel well. Two days later and they realized they’d left him on a planet with no money and no identification. The Veran was highly insulted by the whole thing and refused to call them for a pickup out of pride. He was so pissed off that he wouldn’t speak once he was back onboard for almost a full week. It was possible he’d still be giving them the silent treatment except that Jason disabled all the manual controls in the galley. Kage was forced to either speak or starve. Once the dam burst and he was talking again he was back to his old self in a couple of days. Jason still wondered if he’d made the right choice.

“How soon?” he asked as he and Lucky walked by the starboard engineering bay.

“Three minutes to start the reactor, another ten to charge the emitters,” Twingo called back.

“You can start them on the run, we’ll leave on thrusters,” Jason said. As a point of pride he didn’t want his ship sitting powerless on the
Defiant
for too long with everyone, including the deck boss, watching and snickering as a gunship that looked like it had seen better days took an extended amount of time to take off.

For as much as he loved to give Twingo a hard time, he had to admit that the more time he spent out in space the more he came to appreciate how good the engineer really was. He was going to cold start an anti-matter reactor in five minutes and most likely do it without killing them all or bombarding them with neutron radiation. While they were tied into the battlecruiser’s power he had kept the fuel system and the anti-matter isolators powered up so all he had to do was initialize fuel flow and coax the reactor up to full operating power.

“Thanks for deafening me, asshole,” Crusher said when Jason walked onto the bridge. The human curse word was quickly becoming his favorite once he’d really thought through what it meant. The implants they all had tended to find the best substitute for known idioms so one night he, Jason, and Kage had sat around, bored out of their minds, and decided to break down all their respective cultures’ curse words in order to see who belonged to the most foul-mouthed species. Kage won hands down, so much so that Crusher became physically ill at a few of the Veran terms.

“Sorry,” Jason said. “I must have misspoken when I talked to the computer. I was trying to turn the lights on in the cargo bay.”

“The deck boss has cleared us for movement,” Kage said. “The area is clear behind the ship.” Jason brought up the rear video feed and released the brakes. He backed the
Phoenix
out of her parking berth and swung the nose around until they were facing the forward elevator. Kage held up a hand, stopping him. He read his display for a moment before turning to Jason.

“We’re being directed to the port tactical launch port,” he said, clearly confused. “He says there’s an issue with the elevator to the flight deck.”

“Bullshit,” Jason said. “He’s screwing with us. Ask again.” Even as Kage got on the com for actual voice communication, Jason could see the heavy doors opening up for the launch tube. The tubes were enormous and on both sides of the ship, able to easily accommodate the
Phoenix
. They led outboard and forward so that ships could be launched out of the hangar without compromising the hull or wasting time by using the elevator. Ships were kept centered in the tube by overlapping forcefields while powerful blast shields allowed them to keep the doors open and cycle ships through quickly.

“Confirmed,” Kage said, pointing at the arrows on the deck now leading them to the launch tube entrance. “What is going on?”

“The containment fields play hell with grav-drives,” Jason explained. Once we’re in the tube he thinks we’re going to have to sit there sputtering while the computer sorts out how to adjust the drive emitters. We can’t use maneuvering thrusters because they aren’t strong enough to overcome the fields holding us in the tube.”

“This is bizarre,” Kage said as the
Phoenix
slid through the atmospheric barrier and onto the launch platform.

“Twingo! I need the plasma ducts hot as soon as you get the reactor up!” Jason called over the intercom.

“
What?! Why?”

“I’ll explain later,” Jason said. “Actually, you’ll probably figure it out. Just do it.” Jason reached over and pre-configured his engine management panel so that his settings would be initialized as soon as the reactor was up.

“Forcefields are in place over the door,” Kage reported. “Gravity will be shut off in the tube in three minutes and the containment fields will kick in soon after.”

“As soon as we’re captured by the containment fields and they’re stable, retract the landing gear,” Jason said. “How strong do you think that forcefield is behind us?”

“Theoretically it should protect against a tactical nuke fired down the tube,” Kage shrugged.

“Good to know,” Jason said, leaning back.

He felt the ship rock and sway as it was picked up off the deck and suspended between the containment fields. Kage looked at him skeptically, but retraced the landing gear without question. Twingo almost set a new personal best for hungover reactor starting when six minutes later Jason saw the backup power drop out on his power management panel and the reactor take over. When it spooled up to sixty percent the ship began to rumble and vibrate.

“
Captain! The mains are in emergency pre-start!
” Twingo’s frantic call came over the intercom.

“I know,” Jason called back. He watched his indicators until the muffled
boom
of the mains switching from startup to operational mode rocked the ship within the fields. Jason took a deep cleansing breath, knowing the ass-chewing he was in for, and slammed the throttle down.

The
Phoenix
roared as her main engines came to full power and filled the confined tunnel with millions of pounds of pressure. The gunship rocketed down the length of the launch tube and shot out of the
Defiant’s
port bow like a cannonball from a naval gun. Warnings were sounding through the bridge, but Jason ignored them as he cranked the ship over to port and kept the engines at full power. He wasn’t completely confident Kellea wouldn’t shoot at him so he wanted to get some distance.

“Ah … we’ve got a com request coming in from the
Defiant
,” a shell-shocked Kage said. “It seems pretty insistent.”

“Put it through,” Jason said calmly. Kellea’s red face popped up on his com panel; her mouth opened and closed a few times but no sounds came out.

“What. Was. That?” she ground out finally.

“Hey!” Jason said pleasantly. “We were just departing in the most expeditious way we could. With the flight deck elevators being down we didn’t want to hold you up by trying to start a grav-drive inside of a tactical launch tube.”

“What are you talking about?” she said, not calming down but needing to maintain some level of professionalism while on her bridge.

“You mean the elevators aren’t broken?” Jason asked in mock surprise. “So your deck boss lied to us?”

“No, the elevators are not down as far as I know,” Kellea said, her nostrils flaring. “Your little stunt overloaded the launch tube field emitters and the shock wave from those ridiculous engines overpressured the hangar and sent anything not bolted down on the port side flying.”

“My apologies,” Jason said. “I was just trying to do as I was told.”

“We will speak of this later,” she said ominously.

“If we must,” Jason agreed. “But please tell your deck boss if he jerks me around again I’ll make sure he’s inside the launch tube before starting the engines.”

Kellea didn’t answer, instead just nodding to her com officer to kill the signal. The bridge of the
Phoenix
descended into a shocked silence. Jason stared off contemplatively for a moment. “Still worth it,” he finally decided. He pulled the throttle back and then shut the engines down.

“She is going to kill you,” Kage whispered in awe.

“No, but she will make me regret that,” Jason said.

“The captain’s insane actions aside, have you noticed how a few of the senior officers on the
Defiant
have started treating us like shit?” Crusher said.

“It’s not surprising,” Doc said. “They serve with the beautiful Captain Colleren all day, every day. Then here comes our roguish mercenary, Captain Burke, and before anyone knows it, he’s bedding her.” Everyone turned and looked at him for a moment.

“You know,” Jason said, “somehow when you try to say it in a delicate manner it sounds even dirtier than when Kage says it.”

“Wait,” Crusher said. “So we’re getting jerked around over petty jealousy?”

“Probably not anymore,” Kage laughed. “I imagine since she can’t get her hands on Jason the deck boss is going to suffer her wrath.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Jason admitted. “I’ve seen that look. She’s probably going to demote him. If he’s lucky.”

“The grav-drive is up, you maniac,” Twingo said as he walked onto the bridge. “Slip-drive will be ready in another ten minutes or so.”

“Excellent,” Jason said expansively. “Kage, set a course for A’arcoon, best possible speed. Coordinate with Twingo and let him determine how hard we’ll push the engines and when he wants to drop into real-space for inspection and maintenance.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to go grab something to drink and contemplate my future, however short it may be,” Jason said.

Chapter 17

Three days into the nine day slip-space flight and the numb, autonomous routine the crew always settled into was in full swing. Twingo and Jason sat in the galley eating, but neither talking to each other. There was no animosity or discomfort, there just wasn’t really anything to talk about.

“Jason, what are we missing?” Twingo asked suddenly, making Jason jump. “Where on this ship haven’t we looked?” When they were alone Twingo almost never called him “Captain.”

“The encryption module?” Jason asked. When Twingo nodded, he continued, “I defer to you when it comes to anything regarding the inner workings of this ship. Part of me is afraid that the Eshquarians melted it down with the rest of the old equipment they pulled off her. It was sent to a recycling plant without anyone realizing what, or where, it was.”

“Whoever hid it on this ship would have had to put it someplace where they could be assured it would never be taken out, even during heavy repairs,” Twingo said, talking mostly to himself. His eyes widened and he turned to Jason. “What’s the one component that is never replaced on a starship of this size? The one thing that when it’s damaged beyond repair usually means a scrapped or destroyed vessel?”

“The main reactor?” Jason said, frowning. “Wasn’t that swapped out too?”

“No,” Twingo said, getting excited. “Well, not really. The DL series has a reactor that is really too big for a ship of its size, mostly in order to provide plasma to the mains while still being able to fully power the converters. The Eshquarians replaced the injector assemblies and the main intermix chamber, but the reactor housing is vintage Jepsen.”

“Wait,” Jason said, holding his hand up. “There’s no way the encryption module can be inside the reaction chamber. It would be destroyed and your instruments would detect a foreign object inside.”

“I think that it is,” Twingo insisted. “It’s in there somewhere. They’ve found some way to keep it safe.”

“Well, I’m not shutting down my main reactor in interstellar space, weeks away from any potential rescue,” Jason said. “Get a proposal together and bring it to me. We’ll go over it and then once the
Defiant
gets to A’arcoon you can satisfy your curiosity.”

“Thanks, Jason,” Twingo said and hopped down out of his seat. He rushed off to the engineering spaces, leaving most of his meal untouched. Jason smiled and shook his head as his friend raced off. He mechanically shoveled food into his mouth, thinking about Twingo’s theory. He had to admit, if he wanted to hide something small it would make sense to put it in something that would almost never be taken off the ship. The anti-matter reactor’s main chamber was an amazingly simple machine, so it was unlikely anybody would ever really climb into it during the life of the ship. He shook his head, as if disagreeing with himself. The forces at play inside the reactor when it was operating were beyond his comprehension. He just couldn’t imagine a delicate piece like the encryption module surviving.

****

The planet A’arcoon was much how they’d left it when they’d ferried the remaining A’arcooni back after they’d tracked down Deetz and Lucky tore his head off. Jason stared down at the lush, vibrant planet and reflected on how he felt about the unfortunate species.

He felt he should harbor a deep anger and distrust for a species that had attacked his homeworld without provocation. He dug down deep and tried to pull up the old resentments just to see if they were still as potent as they’d been when he’d stepped off Earth’s surface for the last time. But there was nothing there, not even pity. Oddly enough, he found he looked forward to landing and seeing what sort of life the aliens had put together. It was strange to think that this population, spanning only a few generations, was a group of refugees on their own planet of birth.

“Everything looks like it did when we left,” Doc reported. “Energy signature from the reactor Crisstof donated is unchanged, no signs of industrialization and no weapons.”

“It’s about what I expected,” Jason said. “I didn’t think they’d take their second chance and trash their planet all over again.”

“We’re getting a message from the surface,” Kage said, making a weird face. “They’re asking to speak to us.”

“Put it through,” Jason shrugged.

“Greetings, Omega Force,” an ornately dressed A’arcooni said with a deep bow. “You honor us with your presence. We humbly welcome you. If you would be so good as to proceed to the provided coordinates we will join with you there.”

“Uh, thanks,” Jason said. “I guess we’ll see you when we get down there.”

“Of course, noble Captain Jason Burke,” the A’arcooni bowed again and the transmission terminated.

“There were coordinates embedded in that signal,” Kage said. “It’s in that city center you guys walked through the first time we came here.”

“I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that isn’t their normal spaceport,” Jason said.

“Noble, huh?” Crusher said. “Wait until I show them some of the pictures I have of you. The Noble Captain Burke, puking in the gutter on Aracoria.”

“Plot me an entry vector,” Jason said to Kage, ignoring Crusher.

“I know you hear me,” Crusher said, spinning back so he could look out the canopy.

****

The
Phoenix
thundered over the city and wrapped into a tight turn so Jason could try and drop her down into the square that was now packed with cheering A’arcooni. He dropped the landing gear and tried to find a spot where he thought the ship would fit. Finally giving up, he just began a slow descent and trusted that the crowd would be smart enough to move.

The ship touched down with a soft bump and since there was no outcry from the crowd outside Jason assumed he hadn’t squished any locals. “Okay guys,” he said. “I’m not sure what the hell is going on here, but let’s not have an incident. Sidearms only. Except for Lucky, of course.”

“Can I stay in here?” Crusher asked.

“No,” Jason said. “Let’s go and get this over with. We need information so don’t provoke them.”

They made their way back to the cargo bay, none of them completely sure what they were walking into. When they had dropped the A’arcooni off it had been at the tail end of an utterly exhausting mission, both physically and emotionally. So far as they could recall they had dumped them back on the surface with little ceremony and blasted off as fast as the
Phoenix
could carry them, leaving all the logistical details to Crisstof and the
Diligent
.

There was a pent-up energy outside that was palpable as the rear ramp lowered. The ramp seemed to be taking longer than usual as Jason stood impatiently at the top. By no planning on their part, they all exited the cargo bay in a single file. When Jason became visible a huge cheer went up from the assembled crowd, and female A’arcooni were even throwing flowers on him. When Lucky emerged, however, a deafening roar went up that seemed to shake the square.

“Wave to them,” Jason told him out of the corner of his mouth.

Hesitantly, Lucky waved to the crowd and, unbelievably, they responded with even more energy. Then, as quickly as it started, the crowd hushed to a respectful murmur. They pushed back away from the ramp and parted as a procession of officious looking A’arcooni walked forward. Jason had to take a hard look at the one in the lead to see if it was really who he thought it was.

“De’Elefor Ka?” he asked.

“It is just De’Elefor now, my friend,” the A’arcooni said, grasping Jason’s shoulders with genuine affection. “The honorific
Ka
no longer seems appropriate given the circumstances. We have dropped it from our names.”

It took a moment for Jason to remember that it was De’Astor Ka, the originator of the cult that had perverted the teachings of the Travelers, who had started the A’arcooni on their rampage across the galaxy beginning with their own homeworld.

“That makes sense,” Jason said. “I must say, De’Elefor, we’re a bit surprised at the enthusiasm of our welcome. I wasn’t sure we’d even be allowed to land given our past interactions.”

“From the fires of our battles came the fierce light of truth,” De’Elefor proclaimed, reminding Jason how prone the A’arcooni were to melodrama. “You set us free from the lies that enslaved us to a savage life of slow deaths aboard decrepit ships and attacking unsuspecting planets. We even attacked your homeworld.” When De’Elefor said this the crowd gave a soft moan and hung their heads.

“But instead of exacting your revenge upon us,” De’Elefor said, raising his voice again, “you delivered us back to the nest of our birth place. You have given us back something we though lost forever: A’arcoon. We can never repay our debt to you.”

“I’m sure we’ll think of something,” Jason said with a wink. “It looks like you guys are really getting along here. The last time I was here this city was deserted and dead. You’ve done a lot in a short time.”

“We can discuss that at some length, Captain,” De’Elefor said, bobbing his head and causing his plumage to flutter. “If you’ll all follow me we can retire to someplace a bit less chaotic.”

The crew followed him and Jason was surprised when the crowd began to part so they could walk at a normal pace. When they were a few meters away, Jason sent the signal to the
Phoenix
to close the ramp but not to activate the ground defense protocols. The A’arcooni were quiet as they made a path for them that led to what Jason had assumed on his previous trip to be an administrative building. As they walked, the beings of A’arcoon reached out and placed their hands on Jason and Lucky as they passed, lowering their heads as they did. It wasn’t jostling or pushing, it was more of a need to have some tactile connection with the people and events they’d only heard about. After they slipped inside the pyramid-shaped building the crowd quietly dispersed and went their way.

“I apologize for being overly dramatic, Captain,” De’Elefor said once he led them into a large reception room. “I’m sure you remember how we were. For many of our population the ceremony and … religion … of an experience like your return is still very important.”

“I can understand that,” Jason said. As he thought back on his previous interactions with the species, what De’Elefor said did make sense in a loopy sort of way. “But why were Lucky and I singled out?”

“You are the leader, the figurehead of Omega Force,” De’Elefor said as if that should explain it. “As for Lucky, he was the one who talked to me and really broke through the madness. Our official oral history of events figures him quite prominently, including his killing of Deetz. In the minds of the A’arcooni the fact that he would kill one of his own to protect us affirmed his place among us as a hero of the people.”

Jason waved Lucky to silence as he could see that his friend was about to argue the point. It was a harmless fiction that might help them achieve their goals in the end.

“That makes sense,” he said. “I should go ahead and tell you now that Crisstof Dalton’s ship will be some days behind us. Is it okay with you that he takes up orbit over A’arcoon?”

“Of course,” De’Elefor said with a frown, “why wouldn’t it?”

“I just thought it’d be polite to ask first and not assume.”

“I thank you for the courtesy, but it’s unnecessary,” De’Elefor assured him. “We welcome visitors here as we don’t have much contact with the outside anymore. Which leads me to why you’ve come … I can assume that it’s about the female who was here a couple of years ago asking about you. Naleem El?”

“In a way,” Jason said. “She found us recently but after a disagreement we’ve parted ways. We’re trying to retrace her steps and see if there’s anything she discovered here that can help us.”

“I will provide any assistance I can,” De’Elefor said, bowing his head. “I have to tell you, however, that she did not accomplish much on her visit. She mistook our desire to live without the trappings of high technology to mean that we were simple. Her insulting demeanor and casual insults about our intellect did not endear her to us. She left empty-handed.”

“A surprising lack of judgment on her part given her background,” Jason said. “So I take it you’re in charge around here?”

“I ascended to leadership by popular demand,” De’Elefor said, looking somewhat embarrassed. “I fully admit that it was in no small part due to my association with you and the negotiation of surrender that allowed us to come back home after generations away. Of course I will implement a fair election for leadership once we have ratified a new form of government.”

“It’s none of my business,” Jason shrugged. “If this is working for you I’d say there’s nothing wrong with it. So how have you not installed an official government yet?”

“It hasn’t been a big priority,” De’Elefor said. “There aren’t a lot of us to begin with, and so far the decisions we’ve made have been widely accepted. I know that governing by popular consent won’t last forever so we’re trying to put something in place that sets firm rules, something that prevents another De’Astor Ka. To be honest, I was very happy you mentioned Crisstof Dalton is coming here. His further assistance would be most welcome.”

Jason bit his tongue, his comment about Crisstof’s meddling in affairs that didn’t concern him never taking voice. “I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to offer his assistance,” he said, trying not to make a face while he did so. “Before we begin talking about the real reason for our visit, is there a more discreet place we can park our ship? We may be tearing down one of our primary systems and would rather not do heavy maintenance on your city square.”