The Phoenix Fallacy Book I: Janus (8 page)

“They’re called runes.  It means ‘Chariot of Dawn’,” Jennings gestured to the symbols. 

He saw the look of confusion upon Janus’ face.  “These and the others like them around Valhalla are all that remains of a long-forgotten language.  I once knew a man who hoped fervently that there was a place for the brave souls of the world when they passed on.  He thought that the Corporations had forgotten something about humanity’s soul.  I am not sure I believe in it as he so fervently did, but I tend to agree with his assertion.”  Jennings motioned back towards the trunk, “this citadel is named in honor of that hope.  Valhalla, the halls of the brave.”

Janus felt oddly privy to some strange revelation, but wasn’t sure how to react to it. 
Jennings seemed surprised by his own revelation, too, because he quickly pointed back to the runes, “All of the flight launch bays use the first rune of ‘Chariot’ and either ‘Voyages’, ‘Protection’, ‘Dawn’, or ‘Hail’, each determined by whatever purpose is intended for the bay.   The ‘Dawn’ bay will eventually be used for scouting craft, but this section is mostly used for storage right now.”  As the door shut behind him with a solid thud, the long hall lit up dimly, with glowing strips of light illuminating the floor.  The lights raced just ahead of the pair, extinguishing behind them.

“Power preservation,” Jennings commented.  All of the doors were shut, but Janus paused briefly to peer inside one.  It slid open to expose half completed suits of Trooper armor in the dim glow from the hall.  Jennings kept walking,
creating a small island of light around each of them.

Jennings called out over his shoulder, “Come on son, I’ve got something more important to show you than some rusty Trooper armor and I usually don’t give tours.”  Janus hurried to catch up, until the two islands
of light once again merged into one.  At the end of the hall, Janus leaned forward curiously as Jennings waved open a heavy metal door decorated with the seal of ODIN.  It slid away silently to expose a wide hanger.  The hanger was deathly still, and Jennings footsteps echoed as he walked across the floor to the huge bay door.  Above him, Janus could see a pair of long, sleek shapes, with angular noses, like the prow of a ship.  Each had four engines, one situated on each of the four corners of the craft, with the front pair slightly behind the cockpit.  The strange looking vehicle had no wings to speak of, but many hatches:  two in the back and along the bottom, and two very heavy doors along the sides.

Jennings glanced upward, “Longboats.  High speed armored transport and landing craft. The prow deflects incoming fire and can even ram into buildings and doors to create a hole.  They only need one engine to fly, two to hover.”  Jennings pushed a few buttons on a glowing display on the far side of the hanger and waved the translucent panel back into the wall.  There was the sound of heavy machinery churning and cranking.  He nodded to the pair of longboats again, “The side hatches operate on special hinges that
can open in any direction for protective cover or convenience.”

But Janus had stopped listening.  The great bay door was opening, creating a platform that slowly extended out of the city, and exposing a setting sun disappearing over a verdant green pine forest.  The tops of the trees looked like tiny green brushes from so far above.  A dull roar echoed from the earth below; the engines of Valhalla as they pushed the city gracefully along.

As he walked out into a purple sky, a fresh breeze swept along the platform, wrapping him in its cool embrace.  With his back to the setting sun, he could just make out snow-capped mountains sparkling in the fading light.

Janus stood for several moments, still in awe of the outside world, deeply breathing the cool air as the giant city floated its way over the landscape.  Turning to stare at the setting sun, Janu
s’ struggling eyes welled up.  No matter what happened here, or what Jennings intended, it all would have been worth it, just for this.

Jennings waited patiently for Janus to join him at the edge of the platform. 

“Is the city always on the move?”  Janus asked as he came to stand beside him, watching as a flock of birds startled from the forest, disturbed by the roaring engines.

Jennings nodded solemnly, “Yes.  We must always remain mobile.  The risk is too great otherwise.”

Janus looked back at the city from the edge of the platform.  He could see the scorched and blackened plates upon its pearly exterior, the holes like scars upon its beautiful features.

Jennings motioned his arm towards the pockmarks, “Risks that you can see, right now.  But our movement is not strictly defensive.  It’s for trading, too.  Trading keeps us afloat – literally, now that the
Corporations have fewer military skirmishes, let alone jobs for us.’

‘With the completion of our trading with Cerberus, however, we are bound for the ocean for a while.  We have no jobs on the horizon, and it is never wise to become predictable.  Our sojourn will give us a chance to focus on our new cadets, and keep our abilities honed.”

He turned away from the city, looking out over the forest.

“
But, I believe you were asking about our vulnerabilities?”

Janus nodded.

Jennings pointed down, over the edge, and Janus peered into the creeping dark of dusk.  At first, he thought he was just staring at more rocky terrain shadowed by the mountains and the setting sun, but he soon realized he was staring at a city.  It was a black, twisted mess, and the approaching twilight only made it more difficult to discern.

“That,” Jennings said, “is all that remains of Phoenix Corporation.  It made the mistake of attacking an Adept Legion.”

“Adepts did that?”  Janus was in awe.

“Yes.  Phoenix was once the most powerful corporation in the world.  Many years ago, Phoenix tried to capture an Avalon-class fortress, not unlike this one, and use it as a Trojan horse.”

“Trojan horse?”

Jennings
glanced at him and smiled, “A deception of sorts, an effort to make someone believe you have good intentions when you do not.”

He looked back to the broken waste, “It wasn’t a bad idea.  Corporations regularly trade with us; we’re the trusted middlemen, or perhaps, more trusted than another Corporation.  A Legion that is involved in trade negotiations never attacks a Corporation.  And a Corporation will never attack Adepts while they trade.  Even before Phoenix was destroyed, that was the unwritten code; but Phoenix - Phoenix demonstrated what would happen when that code was broken,” there was a tinge of bitterness in his voice.

Janus remained silent, feeling that it would be inappropriate to speak.

“To this day, I’m not entirely sure why they attacked.”

“There was no reason for it?” Janus prodded –
the idea that someone could challenge a Corporation…

Jennings
shook his head, “None.  I have many theories, but as for facts, I have few.  Some say they needed something.  Some say they were testing themselves.  There are even rumors that it was integral in some way to Phoenix Serum.”

“Phoenix Serum?”  Janus asked.

Jennings gaze was distant, “An elixir, a drug – a mythical substance that grants super strength, or perhaps wealth, or immortality.”  Jennings grimaced, “Or one of many things man is willing to sacrifice so much for – and brings him so little.  All of it is uncertain.  No one knows much about it, and even less about the reasons for the battle that day.  But I do know Phoenix made at least one mistake.  Phoenix underestimated us – they underestimated the Adepts.’

‘
But it has always been that way,” Jennings added reflectively.  “Corporations believe adepts to be nothing more than clubs, brute force weapons like their armies of Security Troopers.”  He gave a hollow laugh, “And no matter what we say, or what we do, they will always think little of us.  We are merely an avenue to rid themselves of troublemakers.  That is why so often we leave so many people behind in our trades, like the group we left behind in Cerberus.  In the eyes of the Corporations, the best of the best are Executors, and everyone else is rabble.  But their arrogance plays to our favor, too.  Everyone here is a castoff from a Corporation, and fortunately for us, the Corporations have never realized the magnitude of their loss.  It is the reason Phoenix is the twisted heap you see now.  It is the reason they attacked SHADE.”

“Is that another Adept Legion?”  Janus asked.

Jennings avoided looking at him, “Was.  SHADE was destroyed in the battle.’

‘SHADE had come to engage in trade, but Phoenix launched a surprise attack upon them and their Avalon-class Fortress, the Elysium Fields.  Phoenix ambushed and killed the SHADE’s Praetor, who
was engaged in the negotiations,” he paused to answer Janus’ unspoken question, “The Praetor is the leader and highest ranking officer of an Adept Legion.’

‘
No doubt Phoenix expected SHADE would quickly surrender with the loss of their leader and the prospect of total annihilation.  They might have been right if we—,” Jennings paused, “Mercenaries—were anything like the soldiers they believed us to be; the soldiers for hire of centuries ago.”

He stared out at the last rays of the setting sun, and his grey hair suddenly made the man appear very old to Janus.

“But Adepts are very different.”  Jennings eyes were piercing as he turned, the light casting his face in shadow.  “I know in the slums, trust is a luxury.  But it is a necessity here for the functioning of our units.  You will have to learn that quickly to survive.”  Janus was silent, strangely compelled to listen.

“
We Adepts may sell our blades to the highest bidder, but we broke free of the Corporations for reasons very different from power and wealth.  And our Avalon fortresses are more than just mobile bases, they are the very homes that we hold dear.  Generations of Adepts have been raised in such places, and in many ways, Legions are giant families.  Phoenix did not understand that.”

Jennings pointed back down at the wreckage, “
In the end, and knowing they were doomed, SHADE Adepts sacrificed themselves by the hundreds to break through Phoenix lines and into the deepest, most heavily protected sections of the Corporation,” Jennings was speaking reverently now, in awe of the courage of the overwhelmed men and women. “They exterminated the Executor caste of Phoenix and its leadership.  In one fell swoop, SHADE inflicted irreparable damage upon Phoenix.” 

Janus returned his gaze to the blackened ruins.

“Soon the other Corporations learned of Phoenix’s weakness and struck, wiping all traces of it from the earth.  This is all that remains of that once mighty corporation, a few blackened and twisted scraps.”

Jennings shook his head, “
Many suspected Phoenix had plotted to forever alter the balance of power in the world with their attack on SHADE, and in the end, it did.  But not in the way it hoped.  After Phoenix was nothing but ash, two major declarations rose from it:  The SHADE Continuum, which stated that the Adept Legions, no matter what wars erupted between them, would band together to attack any corporation that attacked one of their own.”

“And the second?”  Janus asked curiously.

“The Phoenix Declaration,” Jennings grimaced, “A proclamation of treaty lines for corporate expansion and a set of rules to govern how Corporations attack each other, including the prohibition of nuclear weapons.”  Jennings and Janus stared silently while the city finally passed the edge of the ruins. 

Incredible.

Janus watched for as long as he could before the broken Corporation finally disappeared in the dark.

The walk back through the flight bay had been a silent one.  For reasons unknown to him, Janus felt as if he had heard a speech Jennings had rarely felt compelled to give, and for equally unfathomable reasons, he felt compelled to mull over each and every piece.  They soon emerged back into the main hall, and crossed a branch to the trunk.  Just shy of the massive column, Jennings stopped unexpectedly, asking, “Do you know how to recognize rank?”

Janus
startled from his reverie, and shook his head, “S.T.s?  They’re a joke.  Why bother?”

Jennings smiled, “I thought not.  If you did, you would have realized we have the same insignia system as the
Corporations, although the terminology can be very different.  You should pay more attention to such things, it can be extremely valuable.”

Janus rolled his eyes, “So I can know which guys not to beat too badly?” 

Jennings laughed, “Perhaps.  But this is an Adept Legion – you might not find it as easy as you think.  Besides, we don’t care for a lack of discipline, or an overdeveloped ego.  They tend to get more valuable people killed.”  Janus scowled.  Jennings continued without notice, “The Praetor of ODIN likes breaking egos – it’s a personal mission of his.  You best watch yourself if you come across him.”

“I grew up in the slums – how bad could it be?”  Janus asked.

Jennings came in close to Janus at that moment, his face grim and serious, “You’d be surprised.”

Janus held his ground, but grinned uncomfortably.

Jennings smiled and turned away as if nothing had happened, “Come on, it’s time for you to meet your fellow cadets.”  At the end of the bridge, a tight formation of Adepts waited on the lift.  All were heavily muscled and toned, and their armored uniforms only added to their bulk.  Janus felt surprisingly scrawny next to them.  Even the female adepts, who were more tone than muscular, were fearsome.  And Jennings, despite his age, was no less fit.