The Chronicles of Heaven's War: Burning Phoenix (58 page)

(Author’s Note:
The Dogie managed to
survive the upcoming King’s War, serving faithfully in fulfilling
its yeomanly duties transporting animals, supplies, and even troops
to the various theaters of the conflict, Captain UuzuloftChumay
remaining the ship’s commander until it was once again
decommissioned shortly after the end of hostilities. Languishing in
the
Obeb Navy Depot
, nicknamed the ‘Sea of
Derelicts’, because of the tens of thousands of old warships,
fighters, and transports delivered there when the Children’s naval
arm was officially disbanded just before the beginning of the
Fourth Age, the Dogie waited its ignominious fate like that of so
many other ships.

In time, some of the abandoned ships were
revived to new life when, shortly after the beginning days of the
Fourth Age, the offspring of those valiant men and women from the
earlier ages stretched out for the skies in pursuit of their own
destinies. Refitted again as a collier and renamed the
‘
Montauk’
, the Dogie transported fuel rods to and
from the ancient
Pudict
Refinery
, deep in the
CastenRill Star System, for the remainder of its serviceable life.
Abandoned after the Pudict Refinery closed down, the Dogie slowly
became a crumbling ruin.

Tales regarding the history of the King’s
War ignited a passion in the hearts of future generations who had
grown up in an age of peace and longed, through rhyme and verse, to
relive in spirit what their forbears had experienced in flesh. At
long last, the Dogie was delivered to the Naval War Museum at
Tilgath on Pilneser, where the ship was restored to its former
condition when it transported the field marshal and her contingent
on her return voyage to EdenEsonbar.

The Dogie remains at Tilgath on Pilneser
down to this day, a fitting symbol of the courage, valor, and
sacrifice of so many Merchant Mariners who traversed star systems
in these lightly armed craft which were, at times, more fit for the
scrap yard, while often traveling alone on cold, empty seas to
deliver to the armies of the Children’s Empire the needed supplies
that assured them final victory.
Ref:
The periodical
“Ottawa”, Issue Ninety-Two,
Warriors Without
Swords
- UuzuloftChumay
)

Zadar arrived at that moment, interrupting
further discussion. He saluted Captain Uuzuloft and then addressed
the field marshal. “Commander, the wardroom has been readied. Your
lieutenants are gathering there as I speak.”

Trisha thanked Zadar for the information,
and then parted Captain Uuzuloft’s company, encouraging him to
contact her immediately if he felt it necessary. When out of sight
of the Dogie’s crew, Zadar grabbed Trisha’s arm, pulled her close,
planted a huge kiss on her lips, and, standing back to observe the
woman’s shocked surprise, challenged, “I’ll race you to see who
gets there first.”

Trisha scowled angrily, but her twinkling
eyes betrayed her jollity in the moment. Frowning, she replied with
mock condescension, “Lieutenant! I had anticipated more from my
personal adjunct.”

She reached up and began playing with the
buttons on Zadar’s uniform while staring into his eyes, cooing,
“And I expect you to live up to my anticipation later this
evening...” Pulling Zadar close, the she gave him an impassioned
kiss, and then quickly pushing him away, hurried off down the
corridor.

The wardroom was crowded and stuffy, the
area having only recently been cleaned and swept. Dust hung heavy
upon the air, the filtration system designed only for a feed
storage room. Along with commanders, staff officers and the several
adjuncts who flitted in and out of the wardroom, there were often
nearly two dozen souls crowded into what had been a store room for
bedding only hours before.

Using straw bales for chairs and table
supports, there was room for about a dozen people to sit - that is,
if two would share a bale. This was not the intended location for
the meeting, but as General Tolmetes informed the two new arrivals,
“There is such a fuss still going on in the main gallery - the
stables that recently housed the KaminosKtisis now being converted
to a wardroom - what with the electricians, carpenters, and
whoever, still busy trying to put the place together, we felt it
prudent to arrange our first meeting here considering the time. A
little close, true, but still roomier than an Egyptian slave
galley.”

Trisha was pleased, anxious to begin. This
was the first official staff meeting to discuss preparations for
the upcoming war. War? Oh yes, Trisha was certain of it now,
especially since her diplomatic introduction and Asotos’ verbal
trouncing earlier. The woman was feeling heady over her first
confrontation with the enemy, her salvo fired across his bow a
warning of her future intentions. No quarter, no parley! She was
arrived, the savior of this world, and would administer that
authority with power absolute! This war council was a good place
for the new field marshal to begin the demonstration of that
authority.

(Author’s Note:
Lessons are often hard
taught and as this former commander of the Children’s Army has
confessed to me, ‘The last person to know she has reached for a
bridge too far is the one extending her arm.’ As history rightly
testifies, Lowenah had chosen well the child to lead her people in
the coming conflagration, but this child still needed to be taught
humility. As Trisha later acknowledged, ‘An effective leader must
be a humble leader. Humility is often learned at great
cost.’
)

With Tolmetes in the lead, Trisha made her
way to the front of the room. Addressing those in attendance, she
issued her first official order as commander of the Children’s Army
by dismissing the junior officers and staff assistances except for
Zadar and BenettiShupgoe, her personal valet and secretary,
assigned to Trisha’s staff at Lowenah’s request shortly before the
Prisoner Exchange. The woman later became one of the Council of
Eighty.

(Author’s Note:
Benetti’s
name is
rarely found in the annals chronicling the history of the King’s
War. It should be understood by the reader that, except for
Trisha’s romantic interludes with Zadar,
Benetti
was
constantly in the field marshal’s company, often boarding in the
same stateroom if an adjacent office was unavailable. Later, during
the war, after Zadar was reassigned to the Navy as fleet captain,
Trisha drew close to the Benetti for consolation and comfort, they
eventually sharing with each other their dreams and lovers.

Benetti’s voluminous, detailed accounts
recording the field marshal’s life during the tumultuous times of
the King’s War, including their intimate moments together, provides
the most comprehensive compilation of information for any of the
children delivered up from the Lower Realms before or during that
war. Although never officially published, Benetti’s written works,
including her personal diaries, are publicly available for the
reader’s perusal in the Hall of Records at Palace City on
EdenEsonbar.

I have borrowed liberally from her written
accounts and lengthy interviews she has permitted me, to obtain
insight into the heart and mind of the former field marshal during
this time, helping to flesh out my account of the war. Few were the
secrets between these two women, and there was no secret from
Trisha revealed to her that Benetti failed to record with quill and
parchment.

By war’s end, these two women had become
inseparable. Where was the one, you would find the other. This
relationship has lasted well into the Forth Age, Trisha and Benetti
sharing countless, less dangerous adventures together. To this day,
they are close companions, celebrating with exuberance when chance
greets the crossing of their paths.

The novel,
My Inner
Voice
, is a thinly disguised fictional biography about
Trisha’s coming of age in the arms of this woman. Artfully crafted
and brutally honest, the reader is taken on a rollercoaster ride of
emotional intrigue, from guilt forged by a tormented past to the
ecstasy of unrestrained passion through immortal visions.
Misty
, Trisha’s alter-ego in the story, is totally
unabashed about her inner struggles adjusting to the freedoms
offered in this strange and often erotic universe into which she
has been thrust.

Trisha’s own ‘inner voice’, so often
mentioned in her memoirs, was none other than this confidant who
taught her how to trust and love. By her own volition, she admits
that it was Benetti who helped her gradually fall in love with the
children from the Realms Above, helping her to see their world with
sympathetic understanding.

Benetti was also successful in softening
Trisha’s orders and directives given to the army, making them more
palatable to accept. Indeed! Trisha feels that without Benetti’s
assistance, she doubts she could have successfully united Lowenah’s
children under her command. Though the woman is rarely mentioned in
these Chronicles, it is hoped that the reader will recall Benetti’s
loving influence as the inner voice guiding Trisha during those
troublesome days. Always she hides in the shadows of the accounts
written herein.)

After presenting a brief overview of the
military’s current command structure, the supporting role of the
army and its primary strategies, Field Marshal Trisha requested
General HoiO to come forward and discuss the current situation of
the Children’s Empire and its possible implications. He went into
some detail for the benefit of those less familiar with the First
Realm universe. Although sorely tried by several polite intrusions
and, at times, lengthy observations by the new commander, HoiO
dutifully presented his information. The gist of it was thus:

With renewed war all but assured, it was
imperative that the Children’s Empire be prepared to make the
initial strike if permitted by their new king, Mihai, or at least
lash out quickly if the enemy should hit them first. This meant
that preparation for an offensive operation must start immediately,
all the while making ready for the implementation of defensive
measures to protect the Empire. The logistics required to remove
military personnel, supplies and equipment, needed manufacturing
facilities, and possibly a large civilian population, were
monumental in themselves, but this all needed to be accomplished
with great stealth, and without weakening other critical
defenses.

There were one hundred twenty-seven known
jump portals, fifty-one located within the boundaries of the
Empire. Of them, sixteen were vital for security of the Empire,
four critically so: the Hindly Page, Kalahnit Straits, Teleohodos
and Eden’s Gate.

The Hindly Page, located east-southeast,
Q-north of EdenEsonbar, had seen some of the most vicious fighting
over the ages because of its proximity to Stargaton and the Outer
Corridor, one of the main channels leading to and from the
Frontier. Whoever controlled that jump portal could bypass the
dangers of sending their navies down the Corridor, Bloody Valley,
avoiding the Trizentine, Nebulan Cloud Bank, and all the dangers
associated with that channel.

The Kalahnit Straits were named in honor of
EhleenohrKalahnit for her successful defense of Avery, thus saving
the straits for the Children’s Empire, and a month later leading
her army in retaking Mordem. The following year, Ehleenohr was
killed in an ill-fated attack during the Second Siege of
Memphis
.
Although the Kalahnit Straits were far to the west
and north in the Children’s Empire, they were highly desired prizes
for the enemy. A hard run through the Outer Corridor, up and around
the Nebulan Cloud Bank, into the broad Kalahnit Straits, and then
west across open space, and the enemy would have the Kalahnit Jump
Portal in its sights.

Adding to the straits’ vulnerability was the
ease of travel that these spacious channels provided, with few
obstacles and little space debris to impede rapid insertion of a
large battle fleet into that theater. A fast flotilla of cruisers
and dreadnaughts could make the journey from the far eastern range
of the Empire to the straits in three weeks. Major engagements
between opposing forces for that portal had already added thousands
of names to the roster in the Silent Tombs. It was an unquestioned
given that the enemy would again attempt its capture in this
upcoming war and that many more names would be added to that
roster.

And the value of the Kalahnit Straits Jump
Portal? It connected directly into fourteen of the jump portals
located within the Empire. Should the enemy capture it, the amount
of ships needed to protect against invasion through one of those
exposed portals would render the Navy to little more than a
blockading force, making any offensive actions nearly
impossible.

The Teleohodos, ‘Journey’s End’, was closest
of all known jump portals to EdenEsonbar, the home planet, and
gateway to numerous jump portals in the galaxy, but to none in the
Middle Realms. No one seriously feared it was under any real threat
of attack. Being only a few days easy travel from Palace City, it
was in close proximity to several of the military’s space
terminals, making rapid deployment to stage a defense of the portal
an easy matter.

To top this, Lowenah ruled EdenEsonbar, and
might not take lightly an attack against what she considered her
personal home, something Asotos understood painfully well, the
scattered ruins of his battle groups’ torn, shattered hulks
drifting haplessly in space a sharp reminder. The Trade Ship Wars,
a time early on during the Wars of Rebellion when Asotos attempted
to clear his territories of Lowenah’s troublesome little silvery
vessels she called her ‘trade ships’, learnt him quickly to leave
Lowenah’s ships to themselves as they peacefully plied the skies on
Her business.