The Phoenix Fallacy Book I: Janus (14 page)

Chapter 1
7: Brevis Bellum

              Janus no longer required the alarms and sun-lamp to wake up in the morning.  He just wished sleeping had gotten easier.

His armor today was thicker, protecting him
against the frosty weather.  Valhalla was moving North and winter was upon it.  Outside, frozen seas churned and swelled, the wave caps adding an appropriate white tinge under grey skies.  The shift to cooler temperatures caught him off guard at first – the heat from the factories of Cerberus kept the slums warm year round, but he had adapted quickly enough.  He glanced at the chronometer; he was up early again.

Today he and the other cadets would perform a field training test in a joint weapons and tactics session.  Flopping over in his bed, Janus reflected how the time had flown by.  How
long had it been?  Months?  More?

Wouris rigorous training had pushed them to new limits of physical toughness, and he had learned all about the va
riety of Adept weapons: the standard Adept rifle – the Skadi, the Vidar sniper, the Fenris, and many more – and how to use them.  They had learned the inside and out of Corporate tactics and strategy, and studied S.T. armor, learning its weaknesses and its strengths.  But with everything Janus learned, he realized there was much and more he did not know.  Every waking moment Janus could find he spent poring over Valhalla’s database.  Math, science, literature, history.  How humanity and the Corporations had changed each other, and how humanity had once been so much closer to the stars than they were now. 

Putting his hands behind his head, he
reflected how each cadet had developed his or her own specialties and strengths, learning to rely on the others to eliminate their weaknesses.

Celes had proven herself a fearsome marksman, becoming the standard for all the cadets.  She had demonstrated this proclivity on just their second day with Northcott by successfully knocking all five targets out of the sky.   She then repeated the feat at Northcott’s request, waiting until the discs were flying erratically before firing a single shot.  Even her admission that she was not an unfamiliar marksman did not seem to lessen Northcott’s positive impression. 

Ramirez was the biggest and strongest of anyone, even of the full-fledged Adepts, much to Col. Hawkes delight.  Ramirez didn’t yet rival Hawkes in hand-to-hand, but he was moving rapidly in that direction.  Ramirez may have been quiet, but that just meant he listened all the more, and picked up techniques quickly.  Designated a heavy weapons specialist by Northcott, if somewhat unfairly, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that he would be a helpful man in a pinch, with, or without, a weapon.

Lyn focused on her natural martial combat abilities, and showed real promise.  Quickly diverted into a secondary training unit for advanced scouts, Lyn was the Adepts’ Adept – fast and silent.  Major Winters, the leader of the ODIN’s scout force, had positively shivered with delight when she had seen Lyn’s natural predisposition for speed and agility. 

He and Marcus were tougher to categorize.  The pair of them had excelled in general combat, and although they couldn’t match their friends within their specialities, they more than made up for it in strategy and tactics.  They varied slightly, with Janus preferring a combination of methodical and direct approaches, and Marcus, who was slightly faster and bigger than Janus, preferring fast, unexpected attacks.  These tactics carried over into the board game Janus had seen his first day and the pair now frequently enjoyed.  It was like a variant of chess, a game called
brevis bellum,
or ‘short war’.  It could involve two to four players, all fighting for domination over an octagonal board.  The two were closely matched, and their games attracted quite a crowd, and a number of challengers, including some of the officers.

A particularly memorable game had happened only a few days ago. 

It
was a four-player match between himself, Marcus, Lieutenant Forrenza, and much to Janus and Marcus’ surprise, Major Northcott.  Despite their initial skepticism regarding Northcott actually playing games, they quickly discovered that the Major was one of the finest players in all of Valhalla, second only to Keats and the Praetor.  The goal was to capture and hold certain strategic points upon the board.  Only by holding the strategic points could one achieve victory; pure destruction of the enemy was usually not the goal – not unlike many missions.  Each player had a certain number of ‘deployments’ that could be used to purchase units at the start, each of which had unique advantages and disadvantages.  It made each unit choice crucial.

Unfortunately, it also made each unit loss a devastating blow.  And Janus and Marcus had lost
many units today.  Individually they were fierce, but they had been at each other’s throats for the entirety of the game.  Northcott had kept his forces reserved, only grabbing what points he could, without sacrificing units.

“Brevis Bellum is a game of understanding the different forces at work on a battlefield, especially through the eyes of an Adept,” Northcott instructed.  “I’m afraid that both of you are missing a key concept right now,”
he grabbed his Fafnir gunship and advanced it 6 spaces, destroying another of Forrenza’s Hoplite infantry. 

Forrenza
miserably glanced at her remaining Hoplite, saying, “I would figure it out gentlemen, or you’ll soon face a fate similar to mine.”

Northcott advanced his own Hoplite two spaces, eliminating
Forrenza’s final unit, “Shut out.  I believe that’s double rations for me, Sergeant.”  Forrenza sighed.

“Geez,
Forrenza, when are you going to learn?” a spectator called out.

“I’ll get him eventually!”
Forrenza shook her fist, “Besides, he actually has to win the game first.  That’s a condition of the bet,” she looked doubtful of her chances even as she said it.

Play returned to Janus, who advanced his Jormungand assault platform, his sole remaining unit with any real chance of doing damage.  Other than that, he only had two surviving Hoplites.  They moved behind the Jormungand – using it as a shield; there wasn’t much more they could really do.

Northcott’s force was still essentially untouched, with three Garm tanks, a Fafnir, and a Hoplite.  He had only 5 strategic victory points to Janus’ 8 and Marcus’ 9, but Janus knew that would quickly change.  Northcott moved all three of his Garms towards the rightmost control point.

It was Marcu
s’ turn.  He had two Fafnirs and a Hoplite, not much to work with either.

He pushed his first Fafnir forward, to a position where it could strike Janu
s’ Jormungand and Northcott’s Garm tanks.  His second moved left, to a flanking position on the Garm’s.

Northcott’s turn.  He moved his Fafnir only 3 spaces, well within striking distance of
Janus’ Jormungand.  The move shocked Janus – it seemed so boneheaded.  With one shot he could eliminate two enemy Fafnirs.  Northcott and Marcus’.  If he didn’t destroy the Fafnir, he would be exposed and would need to retreat or lose his assault platform to Marcus.  He reached for his Jormungand, and suddenly, he understood what Northcott was doing.  He pulled his hand away.

Northcott shook his head, “Aren’t you trying to win?”

Janus smiled, “Yes.”  He turned to Forrenza, “You owe the Major double rations if he wins, right?”

Forrenza
nodded.

“Would you give those rations to Marcus and me if we beat him?”

Forrenza laughed approvingly, “Absolutely.”

Marcus glanced at Janus and nodded with a smile.

Northcott remained impassive, “Bold words.  How do you plan to do that if you don’t start taking out my units?”

“I won’t do that by eliminating your Fafnir.”

“Oh?”

“Yes – destroying your Fafnir is exactly what you want.  It will eliminate Marcu
s’ gunship, too.  And if that weapon goes down, the whole line we have between the two of us will be broken, and you’ll overrun us with your tanks.”

Northcott did not smile, “And what about Marcus?  How do you know that he won’t destroy your forces and take the victory all for himself?  Even if you beat me, how d
o expect to stand up to Marcus’ force once I’m gone?  Destroying your opponent when you can, is that not how you play the game?”

“Things change,” Marcus interjected.

“Common purpose unites us,” Janus added with a joking smile.

Marcus slapped him on the shoulder, “Namely, stuffing our faces with extra rations.”

Marcus won.  Janu
s’ Jormungand couldn’t stand up to both Fafnirs.  But as Northcott stood up, gracious in defeat, he nodded to Janus, “Now you’re thinking like an Adept, and a leader.”

The memory of the game brought a smile to Janus’ face.  Just like the old games of checkers and chess he played with Clara when he was young; a set made from old caps and a raggedy cloth for a board.  Janus sat at his desk, staring blankly at the screen. 
How is Clara doing?
Is Middleton keeping her word?  Middleton!  That hag!  Why would she? 
Janus felt his stomach turn.  If he did not survive, if he did not stay an Adept, Clara would be cast back into the slums alone.

A knock on the door brought him out of his disquiet.  “Janus,
ready?”  It was Ramirez.  Ramirez
,
too
,
seemed to suffer the same trouble with sleep, and for several weeks both he and Janus had woken up before the others.  Janus opened his door and the pair disappeared into the dark.

Chapter 18: Tidings of War

They made their way slowly to the mess hall – the field test was their topic du jour.  Only the early dawn sky lit the dark passages of the barracks.  Fusion power may be a boon for everyone, but it wasn’t free.  When you were an entirely independent city, without access to materials except through trade, every little bit helped.

“Sgt. Wouris will throw some wrenches at us, and Col
onel Hawkes will throw in something painful, no doubt,” Janus said reflectively, glancing at the dimly lit Seal.  The trunk was silent but for the babble of the creek and waterfalls.  It really did look like an oddly shaped tree in the darkness.

“No doubt,” Ramirez winced at the mention of
irritable Colonel.  “I understand that Praetor Jennings always attends the first field test of new cadets, I wonder if he will add any tricks of his own?”

“I am sure we will be able to take care of it,” Janus face darkened, “After living in that hellhole for years, all of this is a cake-walk.”

Ramirez grunted, “Says you.  You should realize not everyone had ya rough and tumble upbringing.  And we’re not done yet.”

The ‘jera fehu’ runes of the mess glowed faintly ahead of them.

Janus smirked as he spread his hands wide and jogged backwards towards the mess, “Well, it’s not like anyone could compete with me anyways.”

Ramirez sighed
and took off after him.

Praetor Jennings sipped his morning coffee in a corner of the mess, looking out through the giant, frost-covered windows.  He had ‘slept in’ this morning, and was looking forward to observing the progress of his latest crop of potential Adepts.  He was only slightly surprised when Janus and Ramirez jogged into the hall.  As the pair sat down with their breakfast trays, the Praetor joined them.

“Fine
morning, isn’t it?”  Jennings asked exuberantly.  Janus and Ramirez stood up immediately and saluted. 

“At ease.  May I join you?”

Janus motioned for the Praetor to sit across from him, “Of course, sir.”  The Praetor sat and leaned back, clearly relaxed.

“You two are u
p earlier than I would expect.  Do you usually get up at this time?”

“The last few weeks we have, sir,” Ramirez spoke.

Jennings nodded, “Always good to see cadets waking up early for training.” 

Ramirez
and Janus exchanged a glance.

Jennings smiled, “I’m only kidding.  I usually come down to enjoy my coffee in peace.”

“We didn’t realize, sir,” Janus said, “We haven’t seen you down before.”

“That’s because I’m not usually up so late,” Jennings winked.

“Why the change today?  Is it because of the field training exercises?”  Janus asked.

“No, no – I was just concluding a difficult negotiation last night,” The Praetor said.  Janus and Ramirez leaned forward and a slight grimace appeared on the Praetor’s face.  “Nothing to get worked up about.  Just a little out of the ordinary.”

“How so?”  Janus asked.

The Praetor sat up, setting his coffee down, “Well, for one, the representative came here.  Normally we negotiate during regular trading.  We nearly blew him out of the sky when he first contacted us, but he held back far enough for us to send a scout party and check him out.”

“And what else?”  Janus asked.  The Praetor gave him a small glare.  “Sir?”  Janus added immediately and apologetically.  The Praetor nodded.

“The representative was an Infernus.  A fairly intelligent one at that.”

“An Infernus?” Janus exclaimed.

“Where was he from, sir?”  Ramirez asked.

“Didn’t say.  And he had no markings on his armor.  Asked only that we call him ‘Martel’. Of course, such a thing isn’t unheard of.  Large operations are always planned in secret, and Corporations sometimes seek out Legions directly for important and time-sensitive jobs.”

Martel
.  The name sounded familiar to Janus, but he couldn’t place it.  If the oddity of the name showed on his face however, the Praetor didn’t notice it, because he kept going, “But he did offer a hefty sum.  We’ll know soon enough if he was telling the truth.  We are on our way to pick up the first half of the payment.  A transport will meet us south of the location of the target, and we will have a month to prepare.”

“Isn’t that potentially dangerous, sir?  You said yourself it was odd.”  Janus said.

The Praetor took a sip of his coffee.  “Perhaps.  But what we do can never be considered safe.  We choose this life for the freedom, not the safety.  If you want safety, go back to the Corporations.  Well, some enjoy more than others,” the Praetor added, nodding to Janus.  “Besides, I have no intention of simply walking into a trap.  I’ve seen more than one in my day, and I won’t simply fall into another,” he said with a note of finality that suggested a new topic was warranted.

“Will you be present at the field training, today, sir?”  Ramirez asked.

“Yes, I will,” the Praetor leaned back comfortably again, “Although if I know Sergeant Wouris, there may be cause for a last minute cancellation.”

“Sir?  Why would that be?”  Ramirez cocked his head in confusion.

“Wouris would be most displeased with me if she thought I was giving away information to her cadets, and I have said far too much already.  On a completely unrelated note, you will soon begin your advanced training and I can assure you that it will be even more interesting than any field test.”  He stood up and Janus and Ramirez followed suit.  “Your particular class is advancing more quickly than we could have hoped; you may be taking on your first mission sooner than expected.”

A mysterious smile came to his face, “But don’t let it go to your head, or I have a feeling it will quickly become more than you bargained for.”

Sometime later, Celes, Marcus, and Lyn stumbled into the briskly filling Mess Hall.  They soon joined Janus and Ramirez with heavily laden breakfast trays in hand.  Janus and Ramirez sipped tea and watched dryly as their fellow cadets stuffed themselves with food.

Ramirez snorted at the display.

Janus put his legs along the bench and looked at his three friends, “It’s a good thing that the field test is scheduled for late in the day; otherwise you could become really sick eating all that food.  Normally you would need to wake up with Ramirez and me to eat well.”

Celes glanced up at Janus from her tray, inhaling an ‘egg’ in the process, “It’s a good thing we don’t.  We normal people need sleep, you see,” she gave Janus a wink and began shoveling her food again.

Janus smiled.

Ramirez folded his arms across his chest as he spoke sternly to them, “Ya, it’s a good thing.  Because Sgt. Wouris and the officers wouldn’t tell us one thing and do another, would they?”  Janus stared at the ceiling, smirking.

At that, Celes, Marcus, and Lyn collectively looked up from their food and glanced at one another.  “You know,” Marcus grimaced, “I don’t think I’m hungry anymore.”  He pushed his tray away from him.  Celes and Lyn did the same.

“I don’t think I would have told them, Ramirez,” Janus chuckled.

“Thanks a lot, Janus!”  Lyn exclaimed irritably and tossed a piece of synthetic bacon into his hair.

“Well, we know who our real friend is, don’t we Lyn?  Thank you, Ramirez.”  Celes gave him a light peck on the cheek.

Neither Lyn nor Celes noticed the slight scowl that crossed Janu
s’ face, but Ramirez couldn’t help but grin.

Wouris appeared like a lightning bolt, yelling as she marched into to the mess, “Form up, Cadets!  Field test is cancelled for today!  It’s time for a RUN!  Move it!”

For the first time in month
s, only five cadets were able to finish the daily run.