The Phoenix Fallacy Book I: Janus (22 page)

Chapter 2
6: The Angry Swarm

Janus pounded out of the Comm. Tower, pushing his emergency comm. and yelling into the ODIN command frequency, “Abort the mission!  Titan knew we were coming.  I repeat, abort the mission!”

Janus heard Praetor Jennings come over the command frequency.  “All Squads, High Alert!  How do you know, Janus?”

Janus was breathless as he sprinted across the plateau, back towards the city.  “Sir—the tower, it’s empty—there’s nothing inside.”

“But why would they just protect the Hades launchers so vehemently if they knew we were com…”  The Praetor’s voice dropped away, “All Squads, Emergency Action!  It’s a tra—” 

Janus twisted his head in shock as the frequency filled with a squealing static, punching his headset off.

A rocket came streaking from behind, obliterating a rock in front of him and nearly knocking Janus off his feet.  But he kept running, and as he stumbled into the outlying buildings, he glanced back, his heart dropping.

Behind him, the forest was going up in flames as dozens upon dozens of Inferni suddenly burst into the sky from deep in the woods, easily leaping over Janus’ head and into the city.  Behind them came hundreds of S.T.s, emerging from the fiery brush, Zeuses raised.  It was a nightmare.

Screams and yells sounded within the city as
the Inferni struck hard and explosions mixed with the crash of thunder from the gathering storm.  Smoke and gunfire filled the air, as the Inferni laid waste to everything before them.  A cacophony of noise surrounded Janus.

Janus swallowed his fear and ran hard, he had to rejoin his squad.  But where to go?  Enemy troopers appeared in all directions, and Janus was forced to zigzag through the streets, ducking from building to building.

Keeping low, he caught a glimpse of the familiar faces of Alexis and Hastings.  He stopped, signaling until he realized they were slumped silently against a broken brick wall.  He paused only for a moment to reflect on how peaceful they looked, and ran on.

The screams of surprise were no more, but the gun fire and explosions had not abated.  The dark grey solidified overhead, mixing with rising smoke.  Janus moved as fast as he could, but was amazed at how far ahead of him the Inferni had moved.  It was a race, the Inferni staying ahead of him, slowing him down, while a crushing wave of S.T.s followed on his heels, always forcing him to keep driving ahead.  His breathing was heavier, his movements thick and jerky as the adrenaline pumped through his veins.  There was no rest.  The journey back was infinitely longer.  He focused on moving South, but was driven East, West, and North by the mass of Titan troops.  Jumping into a window, he passed through an abandoned residence.  It looked relatively well-tended, like it had been lived in and only recently lost.  Simple lamps, chairs, lockers, and beds for miners looked fresh and new.  But when a nearby explosion made him dive to the floor, he turned over to see a ceiling caked in dust and cobwebs.  He cursed.

The cheap wooden door had been blown apart and swung loosely upon its hinges.  He peered around it, through the splintered frame, spying a rea
ssuring sight.  Young and Bynes were pressed against a wall across the street, catching their breath.  Janus signaled them and they returned it with exuberant surprise and relief.  The pair motioned down their alley, and Janus rushed to join them.  He was steps away when an Infernus ploughed into them from above.  Janus quickly changed direction, running exposed into the middle of the street.  Only the sudden, intense blast of light from the alley told him Young and Bynes’ fate. 

He ducked into the building beyond them, a bar, filled with glasses and bottles of empty drink.  Leaping over the bar, Janus pulled a variable grenade from his armor, turning the cylindrical weapon’s power to its maximum output. 

Flying out of the side door and into the alley at the end of the thoroughfare where he had last seen Young and Bynes, Janus arrived just in time to see the Infernus scratch two more notches on his arm.  Janus felt his blood boil as he grabbed a second grenade, and hurled both at the Infernus with all his might.

Janus picked himself off slowly from the ground.  His head was ringing and he was dizzy.  In the heat of battle he had forgotten how powerful a single variable grenade could be, let alone a pair at the maximum setting.  Melted glass and steel pooled on the ground below crumbling buildings.  The Infernus was utterly gone.  Janus held his head, and picked up his Skadi.  A fragment of sheared metal cut deep into the power cell.

That was incredibly stupid,
he thought as he tossed the weapon aside and checked for his pistol.  It was gone, just a broken strap remained, no doubt lost from sometime before.

“What are you trying to do, kill me?”
             

Janus whipped around, but immediately felt a huge surge of relief.

Celes was standing behind him, a grim look on her face.

“Celes…” he wasn’t sure what to say.

“He got what he deserved.  Your Skadi destroyed?”

Janus nodded, pulling the Ghostblade just an inch out of its sheath.  She held up her pistol, “Seven shots,” and motioned behind her, “Come on, we need to get out of here before any more surprises show up.”

   Everywhere Janus and Celes turned, S.T.s and Inferni swarmed the streets.  The pair caught sight of an Albatross carrier between two buildings, dropping more troops into the outpost while releasing a flurry of Peregrine scout craft.  They were pressed from all sides, staying just ahead of the merciless assault was all Janus and Celes could do.

“How are we going to get out of this one?”  Celes whispered to Janus in a strangely calm voice.

They were in a small crawlspace that had been opened up in an explosion underneath a food storage shack.  Janus watched the boots of a squad of S.T.s run by from underneath a rotting sack of grain.

Janus turned his head to look at Celes.  “We have to make it to the primary evac point at the South beach.  The Praetor will probably send a wave of Valkyries to open up a hole before the majority of the Titan troops arrive from the North of the city.  The Longboats will be right on their heels, just like our assault, to pick up as many surviving Adepts as they can.”

Janus shifted a pile of P.S.R.s that had spilled from a crate to give him a better view to his left.  “But with so many incoming enemy troops, if we miss the ride the first time…” Janus said.

“We would have to go directly through the enemy lines to get to the emergency evac point…” Celes whispered.

Janus shook his head, “We have to get to the beach before Titan overruns it.”

Chapter 2
7: The Beach

Pulling themselves from the crawlspace, Janus and Celes darted on.  They had to hurry – some of the Titan sweeps had already pulled past them, putting them right in the middle of the enemy forces.

The dark clouds loomed overhead, but Celes pulled Janus deeper into the shadows as a Peregrine hovered above them, watching for signs of Adept activity.

We’re taking far too long… the Longboats will leave before we even get close to the beach
, Janus thought.

Janus
had a bitter taste in his mouth.  No matter where he and Celes turned, S.T.s awaited them, strangely aware of where they would go, where they would hide.  He could only watch as Titan slowly tightened the noose, leaving only desperation to fuel their resolve.

At the South beach, Col. Hawkes had set up a small but effective perimeter using the outlying buildings as bunkers and cover.  As Adepts poured into the small camp, he was a flurry of activity, directing them into an adequate defense to hold off the Titan skirmishers.  He knew, however, that it was only a matter of time before the main Titan force finished its sweep of the city and annihilated the desperate, tired, and shocked Adepts.  Raindrops began to fall on the miserable group, punctuating the dark mood.  Hawkes watched the dark sky and waited for the reinforcements from ODIN.

*

Praetor Jennings was in a state of turmoil.

Although his face remained calm, Col. Keats could see the traces and lines of uncertainty on it.  Keats felt a wave of sickness creep over her; they were powerless to do anything at this point, other than watch and wait. 

She knew, no matter the outcome, the Adepts would not question the Praetor for the failure; their respect for him would simply not allow it.  The Praetor himself was a different story.  A trap signaled a betrayal, and she did not know how the Praetor would face that; not again.  So for now, she would watch and wait – hoping and praying that the Longboats would find some of the Adepts alive on the Southern beach, for both ODIN’s, and the Praetor’s sake.

*

Janus and Celes were in trouble.  With less than a hundred meters to the edge of the outpost, they were stopped.  The Titan line had passed them as it finished its sweep, pushing the main ODIN force back to the few trenches and bunkers that dotted the beach, and left Janus and Celes to watch from afar.  Now, the Titan forces massed for a final assault upon the entrenched Adepts, pausing at the edge of the outpost.

A stillness settled over the beach – not even the rain fell.

Celes and Janus stood atop a crumbing roof, hidden by shadows and smoke, watching as the Adepts of ODIN readied their last stand.  Inferni landed near the edge of the outpost while troopers checked their Zeus rifles.  The Adepts were surrounded, hemmed from all sides, and separated from the Titan army by only a short stretch of beach.  Above, a few Peregrine scouts hovered, waiting for some unspoken signal. 

Celes and Janus could feel a strange hesitation; something made their foe pause.  A show of respect for a cornered animal.

Janus, caught up in the moment, realized he had been holding his breath.  As he exhaled, the first wave of Inferni stepped onto the beach.  The rain came down again – hard. 

Suddenly, missiles streaked forth from the dark clouds, striking
into the Titan air forces and the edge of the outpost, and scattering S.T.s as they ran for cover.  The Adepts let out a ragged cheer as the Valkyries and Longboats burst forth from the low clouds.

Celes turned to Janus, her face obscured by the downpour, “Come on, we’ve got to go while they are in disarray.  It’s our only shot at the beach.”

Janus nodded and they both leapt down to the street below.  They rushed along toward the scattered troops.  A missile streaked into a group of S.T.s, killing some and stunning the rest.  Janus quickly grabbed Celes by the hand and steered her towards the hole.  They ran full out, putting all of their energy into clearing the gap and reaching the Longboats.

As they passed the last building, a huge fist came out of nowhere and plastered Janus right in the chest.  The wind whooshed out of his lungs as Janus was knocked to the ground, hitting his head against the side of a building and gasping for breath.

Janus’ head was fuzzy, and the thickening rain clouded his vision.  He could hear the sounds of battle on the beach, as the Adepts fought for survival.  A huge figure loomed over him.  Janus felt the odd sensation that time was moving more slowly around him.  He tried to scramble away, and felt the figure reaching for him, grabbing, and ripping the sheath from his back.

“Not so fast,
Merc.  Thought you could escape?” 

Janus flipped himself over, and the S.T. lifted his visor so Janus could see his sneering face.  Janus had trouble understanding the trooper; he seemed to be elongating his words unnecessarily.

The S.T. stood over Janus, “You Mercs are gonna die,” his lips curling contemptuously as he formed the words.

Janu
s’ head was clearing… he could see Celes struggling against another soldier. Her arms were pinned; she simply couldn’t beat the strength of the suit.  Celes’ pistol lay some distance away, but the Ghostblade had landed just behind where the S.T. stood over him.  Some of the stunned S.T.s were standing up, slowly reaching for their weapons.  The sneering trooper reached down and picked up a Zeus rifle from one of his dead comrades.

T
he S.T. brought the weapon to bear on Janus’ forehead, and slowly pulled the trigger.  Janus instinctively whipped his head to the side, feeling the shockwave of the round as it passed by, burying itself deep in the ground.  The sneer transformed into a look of shock.

Janus quickly flipped his arms behind his head and rolled between the
trooper’s legs.  The man was still turning to face Janus as he snatched up the Ghostblade, swinging the weapon around in a blinding arc.

T
he weapon bit into the trooper’s waist in slow motion, the metal armor separating before the glowing weapon.  The Ghostblade split the S.T. like a warm marshmallow, cleanly and instantaneously.  He had sheathed the weapon before the soldier had even toppled over in two.

Janus glanced around. 
Not out of the fire yet…

The other S.T.s were grabbing for their weapons, watching him with surprise, as Celes struggled mightily against her captor, who was barely able to hold on to her thrashing body.  It would be an impossible task to take down so many with his Ghostblade.  Janu
s’ eyes fell on the Zeus rifle that had been dropped by the sneering S.T.  Kicking it up to himself, he leveled it on one of the rising Troopers.

The kick of the Zeus sent him slamming back into the wall and the barrel of the weapon skyward.  But the S.T. dropped like a rock.  Janus felt as if he had just broken his shoulder, but steeling himself against the pain, he braced a leg against the wall and aimed at another rising S.T.  With every shot, he felt his spine compress.  Within moments, only one S.T. remained standing, the S.T. who held Celes hostage.

She had been finally, completely, overpowered by the Trooper, who held both of her arms behind her with one gloved hand.  Celes grimaced as the S.T. squeezed her around the neck with his free hand, using her as a shield from the Zeus.  Janus kept the weapon raised as he followed the Trooper, who slowly backed around a corner.  The trooper crouched as low as possible behind her, and was tightening his grip when a round caught him in the side of the head.  He fell over, leaving a gasping Celes on the ground.  A sopping wet Wouris stepped out from behind an open crate of rusting shovels.

“Everyone all right?”  She asked, searching their surroundings for more foes.

“Wouris!”  Janus exclaimed, holding his side as he went to help Celes, “Are we glad to see you!”

“Yeah, me especially…”  Celes gagged, rubbing her throat and getting up slowly.

“I told you I would come running if you got into trouble.  I don’t like to waste time training cadets just to let them get killed.”

“That’s a good policy,” Celes
gasped, smiling weakly.

Wouris smirked, “Let’s get to the beach or we’ll miss the ‘Boat.”

A loud roar of engines made them look towards the beach in surprise.  Janus snatched up the Ghostblade and they hurried to the edge of the outpost.  As they cleared the last buildings, and crouched behind a rock, another roar of the Longboat engines sounded.  Janus, Celes, and Wouris watched with dismay as the Longboats and Valkyries sped away, pursued by the regrouped Titan air force, leaving a beach littered with dead Adepts, troopers and a rising tide.