Gail r delaney phoenix.., p.1
Gail R. Delaney - Phoenix Rebellion 03, page 1
Gaining Ground
Gail R. Delaney
The Phoenix Rebellion Book III
Triskelion Publishing
www.triskelionpublishing.net
Triskelion Publishing 15327 W. Becker Lane Surprise, AZ 85379
Copyright 2005 Gail R. Delaney
ISBN 1-933874-67-8
Publisher’s Note. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to a person or persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is purely coincidental.
Dedication
To– Gail N. For your infinite patience and support
To–The writers, creators and actors of all the classic (and not so classic) Science Fiction television shows, movies and books that have inspired so many generations of children to grow up and wonder just what might be out there. Whether they imagined flying the USS Enterprise, Serenity, Andromeda, Moya, the Jupiter 2, the Millennium Falcon, Galactica, a Tel’tak or the TARDIS – without dreams, the future isn’t nearly as exciting as it could be.
“Out of ashes, humanity will rise again”
Prologue
Tuesday, July 16, 2052
Twenty miles Southwest of Montgomery, Alabama
Former United States of America
Lieutenant Jason Quinn coughed and sputtered, half the water in his mouth spewing out to wet his blanket and grimy shirt. Droplets clung to the rough beard that hid his chin and jaw. Heaving for breath, his head fell back to the rolled jacket that served as a pillow.
“Damn it,” Jackie cursed through clenched teeth.
She set the bottle aside, giving up on the attempt at getting fluids into him as she wiping his face with the corner of his blanket. She hadn’t gotten more than a bottle of water in him over the last five days. The Alabaman heat was brutal, and he was on the verge of severe dehydration, if he wasn’t already there.
Dehydration wasn’t the worst of his problems. A doctor would probably have a fit when he saw the emaciated, weak shell that had once been Lieutenant Jason Quinn.
She sat back on the ground, resting her arm on one raised knee. The air was heavy and thick, making her tank top stick to her back and her hair curl in sweaty tendrils along her face and neck. She shook her head with a frustrated sigh.
“I hope to hell you’re listening, Lieutenant, because this just ain’t working and there’s no way I’m arriving in Tennessee with you in a body bag.”
He slowly rolled his head on the jacket, murmuring low in his chest as he hovered on the edge of delirium. He had been like this since she dragged him like a lead weight out of the Areth compound.
His body shook beneath the blanket, his features tense in the firelight. She wouldn’t have built a fire at all, but he had been shivering since the day before, and the blankets weren’t fending off the chill even though it had hit ninety-six degrees that day. A twig snapped beyond the ring of light, and Jackie spun around to balance her weight on her knee as she pulled her pulse charge weapon from her thigh holster.
“Ease up,” Jenifer said as she left the darkness for the firelight. “It’s just me.”
Jackie sat again with a grunt, re-holstering her weapon. With the oppressive heat, the amount of energy it took to draw nearly wasted her. If the weather tomorrow was anywhere as miserable and draining as it had been today, just the idea of carrying the Lieutenant made her tired. She unscrewed the cap from the water bottle and swallowed several warm mouthfuls as Jenifer sat on a nearby log. Wiping her hand across her lips, Jackie glanced at her.
“Eli’s doing better,” she stated.
Jenifer nodded, poking at the fire with the end of a dead branch. “I give him a week and he’ll back to near-full strength. Whatever they did to Lieutenant Quinn had to be a hundred times worse than what they did to Elijah.”
Jackie shifted her gaze to the Lieutenant’s, watching the sweat bead on his forehead even as the chills shook his body. If they kept traveling the way they were, mostly by foot, it was going to take days to reach the nearest known Phoenix base.
Jace Quinn didn’t have a couple days.
She had wanted to make it to Tennessee, and the new base there, but right now she’d take what she could get. Stealing a transport would draw too much attention, and they had to ditch their own ground vehicle the night they pulled Jace and Eli out of the Areth holding cells.
If they only had Eli to take care of, Jackie wouldn’t mind finding some forgotten room in some small town along the river to hold up in. All he needed was a couple solid days of rest and some decent food and he’d be good. That had been the plan: get into the Areth compound, extract Eli Kerrigan, get the hell out and back to home base.
Lieutenant Jace Quinn had been the unknown factor: a prize and a burden at the same time. Jackie rolled her shoulders against the sore stiffness that tied them in knots, the result of a long day carrying his makeshift stretcher through the rougher terrain of Alabama.
He moaned, shifting slightly beneath the blanket, and Jackie knelt beside him. The flickering light of the fire reflected in his eyes when he blinked them open, squinting as he looked at her. He hadn’t opened his eyes once since the first time he rolled over and looked at her in his cell. Jackie did her best not to look too excited, even though she figured it had to be a good sign.
“Good to see you, Lieutenant.”
His eyes creased at the corners and his gaze shifted to Jenifer, who now stood near his feet. He looked back to Jackie, coughing before he spoke.
“Who are you?”
She leaned forward more, so he could see her face in the firelight. “It’s Jackie Anderson. You’re safe now, Jace, and we’re taking you home.”
He rolled his head on the jacket. “I don’t know you.”
A heavy dread sank into Jackie’s gut, but she pushed it aside. He had been delirious for days, and she had no idea what state he had been in before they found him. Who could blame him for not knowing her right away?
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll be fine soon enough, Jace.”
“I’m not—” He paused to cough, the sound rattling through his chest, wet and heavy. “My name isn’t Jace.”
Jackie slid a glance to Jenifer, who stood with her arms crossed and an unmasked look of concern on her face.
“What is your name, soldier,” Jackie asked.
He stared at her, his eyelids sitting heavy over his eyes. “I — I don’t know.” His voice slid away as his eyes closed and his head rolled to the side.
Crap!
Jackie rolled back onto the balls of her feet and stood. “I’m calling for extraction,” she said as she stepped over Jace Quinn’s prone form. “Screw this.”
“Did you think I’d argue?”
“Watch him for a minute.” Jackie went to the blanket and lumpy backpack that constituted her bedroll, fishing in the front pocket for the small emergency call radio she had yet to use in her decade of active service.
But this wasn’t for her.
She walked into the darkness, the light of the fire behind her, as she turned on the palm-sized device and the digital screen glowed blue. Punching in her private code to activate the link, she waited.
The screen morphed from blue to red, and she knew she had a connection. Jackie held the communicator close to her lips, knowing she wouldn’t hear any verbal confirmation of who was on the other end.
“Flight, this is Echo Four request landing instructions,” she spoke clearly, falling back on the ‘chatter’ code established for wayward Phoenix operatives.
She waited, counting to five in her head, and released her pent up breath when the red light faded to green. Jackie switched the radio off, killing the signal. Phoenix had what they needed. The brief connection relayed her global position, and her message told them she had four people to bring home.
Now, they just had to wait.
Here comes the cavalry.
Chapter One
Sunday, July 28, 2052
Phoenix Tennessee Complex
Colorado Base relocation site
Smokey Mountains, Tennessee
Former United States of America
“I trust you’ll want to be the one to talk to her,” General Castleton said to Michael as they stepped out of Command Hall into the warm afternoon sunshine.
Michael pushed his hands into his pockets and squinted at the sun. “Yes, sir.”
“Fair ‘nough. I’m going to speak with Beverly and Lieutenant Kohlway now to coordinate the trip. Be ready to go at 22:00.”
Michael nodded in affirmation as the General stepped back inside. He took a moment standing beneath the relative shade of the porch, scanning the common area outside Command Hall. The sun was bright, the air heavy and thick. Several men worked in the yard, carrying machinery and tools to the barn that served as a storage facility for the precious few hovercrafts that they had brought from Colorado. A small group of children sat beneath a large tree, protected from the sun by the wide branches. As he stepped down from the porch, a blonde-haired girl waved and shouted his name.
Michael waved back to Sabrina and started up the slight incline of the path as it led away from the common area, small pebbles crunched beneath his feet. The ambient heat in the air dropped several degrees as he crossed from sunlight into the heavy shade of the forest. Patches of sun dotted the ground and it took several feet before his eyes adjusted.
As he m
Michael opened the door and stepped inside, listening. The main floor was quiet, the only movement the simple curtains at the windows that blew inward with the breeze. The material was threadbare and faded from decades of abandonment, but he was sure Lilly didn’t mind.
He turned at the front door and started up the stairs, ducking his head to make it beneath the low clearance at the bottom. At the top of the stairs were three doors, and Michael stepped to the nearest. It was already partially open, and he pushed it further, stepping into the small bedroom beyond.
Lilly sat in a wooden rocking chair, sunlight streaming through the large window that faced the front of the house, bathing her and the small bundle in her arms. She looked up as he stepped in, a smile on her lips.
“I saw you come up the hill. I would have shouted, but she just fell asleep.”
Michael crouched in front of her and she stopped rocking. With a gentle touch, he peeled back the white blanket to reveal the chubby, pink face of Jamie Elise Quinn, newest recruit for Phoenix. Her bright lips puckered and her chin shifted as she continued to suckle intuitively in her sleep. He ran his fingers over her downy soft black hair and she sighed so heavily her body shook with it. Lilly chuckled.
“You have the touch,” she said softly.
“Would you like her in the bassinette?”
“Yes, thank you.”
He gingerly took Jamie from Lilly’s arms and carried her to the white woven wicker bassinette in the corner of the room. One small arm with deep dimples at the elbows slipped free of the blanket as he laid her down. Michael carefully wrapped the blanket around her again.
“Did you need something?” Lilly asked from right behind him, peering past his shoulder to her sleeping child.
“Yes.” He turned to face her, hoping he would somehow find the right way to tell her what he needed to. Even though it wasn’t bad news, it would be a shock. Michael looked at her, allowing himself to smile at the bright shine in her eyes and the glow in her expression. Motherhood suited her. He drew a slow breath through his nose. “I need to talk to you.”
Lilly arched on eyebrow. “Must be serious. You look like you’ve got bad news.”
He shook his head. “No, not at all. Come. Sit.” He brushed past her to move to the bed, sitting down on the edge.
She watched him, her expression sliding from amused confusion to concern, and followed him to the bed. Sitting down, she crossed her legs and set her elbow on her knee, resting her cheek against her fist. “Okay, so spill it.”
Michael studied her face as he recalled his recent discussion with General Castleton and the video conference with Jacqueline and Doctor Monroe. There was no way he could gently impart the information, not that he could see.
He cleared his throat. “Lilly, I just spoke with General Castleton and Doctor David Monroe at our Mississippi base.”
Lilly nodded. “I know him. Does he need medical back up? Is he short handed?”
“No.” Michael leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. He wasn’t any good at subtlety, or at easing into the facts. He knew this. “Lilly…”
She reached out and took his hand, squeezing his fingers until he raised his head and looked at her. “Just tell me, Michael. “
He sandwiched her hand between his and met her gaze. “Jacqueline broke into an Areth facility two weeks ago with another Phoenix field operative. They had Intel that said Eli Kerrigan was being held there.”
“Was he?”
“Yes. They were able to extract him successfully. He made them aware of another prisoner, and Jacqueline was able to bring him out as well. He has been at the Mississippi base recovering, but Doctor Monroe wants me to go there and bring him back here. To finish his recovery.”
Lilly tilted her head. “Why? Does he realize we’re just a rudimentary base? I’ve been to the Mississippi base. Their hospital is twice what I had in Colorado, let alone here.”
“He wants him here because he’s one of ours.”
“One of ours? Who?”
Michael swallowed and sat up straighter, keeping her hand between his. He drew in and released a slow breath. “Lilly, it’s Jace.”
Her lips parted and confusion washed over her face. Michael counted in his head, waiting for the realization to hit her. Eight… nine… ten… She sucked in a sharp breath. “What?”
Michael nodded. “It’s Jace. Jacqueline recognized him immediately.”
She shook her head slowly. “No. Jace is dead. He’s…”
“He’s alive. They sent an image of him, and General Castleton confirmed it. It’s Jason Quinn.”
Lilly stood slowly, and Michael moved with her, keeping her hands firmly between his. “I — We have to go. We have to go get him.”
“I’m leaving tonight. I’ll have him back here day after tomorrow.”
She shook her head. “No. No. I have to go. I have to go.” She tried to pull her hand free, already heading for the door. “I need to go.”
Michael drew her back to him, and she looked up, her eyes shifting sporadically and he could almost hear the barrage of thoughts clashing in her head, vying for dominance. “Lilly, listen to me. Listen to me, Lilly,” he repeated firmly and she drew a shuddered breath. “You can’t go. You need to stay here with Jamie. You can’t make that kind of trip.”
“He’ll want to see me…”
Michael clenched his jaw, biting down until a sharp pain pulled at the side of his neck. Lilly stared at him, and he saw the shift in her expression when she recognized the truth in his eyes before he said it.
“There’s more. How bad is he?”
Michael released his hold to lay his hands on her arms. “Doctor Monroe told me Jace is still very weak. By the way Jacqueline described him, and the place they found him, I believe he has been abused for a long time. Possibly tortured.” She gasped, and he felt her body sway, but he held her firm and kept his gaze locked with hers. “He has a long road of physical therapy to get back to the man he was. We will do that. Here.”
Lilly nodded. “What else?”
He almost smiled. She knew him well. More than anything, Michael wished he could spare her the pain he knew the truth would cause. He rubbed his hands on her arms. “Lilly, he doesn’t remember.”
“Doesn’t remember what happened to him?”
He shook his head. “He doesn’t remember the last five years or who he is. He knows he’s a pilot, and he remembers going AWOL. But, he knows nothing from that point on. Nothing specific about Phoenix. Nothing about himself. Not his name. Not—”
“Me. He doesn’t remember me.”
“He has not been asked, point blank, if he remembers his wife. Doctor Monroe has been reluctant to provide him with specific facts, hoping he would remember on his own.”
Lilly nodded, her eyes growing distant in a look he had learned to recognize. She was running medical facts through her mind, searching for the answer. “Mnestic Shock Syndrome…”
“Yes. That’s the diagnosis Doctor Monroe made, and based on the brief history he gave me, I agree. Lilly, MSS isn’t permanent. We’ll—”
“We’ll find him,” she said, her voice almost a whisper as she looked past him to the bassinette in the corner. A soft coo filled the heaviness in the room. Lilly shifted her gaze back to Michael, nodded slowly. “We’ll find him again.”
Michael smiled, and wrapped his arms around her, releasing the pent-up tension that had pulled at him since he stepped into the house. He nodded against her hair. “We’ll find him again.”
*****
The buzz of voices hummed around him in the darkness, jumbled words that didn’t connect to make coherent thought. He rolled his head, trying to sense which direction they came from. With groggy awareness, he realized he wasn’t in the black hellhole that haunted his dreams, or the damp cold he remembered from before. Days before? Hours before? He wasn’t sure.
