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DePietro’s wizened face did not resolve itself into his characteristic
smile as it usually did.
         “I can tell,” Elliot said.
Michael had been the teacher who had trained him to be a Defensive before
letting him go into the world, as all mentors eventually do.
         “We sensed something,” Michael’s
face distorted as he concentrated on the memory, “awakening in the dark.”
         “An extra—terrestrial beam of
energy has exited the anomaly we detected and is headed for Earth.”
         Michael’s eyebrows rose
underneath his dark hair. “What’s this weapon going to do?”
         “The most recent information
we have says that it will probably hit the moon,” Elliot paused as he considered
what he had to tell his friend, “and it may also hit Earth.”
         “What about the lives at
stake?”
         “We’re beginning evacuations
immediately. We’re pretty sure we can get everyone out in time.”
         “We have that much to be
thankful for,” Michael said. “I trust you to do what is best for us.”
         “Thank—you,” Elliot replied.
         “I’ll tell you this much Eli: there
is something very wrong here. I’ve talked to others and we all agree. The
Coalition is planning something.”
         “They’re always planning
something,” Elliot said.
         “This is worse than usual. I
wish I could tell you more, but that’s all I know.”
         “I’ll keep it in mind.”
         Michael smiled and turned off
the link.
         Elliot rose from the seat in
Joshua’s office with the thought of whom to choose for his staff. The answer
came readily a moment later. A mischievous smile was on his face when he
launched himself onto the bridge. He forced the smile away once he reached the
Captain and first officer of the AWS Endeavour .
         “Joshua, Madison, I need to see both of you in private,”
Elliot requested with a solemn expression.
         Joshua vacated his position at
the captain’s chair and Madison,
the place to its right. The couple converged behind the Admiral on his way from
the command center to Joshua’s office. Once the doors closed on the small teal
setting, Elliot sat on the sectional couch opposite to Joshua’s workstation.
         “The Horizon Project has been
shelved.”
         “Why?” Madison asked.
         “We no longer have the
resources to build the new fleet. Once the moon is destroyed most of the weapon
systems will be destroyed as well.”
         “So what do we do now?” Joshua
asked. He took a seat on one end of the sectional couch.
         “We always had a sort of a
Plan B in case something occurred to render Horizon unworkable. It’s called Phoenix and I need people
and resources to make it work.”
         “What kind of people?” Joshua
asked, suspiciously.
         “To start off, I need an
adjutant or two.”
         “You don’t mean,” Joshua said.
         “I do.”
         “I didn’t sign up to be an
errand boy Eli,” Joshua said.
         “You won’t be. You will keep
your command and still be attached to the Third Battle Group. You’ll just have
a little more work. Fair enough?”
         “I guess so,” Joshua replied.
         “This is a big project and I
need people I can trust. You two are a good start.”
         “Okay Eli, but what does the
project do?” Madison
inquired.
         “No one would willingly tell
you this within the admiralty, but Horizon is already being widely regarded as
a failure.”
         “Eli, we’ve been in a cold war
for eighty years,” Joshua said.
         “Not after their fleet
launches. All analyses indicate the Coalition would declare war on us within
six months after that date at the most. We can’t win under those
circumstances.”
         “So this is what Phoenix is for?” Madison asked.
         “It’s basically an escape
plan. We take the ships we have and as