Phantom Regency

In the beginning the Forger spun the galaxies into existence.

The great sky danced with light as the vast, spinning clusters were released.

All the Powers clapped and adored as the darkness was filled,

but one coveted in secret.

The Forger smiled as they danced among the galaxies.

The one called Sky Man reached out and laid hold of one of them.

The entire host gasped at his audacity.

But the Forger smiled even more.

“You have chosen well, this one is yours.

“I will teach you how to tend it.

“Come with me and we will put it in its place.”

The Forger led the Sky Man across the void.

But one followed, enraged with envy;

His form withered and became ugly and scaly.

And so, the Great Dragon was born,

Spawned by his own lust and greed.

-The Phantom Rites 1:8

Doc had been absolutely right. No sooner had they arrived at the Lair, he had been summoned by the SERPENT Armada Director-General Fromgarr Dernholm. Talon had met him once before when he was promoted to command of the Dominator. General Dernholm was a busy, fussy, unfriendly man, but he got results. He was fat, old and balding. Although unimpressive in person, he had somehow risen to the command of the entire armed forces of the Authority. He sent for the captain as soon as his skyboat landed at the secret asteroid headquarters of the SERPENT Armada.

He found himself riding a tubecar with Commander-Manager Torkul. There were miles of tunnels inside the 200-mile wide asteroid. Each tunnel had several vacuum-pumped tubes running through it. Through the tubes flew cars loaded with cargo and passengers.

As they swiftly and silently sped deeper toward the command center, Talon broke the silence. “I am dreading this meeting with the D-G. I hope he does not have some boring new assignment to ‘honor’ me with.”

“I never worry about what the higher-ups do or don’t do. It’s not worth the headache. Anyway, I’m sure they won’t waste their rising star on a desk job,” she said with more than a little sarcasm.

“Commander, I wanted to tell you I am impressed with your performance so far on the Dominator. I know it must be hard for you stepping down from a command position.”

“With all due respect captain, I don’t need your pep talk. I’m on the Dominator because I was ordered there. I don’t take it personally that I’m not in command. They wanted the best first officer for the best ship,” she replied crossly.

“I guess all we can do is follow orders,” Talon replied, inviting comment.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that we are all just puppets in a way.” He was speaking out of his own frustration. “If we can’t make a difference in the big scheme, all we can do is to find a place to serve and do what we’re told.” He spoke with a hint of anger.

Ennika took his words personally. “Are you trying to say I’m just some kind of robot? Mindlessly following because I have nothing better to do?”

“Now wait just a…”

“No, you wait a minute pretty boy! I serve the Authority because it’s the place of strength in this galaxy. What are you going to do, crawl back to your weak, pathetic Regency? Join the free traders in the Ostia Dominion? Only free because no one cares to interfere in the back woods of the galaxy. This is where the future lies! We have the resources! We have the power! I want to be a winner, so this is where I stand!”

Captain Vasloch was taken aback by her rant. He practically froze, not even thinking of addressing her horrible breach of protocol.

She looked him up and down and scowled. “You think whatever you want. Just know that I will do as I’m told and serve the Dominator and the Authority with all I have. Is that good enough for you, captain?”

He re-gathered his wits. “Of course, I would expect nothing less, commander.” The car slowed to a halt. “Here we are.”

They exited into a guardroom. Two soldiers with nerve sticks guarded the only door out of the small room. Another soldier sat at a small desk. “Identification, please,” he said in a bored monotone voice. Talon surmised that deep in a well-protected secret base there was never much action.

“Captain-Supervisor Talon Vasloch,” he said, holding up his wristband. “Here to see the director-general.”

“Unit Captain Ennika Torkul,” said the commander. Talon raised an eyebrow. “They let me keep my rank. I’m only called commander on ship. Two captains are one too many,” she said coldly.

“You may pass,” said the soldier.

They strode into the command center. It was a large, circular room with row upon row of consoles, though only about a third of them were currently manned. There was a buzz of conversation in the room. Officers and orderlies walked purposefully in and out of various doors. Captain Vasloch smiled. This was the nerve center of the entire armada. From here all the defense of planets and convoys was coordinated. From here all the orders to hunt pirates went forth.

An orderly strode up to the captain. “Captain-Supervisor Vasloch?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“Come with me, sir,” he said and headed for one of the side passages.

Talon followed as they walked through a maze of corridors. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see another officer about his age.

“Axton! What are you…?”

“I transferred right after you did,” he replied, “How are you, Talon?”

“I’m good. Look at you, a captain already!”

“Yeah. My reputation as a strategic thinker was somehow inflated. I am adjunct to the manager-general of the planning division. They’ve actually got me plotting a theoretical invasion of the Evantha Dominion.”

Talon was surprised. “I guess they need to be ready for anything. So, you…”

The orderly stirred noisily. Talon took the clue.

“Look, I am heading for a meeting. Let’s catch up later.”

Axton patted his shoulder. “Yeah, sure. Look me up.” He spun and walked away.

“Old friend, sir?” the orderly asked as they resumed walking.

“Classmate from the Skyforce Academy. Never liked him much,” Talon said with a shrug.

The orderly soon stopped in front of an open door. “In here, sir. The director-general will see you soon.”

“Thank you,” the captain replied. He entered a large, richly furnished parlor of sorts. There were two other doors, one of which was open. He sat on a leather couch across the room along the wall.

Talon reflected on the voyage. He was still a little steamed at Commander Torkul. She obviously had no respect for him. She seemed confident that she was untouchable because she had many old friends in high command. He wondered if he could get her transferred off his ship. Winning her over seemed like an impossible task. At least if they did give him some admin position, he would be rid of her. Once again, he found himself earnestly hoping he would not be relegated to some other duty. For all he knew he was going to be assigned to a desk to map out strategies for fighting pirate fleets. What a bore. Leave that to the nerds like Axton.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud, hissing growl of sorts coming from the open door. Without thinking he got up and walked over to the doorway. Inside was the D-G’s private office. There was a large desk facing the door. Two armchairs faced the desk. The high-backed desk chair was spun away from him toward a large holo-screen on the wall. The fuzzy, flickering image on the screen raised the hair on the back of his neck.

On the screen was a reptilian looking creature making hissing, grunting noises. Words scrolled along the bottom of the screen. Was that a translation? Talon thought. Is that thing actually talking? The lizard thing had an intelligent looking face. It’s narrowing snout showed small sharp teeth when its mouth opened. Its eyes were a deep yellow and looked wise and benevolent. If this was real, it was absolutely fantastic. People had explored hundreds of systems and never once encountered intelligent life.

“Very well,” said the director-general, “I will inform the CEO at once.” The holo-screen went dark.

Talon recovered and spun out of the doorway. Was he supposed to see this? Would he be in trouble? And most of all, what in the inferno was that thing?!

He took several deep breaths, stepped in front of the door and knocked on the jamb.

The director-general spun his chair around slowly. “Captain Vasloch, good to see you again,” he said rising.

“Good to see you too, General Dernholm,” he replied.

“Come, sit down. Can I get you anything? You had quite a battle out there.” The director-general returned to his seat.

“I’m fine, sir,” Talon said, sitting down. “Still refreshed from the shift.”

“Of course, I have just received important orders,” General Dernholm began.

Orders. From that lizard thing!?

His heart was pounding. His palms started sweating. His neat and tidy world was shaken.

“We are entering into an exciting time young captain. You will be part of our bright new future,” the general continued in what he thought was a fatherly tone.

“I- I- I don’t know what you mean.” Talon replied with a gulp in his throat.

“As you know the Regency is de-centralizing. And the Authority has always been semi-autonomous. Now we will begin making our own future.”

The director-general was acting genuinely elated. His portly frame seemed to almost jiggle with excitement. But his bald head was sweating, and Talon could sense fear in his heart.

“What future is that, sir?” Talon asked.

“The SERPENT Authority has always been a vital part of the prosperity of the galaxy. We have worked endlessly to provide the needs of the Regency without a thank you. But with the expansion of the armada and the new initiatives we are passing, we will be feared like never before. Certainly, the ore pirates fear us now more than ever. I am very pleased with your maiden voyage. I am to confer on you the Order of the Dragon medal this afternoon.”

Talon’s heart skipped a beat at “dragon”. That was an apt description of the creature he had seen.

General Dernholm continued, “You are to retire to your guest quarters and report to the Volborg Assembly Hall in full dress at 1400. I will be dining with you and all the officers of the Dominator tonight. And in the morning, you will be leaving for Vernorr. I have a message for the CEO and you will be delivering it.”

Talon’s head was spinning. “Thank you, sir,” he managed to say, rising. He walked out without waiting for a reply.

Fromgarr Dernholm watched him walk out. This young buck will serve his purpose, but I doubt that even the CEO can get him to see the light. He’s too idealistic. We need more pragmatic officers leading the new initiative.

“Get me Captain Ennika Torkul,” he said into his intercom.

Her stern face appeared on the holo-screen almost immediately.

“Sir?” she said.

“Ennika, my old friend, come to my office at once. There is something I want you to see,” he said with a slight smile.

The captain dutifully received his medal that afternoon. It buoyed his mind a little to have his prowess as a ship’s captain affirmed. He could at least feel good about what he was doing even if he was horrified about whom or what he might be doing it for.

At the gala dinner, he was seated next to Lieutenant-Manager Drake Anslar, one of his gunnery officers.

“Good work in the recent battle, lieutenant,” said the captain, “The new cannons did some real damage.”

“Thank you, sir. You got us into the perfect position. At that range the Vasloch Cannons are deadly,” replied the lieutenant.

“You’re new to the armada, aren’t you?”

“Yes, captain. The Dominator is my first assignment. I was fortunate to be given such an opportunity; especially after bouncing around so much.”

Talon was intrigued. “What do you mean, ‘bouncing around’?”

“Well, sir, I grew up in the core and entered the Regency Academy as a teen. My first ship was a carrier. I manned a pulse blaster, but never saw any action. After that I was transferred to an older model cruiser, the Thunder Child.”

“That was my old ship!” interjected the captain.

“I know sir. You had just left for the Authority when I came aboard. After only two months she was decommissioned and I was put on inactive duty. They have been cutting back the Skyforce a lot lately. In order to stay on a ship, I applied to the Evantha Dominion defense forces. They have been expanding rapidly. Their modular ship designs can be cranked out pretty fast. Did you know they have almost a hundred ships mothballed awaiting phantom cylinders?”

“I had not heard that. I suspect that their fleet is now second to ours.”

“I would agree captain. Am I boring you with my story?”

“Not at all. Please go on.” Talon was quite refreshed to be focused on anything but his own thoughts right now.

“Well, sir, I was assigned to a scout ship patrolling the border with the Authority. A fleet of pirates attacked our ship last year. The ship was destroyed but a few of us jettisoned and were stranded in the deep sky. It was actually an Authority destroyer that found us first. All the Evanthan nationals were sent back right away. I was held up in some red tape. The easiest way out was to resign from the Evanthan forces and to join the Authority. As you know they are constantly recruiting and I was lucky to join just as they were staffing the Dominator.”

“So, what do you think of…?” Talon’s voice trailed off. He was going to ask the lieutenant his opinion about the state of the galaxy. But he really didn’t want to go there.

“What do I think about what, sir?”

“Never mind. What else can you tell me about yourself? I want to get to know my officers better.”

“Well sir, I guess my biggest achievement so far was the bronze star at the Dominion Games in hand-to-hand combat. I was a featherweight. I guess I still am.” Lieutenant Anslar was as short as the captain but rail thin.

“That’s quite an accomplishment, to be the third best fighter in the whole galaxy.”

“I was never much of a fighter, captain. I started out to get discipline and fitness. I never would have passed an academy physical if I hadn’t been fight-trained since age nine.”

They continued to talk throughout dinner. Talon found the young officer a breath of fresh air. He was polite and humble, the exact opposite of his first officer.

That night Talon lay awake in his guest room. He hated being at base. He realized the only place he felt comfortable and in control was in the captain’s chair. He could not get his mind off the creature he had seen. He could make no sense of it.

After dinner, he had talked privately with Doc about what he had seen. Doc was the only officer he had any confidence in yet. He knew the doctor, for all his stuffiness, was a good and loyal man. He desperately wanted Doc to tell him he was crazy, but the old gentleman could only say, “Well my young captain, that’s quite an encounter. I do not find it any less likely to believe in alien dragons than to believe in the Sky Man or to believe that we can travel to star systems in some mysterious way that the brightest minds cannot explain.” Maybe Doc was so level headed because nothing concerned him except his next patient.

Talon tossed and turned for several hours. He began to think of ways he could leave the Authority. The thought of dealing with this strange knowledge was so daunting. And now he was going to see the chief executive of the whole Authority. What else could go wrong? was his last thought as he drifted into a fitful sleep.