~ * ~ * ~
The shift from aerial warfare to ground was one that took some getting used to for Rafian VCA, as he lay prone on top of a hollowed-out building that used to be a radio tower.
On the roof of the ruins, he could see the Phasers carrying out the operation. It wasn’t fair for the Geralos, fighting Phasers instead of marines. His men and women had tools that they were clueless about, and Phasers were trained to carry out one-man operations that could easily see death tolls in the hundreds.
Having over ten Phasers in one area working in concert was akin to magma pouring into a city after a volcanic explosion. There was no way to halt it, and if you were not evacuating when it came, the only certainty left for you was death.
Rafian fired a few head shots at some Geralos soldiers, more to see if he still had a deadeye aim than to actually help anyone. It wasn’t as if the soldiers on the ground needed him. When the entire city was cleared of Geralese occupation, the Phaser agents scanned the air and moved to escort in a host of marines from the Helysian.
They were deployed to execute search-and-destroy missions on the rest of the area. With agreement that this was now a Phaser operation, the marines would do what they needed to do and then join with Rafian’s people in order to build a proper military base outside of what would be a sizable civilian city.
This had been Rafian’s dream—for Vestalia to start over. After planning the invasion and eliminating and occupying the Geralos with aid from the top brass of the Alliance, he had finally been granted his wish. Now that he had flown this dangerous mission to clear the vermin, he could move on to the next phase, which would rely on the architects and engineers being flown in.
He helped the aces bring the marines down to land, and he provided personal cover for them as they scraped the landscape for any remaining Geralos. The entire operation had taken the better half of a day, and its success was due to the amazing intelligence that had been gathered in the country of Cerium, in coordination with the superior technology of the Phasers.
The country had been taken so fast the marines had time to erect a shield above the area that would be the city and barracks. The entire compound sat on 1,600 acres of land, and the first of the military structures, the Phaser agency, was ported in using the warp crystals.
A week later, the Phaser base of operations and training facility were erected, and a small ceremony was held to commemorate the new start. New uniforms were issued to the men and women who had aided in taking Zynec Prime. The Phaser colors were red and black, with the insignia being a shattered white crystal on top of a black planet, cracked to display its imperfection and resting on a crimson field.
Rafian again walked through a line of saluting Phasers, now decked out in their colors. He climbed the tall steps leading up to the entrance, approached the podium, and looked down upon the expanse of people cheering for him as if Vestalia had already been conquered.
The view from the podium—his podium—was breathtaking, and he could imagine that after the city was built, he would be able to look out over it from where he stood. It was a good idea to put Phaser Base Alpha on the highest hill in the country, but he did not realize the strategic advantage it would serve if anyone were to infiltrate their ranks.
The sky was a clear cyan, giving the illusion of purity and new beginnings, but it was nature’s irony at work, showing a clear day of life as if the last week hadn’t been filled with blood and death.
Rafian’s observation lasted at most two seconds as he regarded his soldiers and moved on to speak. “This is only the beginning,” he said in a firm and direct manner. The crowd erupted in chants of something unintelligible, but it sounded affirming, so Rafian continued.
“This has been a long, painful road for many of us. Hell, the training almost destroyed a dear friend of mine who even now is locked in battle with the demons in her head. Many of you are strong, but you are battling the same demons that I myself fight mentally.
“We were made immoral, inhumane, and calloused because of a few old fools who thought that was the only way members of this galaxy could adequately guard our home. We, the few who liberated the free thinkers from the atrocity that was once known as the jumpers, have torn out the beating heart of those same old fools and reinvented ourselves as Phaser agents!”
The crowd went ballistic, and Rafian felt a painful lump in his throat as he thought of Camille and how much she needed to be there. To his right stood Tayden. She looked impressive, decorated with every medal that she had ever been granted and wearing a personally designed beret that matched her suit and jacket.
She did not move the entire time while he made his speech, and he felt an enormous amount of respect for everything she had done leading up to this, including rescuing him from that first jump.
“I will be Supreme Leader of this organization until you vote me incapable or I retire to live on a freed Vestalia. I reserve the right to identify a country of my own to settle down on.” He paused to let the laughter build up from his ridiculous joke and winked at Marian.
“Your base commander and my fellow lead will be Colonel Tayden Lark. I expect that I will be absent often in the field. She will command this structure, oversee the training of our recruits, and be first contact whenever defense of this city is needed, or when backup is required on any mission. It is an honor to be your leader, my fellow marines, Starfighters, and Phasers. Let us not forget that each one of us was deemed special within our respective military ranks, so do not let that fade from your minds as you go forth on your missions.”
With that, Rafian turned the announcement chip over to Tayden and stood where she was standing as she delivered a powerful speech of her own. The speech would be remembered as the Phoenix Eye Address due to being borrowed by the military for repeating to soldiers who were about to embark on a dangerous mission.
Tayden was a short woman, but when she took the podium and spoke, she seemed very much the giant that her heart demanded the world see her as. Rafian looked at her with admiration, having seen her grow from the angry young woman who lashed out at Arn to a composed and dangerous professional who had not only saved his life but expanded their organization with over a hundred new recruits.
Thirteen fully graduated Phasers stood at the front of the crowd to hear the address, their white coats contrasted against the sea of black, red, and blue that was the recruits and the attending marines from the Helysian. Tayden tapped the floating mic droid as it centered itself in front of her, and without any hesitation, she began her legendary speech.
“Warriors, conquerors, defenders, and lovers. We all have our own selfish motivations for why we fight. Many of us don’t know said motivation as of yet because we have buried it deep as we mask it with words such as, ‘I fight for Vestalia my home.’
“Rafian and I couldn’t care less why you fight, ladies and gentlemen. What we do care about is that in any skirmish that you are involved in—be it a bar fight or a single-pilot drop into a war zone—you fight as if it were your last chance to show your supreme quality.
“Fight as if all the holo-vids of the known galaxies were keyed in on you and you only had one chance to get it right.
“Fight as if your family, your friends, and your lovers all depended on it to continue to live out their lives.
“As Phasers, you are branded as the best chance for humanity. This is a heavy charge, I know. But the training you have endured, the loss of what could be deemed as a happy, regular, human existence, and lastly, the fate of the galaxy demand that you represent us in the way that you are expected to.
“Phasers don’t fail. We do the mission. When we fall, we get up, dust ourselves off, and finish the mission. When we have doubt, we steel ourselves, remember the details, and finish the mission. When we die, we clone and return, like a ghost that was wronged in its mortal life, or like a phoenix whose fire refuses to be tamed, and we finish the mission.
“We finish the mission, Phasers, and we do i
t with class. Please join me in giving ourselves the first of many cheers for a mission well done, and to the letter.”
With that, the crowd erupted. One hundred and twenty warriors were present from all corners of the galaxy, having come in to see their new command. They were excited, and for good reason. They were finally on Vestalia with a solid base of operations, no longer hiding in the clouds of a planet that nobody wanted.
Phasers of Anstractor
available on Amazon.com
About The Author
GREG DRAGON brings a fresh perspective to fiction by telling human stories of life, love and relationships in a science fiction setting. This unconventional author spins his celestial scenes from an imagination nurtured from being an avid reader himself. His exposure to multiple cultures, multiple religions, martial arts, and travel lends a unique dynamic to his stories.
See Greg’s author page at gregdragon.com or keep up with his latest books and appearances through email.
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends