The Phoenix Rising
By
Gary Caplan
Copyright © 2011 by Gary Caplan
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0620-6
I would like to dedicate this book to all the great authors who wrote in the science fiction genre who inspired my imagination eventually inspiring me to write. I have had these ideas since a young boy watching the Apollo launches as well as watching science fiction programs in the late sixties and early seventies. More recently, I found some time to write. I would also like to dedicate this to my friends and family who helped with some ideas and concepts back when we were younger. To Robert, Brian, Mark, and David for each of their helpful creative contributions to the story. I would like to thank Basil for his helping create several of the main characters and with helping write chapters two and three and reviewing some sections of drafts of the final chapters. Also thanks Basil for the inspiring science fiction artwork on the characters and all the starship drawings. Lastly to my parents Martin and Merri who inspired me to learn.
CHAPTER 1
A Viridian Incursion
Fleet Captain Robert Allen Sheppard sat at his command station, issuing command after command to coordinate the ships in his task force. His executive officer, a capable man, controlled the general actions of his ship, the heavy cruiser Endeavor. Robert Sheppard was a tall, robust man with a light complexion, slightly graying hair, and blue eyes. He was a human with ancestors originating from the planet Earth. Sheppard was dressed in his bridge duty uniform, its imbedded sensors monitoring his health. The silvery star cluster of a fleet captain attached to his uniform’s lapel.
The duty uniform of the Alliance of Worlds was unisex and designed so that each section’s uniform jacket was designated by a different color scheme. White represented line officers and Command; blue was for the Sciences section; green was designated for the Medical division; red was for the Engineering & Maintenance section, and golden yellow for Operations, the general operation of the starship.
Sheppard’s duty uniform jacket was the bone white of Command; the duty shirt, like that of all sections, was dark gray. On his left shoulder was the ship’s patch for the Endeavor. On the right shoulder was the section patch for Command. On his right breast he wore his identification badge and on his left, the insignia symbol of the Alliance of Worlds. The duty shirt showed the rank designation on the collar, and the jacket sleeves were broken by the section color and rank designation near the sleeves’ end. The jacket even had storage pockets. The ship’s duty trousers were charcoal gray, extending to the calf, and the boots were charcoal black.
On the other side of the boundary zone was a small fleet of Viridian ships consisting of over twenty mostly cruiser or battle cruiser–type ships that appeared to be mobilizing for an assault on the Alliance’s starbase. Starbase 301 was one of the main starbases in the sector and was involved with trade and supply routes for more distant alliance members and colonies. Only a few months ago, Commodore Pilat had been injured and had passed the command of her four task forces to Fleet Captain Sheppard, as he had as much experience as she did in space battles, if not more. Almost a year ago, there had been another territorial dispute with the Viridians. Sheppard—aboard the United Galactic Alliance Starship Endeavor and commanding that along with other ships in his task force and those of another fleet captain—was able to salvage the situation when a strategic Alliance of Worlds asteroid mining station, along with valuable cargo transports near an area of the boundary zone were attacked by a Viridian fleet.
Fleet Captain Sheppard, the ranking fleet captain by seniority for this sector, had recently been awarded a medal for valorous service for his actions but had yet to return to Star One for the ceremony.
While Commodore Pilat was undergoing some regenerative surgery at the starbase, the Viridian spaceships had assumed hostile postures on their side of the boundary zone. One of the newer crew members on the bridge asked in a near whisper what the Viridians were like.
Sheppard heard the passing ensign and decided to respond while the ship continued on its course. “The Viridians are a reptile-type race. Being from Earth, I think of them as snakelike, with arms, and a supportive tail they use to move into a standing posture. Unlike snakes, they seem to have an ability to alter their colors of their scales, so if they got angry, for instance, some orange would flare into their faces. You can get additional information from the computer data files.”
Sheppard looked toward his first officer, Commander J. J. Adams, as he joined the conversation. Adams was dressed in the Command section duty uniform, his brown hair was cut short, and his blue eyes scanned the bridge as he spoke.
“Unfortunately, the Viridian never considered the Alliance of Worlds a friend, even after the initial friendship envoys,” stated Adams, raising his eyebrow. “Viridians are somewhat territorial, and even though they are a space-faring race with faster-than-light travel, some of their political methods were not as forward thinking as most of the members of our Alliance.” Most of the crew knew the history for this section of the galaxy; there had been conflicts and skirmishes with the Viridians for many years after the first nonaggression treaty’s failure.
“One of the problems was that the Viridians never seemed to make clear claims to any intervening space or dust cloud zones. Leaving their territory set in several scattered clusters of stars,” stated Sheppard.
Adams spoke up. “Whereas our Alliance has a habit of claiming intervening areas of space. Evidently, over the years, the expansion of the Alliance and the gaining of new members cut off some of the Viridian trade or mining routes,” he said.
“With the Viridian’s unwillingness to agree to a trade or affiliation treaty,” Sheppard continued, “they limited their own expansion, except in the direction of the galactic edge and across the space between the galactic spiral arms.” Sheppard paused for a moment.
“The only political achievement with them was a type of loose nonaggression pact, and that with only a portion of their warlord-like leadership council,” finished Sheppard.
“A more secure nonaggression, trade or affiliation treaty has yet to be arranged. The basic nonaggression pact resulted in the creation of this boundary zone we are approaching,” added Adams.
Sheppard and his task force of ships had previously participated in neutralizing the threat at asteroid
