Defiance: The Phoenix Enigma, #9

By Jay Aspen

Courage is having the strength to face defeat and keep going.

 

The final episode in The Phoenix Enigma series takes some unexpected and dramatic turns as the struggle for freedom nears its conclusion.

The invaders have taken control of the country.

Jac and her friends barely escaped in time.

Threatened by a force with far superior technology and firepower, they knew this outcome was likely.

So they prepared.

Now the plan has to go into action, even though they know the odds are still against them and no plan can anticipate every unpredictable twist and change of events.

Or guarantee that everyone will survive…

 

Defiance is the ninth book in the Phoenix Enigma series, the dystopian romance epic from Jay Aspen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sandfire Publishing Ltd
• Release date: Oct 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201712648

Jay Aspen

Jay writes from experiences in wilderness travel and extreme sports; snow peaks in the Andes, big walls in Yosemite and Baffin Island, sailing the Irish sea to photograph puffins and dolphins. A science degree and training with Himalayan shamans led to an interest in bio-psychology. She lives in the wild Welsh Borders, sings jazz, rides horses.

Book preview

Map of Future Britain

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The only predictable thing about complex systems is that they are unpredictable.

Resistance Archives 1

The Warren

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The City

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Resistance Archives 9

Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.

1

Jac made yet another diversion to her room to add an extra layer of makeup to her face. The longer she spent in her undercover role as secretary, the greater the risk that Smith might see through her precarious disguise. If the newly-reinstated deputy head of security worked out that she was the prisoner who had mysteriously escaped from military custody a few weeks ago, her spying––and probably her life––would be over.

Face-painting finished, she ran down flights of stairs and along the heavily-guarded corridors of the Dome, determined not to arrive late this time. General Berfeld had a nasty habit of summoning her at short notice––followed by an even nastier habit of snarling at her if she missed the deadline by only a few seconds.

It was as if he needed to continually reassert his authority, harsh reminders that he was in sole command of the country until he could reinstate Moris to his previous role as a puppet-power president. Provided of course the wretched man could provide assurances that Avarit’s interests would be served without question.

Jac made it into the dictator-president’s plush office with seconds to spare, only to be greeted by the usual sour response.

The general looked up from his tablet and glared at her, his broad face creased in an angry frown.

The other members of your illegal government were not found in the Dome when I arrived here. My patrols have reported back on all their home addresses now. And this ridiculous filing system had all of them listed in buildings destroyed by the airstrike on the city east sector. I don’t believe for a minute those were the correct addresses in the first place.

Ah, possibly a misunderstanding. You may not have entered the appropriate star signs––

"I don’t want to hear another word about star signs! If I don’t get their correct home addresses in the next five minutes, I’ll find ways of extracting that information from your recently deposed president. It’s about time that criminal Cassandra Siries received some payback for her illegal coup."

Jac had already seen some of the ‘ways’ Avarit chiefs were in the habit of extracting information.

Those threats are real. I have to protect Cass.

These are the backup contacts in case of emergency. You could try there. She keyed her tablet and transferred the addresses to Berfeld, praying her friends had all relocated somewhere safe as planned. Do you want me to reconfigure the political and security files for you now?

Berfeld waved her away. Yes, go do it.

She made the process of closing down her tablet as slow as she could, hoping to find out what the general would do next.

Not hard to guess but there might be some useful details.

He picked up his phone. Smith, I finally got hold of some alternative addresses. Get your enforcers over there immediately.

Jac slipped out into the corridor, closed the door quietly behind her and headed straight for the kitchen. If she could use her concealed hotspot node to alert Karim at the hive he might be able to pass on the warning before Smith caught up with his latest victims.

Hells! Looks like my luck is seriously off today.

The entire kitchen was in a chaotic mess of piled-up food supplies and harassed cooks. At first it seemed like a coordinated bullying campaign by ex-minister Aldim’s private team of bodyguards cataloguing everything in the stores. Then it became clear that they were also making room for several crates of imported food-packs, presumably to feed Berfeld’s security guards their daily fix of imported preserved food.

Almost certainly well laced with addictive drugs.

Aldim was only obeying Berfeld’s orders, but as always she was being meticulously thorough––and it was taking her snoopers terrifyingly close to the hotspot node. For a few minutes Jac feared the stocktaking might be cover for an electronic sweep but she soon started picking up enough resentment from Aldim to figure that Berfeld was simply delivering a timely reminder of basic Avarit policy.

He believes women are only fit for domestic or secretarial duties, not ministerial ones. Hm. We’ll see about that.

This could be a chance to study the demoted Avarit minister in more depth than had been possible up to now. Since taking on her spy-role, Jac had found that every attempt to scan Aldim had been overwhelmed by the aggressive presence of the other Avarit reps.

She found a sheltered corner behind a pile of crates and went through the motions of preparing a plate of food for Cass.

As soon as she focused in third level she felt uneasy, apprehensive. The sensations refused to form any clear image or direction but she knew for certain she was picking up on Aldim’s deviously complex thought-patterns. This was someone fully absorbed in a long-term strategy for her personal advantage.

Jac was sure the notes she could see Aldim making on her tablet were about the ex-minister’s own project and had nothing to do with bean-counting––but a clear picture of the project simply would not emerge.

It was a relief when Aldim’s crew finished their stocktaking and left the distraught cooks to sort out the shambles they had left behind. Jac slipped into the food store and plugged into the hotspot. Karim’s face appeared, the white tiles of the underground hive behind him. He looked tired, no doubt the result of long hours and too many tasks on his to-do list.

Karim, it’s probably too last-minute now but is there any way you can contact Devi and warn her that Smith has been sent out to arrest her?

He pushed aside the untidy pile of electronics spread across his desk.

I can try, but her phone will have to be fairly close to her apartment’s hotspot to pick up a signal if she’s not already plugged in. It was designed to work by being physically connected.

He concentrated on keystrokes for a few moments.

No. Can’t get anything and if there’s going to be an arrest squad arriving I’ll have to cut the connection until the heat is off again. I haven’t heard from Devi since she brought in Joe’s phone––I downloaded Joe’s notes and passed them on to Bel’s team in case it helps them track him down. But then I think Devi went back out looking for Joe again.

Is she still convinced he was kidnapped to work on Berfeld’s food-drugs?

Very convinced. No other reason his phone would have been shoved behind the garbage bins outside their apartment. And it’s kind of obvious Berfeld will want to replace the doped food-packs that Kit and co did such a nice job of dumping in the swamp.

Any news on how Bel’s rescue team is getting on?

Not yet.

Right now, Jac felt that everything she focused on was hitting obstacles. Waiting for the chance of a breakthrough was always the hardest part of her role in the Dome.

Maybe I need another training session with Cass.

2

Bel paused at the street corner and checked the route ahead. No patrols. She hoped Kit’s estimate of only another ten minutes to the east side clinic was accurate.

Dylan glanced back at the red glow from the fire, now several blocks behind them.

I think if we hit trouble at this stage we’re gonna have to fight our way out. Our situation has gone way beyond my bluff as an Avarit guard so I’ll be more use on carry-detail. He held out the heavy assault rifle.

Kit lowered Joe to the ground and took the weapon.

My thoughts exactly. He moved into position ahead of them. Dylan, how did you survive that grenade? I know I wouldn’t have.

I trained for it with the rebels back home. We often used techniques like that. You learn the kind of cover to look for and if you’re strong enough you can grab one of the bodies to use as a shield. He hefted Joe’s weight with a grunt of pain. I guess I got careless. My hands weren’t shielded properly.

Impressive though. Show me how sometime. If we get out of this.

It took longer than Kit had estimated to reach the new clinic. Too many diversions and double-backs to avoid the Avarit security patrols heading for the fire. Bel could feel the relief soaking into her muscles as they finally hurried through the entrance. A reminder of a long night on high alert.

Since Berfeld had put the hospital off limits to anyone who couldn’t pay, volunteers from the old Resistance networks had set up a makeshift field hospital in the Utility base of one of the least damaged apartment blocks.

Raine turned as they walked in, tying off the last suture at the end of his most recent surgery. He stretched his spine and eased aching fingers, stepping back as the support crew brought in the next patient.

Bel watched them arranging her as best they could on the makeshift table, swabbing and disinfecting under the flickering flashlight.

A hell of a lot looks to have happened in the city while I was out in the east marshes.

She pushed her casualty forward.

Dylan’s hands need attention.

Dylan set Joe down and held out the burns for Raine to examine. I don’t think it’s too serious. Just not so good for downclimbing fire escapes and handling a gun right now.

Raine gave the damage a quick appraisal and reached for the synth-skin and dressings. Looks like you were lucky there. If I can get to it quickly, it shouldn’t take long to heal. He raised a quizzical eyebrow in Kit’s direction. I already had a report about that fire in the north sector.

Erm, yes. It got a bit untidy on the way out of there.

Which bit of ‘get in and out of there undetected’ did you not quite understand?

Bel could feel Raine’s mix of relief and exasperation.

I guess it turned into a bit of a headline?

No. Actually it didn’t. Even with their limited broadcast ability after their offices were hit, there’s already been a Truper report on it. Very brief, saying it was a minor accidental fire in a recycled plastics factory.

She nodded. Which would confirm they really want to keep it secret––as if we needed any more confirmation. Her hand went to her pocket. I should get these downloads to Karim––and then find a safe space for Joe to work on them in case it turns out Avarit has a backup after all.

Kit held out the canister of sealed vials as if it was a poisonous snake. Best include the virus samples with the download as well. Any follow-up news about the fire?

Raine pointed to an empty ammunition box. Put it all in there. An extra layer of protection might be a good idea. I sent Razz and a couple of tigers over to the lab to see if you needed help but they couldn’t find you. They saw the whole place burn down in spite of the security guards trying everything to stop it. Have you any idea what was in there for it to burn like that?

No. But the ground floor was marked with weapons-hazard symbols so it could have been anything.

Let’s hope this at least delays whatever horrors they were developing in there. Raine turned his attention to Joe. We should find you a safe place to work on the information you retrieved––

Joe seemed to have recovered enough to assert his own preference. I have no clue where that might be and I really don’t mind. I just want to see my wife. And then not do anything at all for at least three days.

Sounds reasonable, though you might not get the luxury of three days. Bel, can you relay that request to the hive from the local hotspot? It’s half a block west from here.

Sure. She hesitated in the entrance long enough to hear Joe’s attempt to defend his rescuers.

It was my fault the alarm was raised. I shouldn’t have tried to download the data, should have gone straight for simple destruction and escape.

She didn’t wait to hear more. Joe must have taken Raine’s comment a bit too seriously. She could reassure him later.

Karim stayed online long enough to promise he’d look for Devi and a work station for Joe before saying he had to get back to what he was doing.

He must be overloaded. First time I’ve known him not stopping for a chat.

When she reached the clinic again, Kit and Dylan had already left and Raine was starting his next amputation.

Raine? Where did they go?

Dylan was overdue to put in an appearance at the barracks before his excuses about spying on all of us get too unrealistic. Kit went with him in case those bandages slow his defenses down. He looked up briefly. The two of them just gave me their account of what happened. Dylan said it was actually his fault the alarm was triggered.

I hope you don’t believe that.

I believe he’s trying to take responsibility.

Raine, the alarm could have been set off by anything. The way we looked on camera, the time we took freeing Joe, some kind of warning device in the computer terminal... She stopped herself before her imagination strayed into less likely possibilities. It was Dylan who acted as rearguard and got us all away from there alive.

And the three of you managed to survive going off-plan, retrieved our missing scientist and most of the data––and destroyed Berfeld’s weapons lab. Good work. You’ve earned a rest.

Thanks. She guessed he had sensed her feelings of guilt for almost losing Dylan and his praise did the job of restoring her confidence. He gave her a quizzical look.

And Kit didn’t seem to remember how he got that black eye. Did you notice what happened?

Um, no. It was all pretty wild and chaotic trying to get off the roof.

She could tell straight away he didn’t believe her but he carefully refrained from pursuing it. If Kit and Dylan had worked out their own way of trying to protect each other, it was best to leave them to it.

3

Raine glanced at the line of patients still waiting for attention and checked the time. He had been working non-stop in the makeshift clinic all day and there were still casualties being brought in.

But I have to catch Wolf before his last lecture of the day.

Lizzie, how’s the first aid going?

She looked round from her perch a few yards away, her bandaged leg stretched out and supported on a lump of concrete.

Steady. But I’m going to run out of clean water if your people can’t get the surface-pipe delivering again.

Shouldn’t be too long now. And one of the free-clinic surgeons should be here by now to replace me...

It feels wrong to be leaving in the middle of all this.

Lizzie already knew he was behind schedule.

Raine! Get on with it. Coran is just a bit late that’s all. This mission of yours in the north sounds totally insane but if it has any kind of chance to stop the next airstrike, you only have to take a look outside to see why you need to get it done. We can round up a few more medics to fill the gaps down here.

I hope you’re right. He grabbed the handgun he wasn’t supposed to be carrying, concealed it under his jacket and headed for the university. The damage from the airstrikes diminished to almost zero when he reached the west sector.

He waited outside the door to the main lecture hall, his hood pulled across to keep his face in shadow. The corridor was crowded with all the extra students who had signed up for Cass’ free education program, all trying to cram as many lectures in as they could before Berfeld discovered what was happening and reinstated the fees.

Raine watched the lecturer approach and waited until he was close enough to whisper.

Professor Watson. It’s time for that field research trip.

Wolf almost stopped, then recovered himself.

Of course. It’s well overdue. He continued walking into the lecture hall without looking round.

Raine slipped quietly inside and moved to the back row where he could see everyone in the hall. Students of all ages were squeezing into every available seat, trying to make the most of their brief window of free education. He spotted Mirel hurrying into a seat near the front just as Wolf finished connecting his tablet to the wall screen. He wondered if the reinstated professor had guessed how quickly his new term at the university would be interrupted by his pledge to help with this part of their plan.

Complex systems being unpredictable...

Raine made an effort to focus on the lecture, a rare taste of something he had missed in his own student days. His home-schooling had ended at the age of nine when his parents were killed in the disastrous Resistance raid. After that, his education had been intense but unlike anything considered normal in city institutions. Resistance training with Pendrac in the western mountains, followed by advanced surgery training in the city. His foster father had sneaked him onto the fast-track program with a faked ID and he had somehow made it through to come first in his year.

But this lecture was something different. Pure theory of earth systems, a whole-picture understanding he would have found compelling and fascinating if he could have followed it during his student years. If he hadn’t been committed to working as a surgeon-spy in the Avarit military.

A year of undercover work, ending in arrest, escape, and an abrupt change of status to one of the most wanted outlaws in the country before he had even turned nineteen...

Focus.

Wolf was pointing to the beautiful swirling graphics of the Lorenz attractor on the wall screen.

...So you see, complex systems can be expressed in terms of non-linear equations. He scanned the attentive faces of his audience. They looked lost. Did anyone solve last week’s challenge to construct a computer model of how this principle plays out over the whole planet?

The students were shaking their heads. Clearly no one had managed it. Wolf tried a different approach.

"Who can come up with a historical example of where this had crucial importance?

Mirel tentatively raised a hand. Must have been something to do with complex weather systems or climate... but... sorry, can’t think of a specific example.

Wolf flipped the screen to a diagram of climate feedback loops.

Example: before the chaos scientists knew the climate was in a cycle of feedback loops speeding up the heating process. He brought up the attractor image on the other screen. "Without linear equations to make accurate predictions, they couldn’t construct a precise computer model either, although they could map patterns and possibilities. So, when the politicians saw their reports, what did they do?

Everyone still looked blank.

Mirel tried again. This sounds crazy, but I think maybe they ignored it. Just left the whole thing out of their policy-calculations because the scientists couldn’t make an exact linear model of it.

Correct. How did you work it out?

If they’d factored it in, they would have taken action sooner instead of waiting till after the chaos actually started. I saw in the archives all the objections because there wasn’t a single exact number on the predictions.

Wolf frowned, looking from Mirel to the image on the screen. "You’re getting the right answers by not looking at the theory. Maybe the way to approach Earth Science is direct experience first, then theory."

Meaning? Now Mirel was looking as perplexed as everyone else.

Wolf shut down the screen and folded his tablet.

Field research trip. We leave for the Ice Islands first light tomorrow. Get packed.

What! It’s freezing up there! Mirel sounded horrified. And you’ve only just started the lecture!

Wolf was trying not to laugh at the baffled faces in the room. It’s midsummer. Just mildly chilly. Bring warm clothes.

Do we all have to go?

No... I suppose it has to be optional. Anyone who wants to stay behind can work on building the computer model. Work out what actions the results would indicate, if they had the modelling perfected back then.

The students stuffed their tablets into bags and headed for the exit, discussing the field trip. Mainly in terms of alarm and speculation about sub-zero temperatures. Raine followed Mirel to the door. She paused as she passed Wolf.

Why? It’s not only for experience is it?

I just wanted to be sure my students are safe now this new regime has taken over.

Why would we be more at risk than anyone else?

You’re the ones who know why long term viability has to take priority over short term profit. That’s heresy for some people. Why I had to disappear to the Ice Islands for a few years.

She looked around at the retreating students.

Looks like they’re making it clear they don’t want to come. But I do! I want to try everything. When do I have to be back here?

Raine’s years with the rangers, rescuing refugees in the forest had already convinced him that only desperate people made the journey north. Desperate enough to feel that surviving in the freezing cold might be a better deal than what they were running from.

I think you’re right about the others not coming. I’ll be back here with the jeep at first light. Can you make it here with everything you need?

Watch me. Mirel disappeared at a run.

Raine checked the time. Wolf? I assume you’ve been ready for this since you were reinstated at the faculty?

Of course. See you when you get back with the jeep.

Raine made it to the parking garage above the hive without incident. If Karim really had completed all the hawk-decoys this time, there was a chance he could collect all the gear he needed and even grab some overdue sleep before the long drive north.

It felt good to launch into the first phase of what, if they were lucky, would be the start of their counter attack. There was still an alarming amount to do in the city but Ted was proving unexpectedly efficient at coordinating service repairs and emergency shelters and Pendrac’s Outlander crews had extinguished most of the bushfires on the far bank of the river.

He had to trust that Kit and Bel would deal with any new crises in the city while he was away.

4

Jac was making another round of the Dome, looking for Berfeld and Aldim. Neither of them were in