Operation Phoenix Read online

  Operation Phoenix

  Susan Hayes

  Contents

  About the Book

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Bonus Scene – Dante

  Operation Cobalt

  More Sci-Fi Romance from Susan Hayes

  About the Author

  About the Book

  He’s guarding the galaxy. She’s guarding her heart.

  * * *

  Nova Force - an elite team of soldiers whose mission is to maintain the power balance between the galaxy’s governments and the formidable corporations. Their commander, Dax Rossi, lives by one rule: mission first. That code holds until a new case, and an old flame put his rule to the test.

  * * *

  Lieutenant Trinity West wants answers. Someone’s been stealing DNA from her top-secret research base, and she wants to know who, and how. Her investigation into the thefts is cut short by the arrival of Nova Force and Dax Rossi—the only man to ever break her heart.

  SUSAN HAYES

  * * *

  WEBSITE | NEWSLETTER | FACEBOOK

  * * *

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  * * *

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. It is fiction so facts and events may not be accurate except to the current world the book takes place in.

  * * *

  Copyright © 2018 Susan Hayes

  Operation Phoenix (Book #1 of Nova Force Series)

  First E-book Publication: January 2018

  Cover Design: Melody Simmons ~ ebookindiecovers.com

  Editor: Dayna Hart

  Published by: Black Scroll Publications

  ISBN: 978-1-988446-16-5

  For my Mum and Dad, for supporting me even when they thought I was crazy. And for my best friend, Karen, for putting up with me when I was definitely nuts.

  * * *

  This book is also dedicated to Zoe, Sadie, and Elle, who were with me when this series was born, and again when I started writing this story. You’re the best, ladies. I can’t wait to see what happens the next time we’re together.

  * * *

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  I wanted to say thank you to Dayna Hart, my editor. She helps me polish the rough edges and make sure my commas are where they are supposed to be. She allows me to see my stories with fresh eyes, a gift that I am always grateful for.

  Prologue

  In a galaxy filled with different species, cultures, and governments, there is only one constant: trade.

  In the final months of the Resource Wars, the surviving corporations grew strong enough to rival any government, affecting everything from colonization plans to intergalactic law.

  To counter their influence and check their powers, the Interstellar Armed Forces created a new division: Nova Force. Their mission? Ensure the corporations play by the rules, by any means necessary.

  Welcome to Nova Force. The last line of defense between the citizens of the galaxy and the corporations who believe that all laws are flexible, and everything is for sale for the right price.

  1

  Trinity read her newly-arrived orders for the third time in a row and resisted the urge to throw her tablet across her office. It wouldn’t change anything, and she didn’t want to risk scratching the window and marring her view of the lake outside. There were days that view was the best thing about her current post.

  It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been expecting the news. She had hoped to have more time to solve the mystery on her own, but her time had run out. The high-ranking brass at the Interstellar Armed Forces wanted answers and scapegoats, not necessarily in that order. They also wanted those answers yesterday, if not sooner. Since she wasn’t having any luck investigating on her own and didn’t own a time machine, the brass were sending in someone else to take over.

  According to her new orders, a Nova Force investigative team was already on its way. She was to hand over all data and files collected, then assist them in any way she could. In other words, she’d been benched.

  “V.I.D.A., please inform all IAF base personnel and the civilian staff there will be an important announcement during dinner. They’ll take the news better if they’ve got full stomachs.”

  The artificial intelligence program that was the heart and soul of Victor Base responded instantly. “Notification sent. Is there anything else?”

  “Yes. We’re expecting visitors tomorrow morning. Please assign accommodations and make all standard preparations for the arrival of Nova Force Team Three. I’m sure their requirements will already be on file.”

  “Yes, Lieutenant West. Making all preparations, now.”

  “Thank you, V.I.D.A. Oh, and please notify Dr. Clarke that I need to see him in my office immediately, but don’t relay the reason. He’s going to have a conniption fit when he finds out that Nova Force is on their way here, I’d rather he hear it from me.”

  “Dr. Clarke is currently in the atrium. I have alerted him to your request. He will arrive at your office within ten minutes time.”

  If Tony was in the atrium, he was probably meditating. Trinity hoped he’d gotten in enough Zen time to gracefully accept the bad news she was about to deliver. As the head scientist on the base, he would set the tone for how the others reacted to the arrival of Nova Force and a much more invasive investigation than the one she had been running. If he reacted poorly, then it was going to be a long, stressful time for everyone.

  “I don’t want them here!” Tony announced for what had to be the fifth time since she had told him the news. Per IAF regulations, he spoke in Galactic Standard, the most common language in the galaxy. Unlike many of the others at the base, he spoke it without any hint of an accent. Trinity’s accent was undeniably Terran, and she didn’t try to hide it. She was proud of her origins. Escaping the hive cities of Earth was no easy feat.

  “What you want is a moot point, now. They’re already on their way.”

  “I still don’t understand why they’re coming here at all. The thefts happened years ago. The thief is long gone by now. The cyborgs are living proof that the Phoenix Project could work. But instead of initiating a project most of us have waited years to begin, we’re caught up in a witch hunt.”

  While Trinity understood Tony’s point of view, she didn’t share it. Victor Base was the home of the Vault of the Fallen, a repository for the DNA of the best men and women to ever serve in the IAF. Genetic material from generations of soldiers was stored in the vault, with the understanding that none of that material could ever leave the base. “You know as well as I do that until we know how the thefts occurred, and who was responsible, there is no way that the Phoenix Project is going to be given the green light. No one is going to allow you to start genetic experimentation to create better soldiers if we can’t be sure the base is secure.”

  Tony growled in frustration. “This place is the most secure base in the entire galaxy. It’s built in the middle of an empty continent, on an uninhabited planet, deep in the heart of a star system under IAF control. How much more secure can it get?”

&
nbsp; Trinity steepled her fingers in front of her and tried to use logic to make her case. “That’s what this team is here to find out. Sixteen years ago, someone started stealing samples of the vault’s DNA and managed to get them off base. Worse, those samples were sold to the corporations, who used them to create the cyborgs. Those poor beings were made to fight and die in the corporations’ Resource Wars.”

  “Which only proves that Phoenix can work!”

  “That’s the problem, though. When the public finds out where the cyborg project’s genetic material came from, there are going to be questions. The IAF has always maintained that they had no part in the Resource Wars, which makes the source of the cyborgs’ DNA somewhat problematic.”

  “It could take years for that information to come to light. Why the rush?”

  Trinity shook her head. “You haven’t been read in on everything, Tony. Neither have I, but I know that it won’t be long before the whole galaxy knows about the cyborgs. The IAF brass needs answers before that happens. That’s why the Nova Force team has been assigned. They won’t leave until they find out what happened.”

  He sighed and ran a hand through his silver and black hair. Despite his sometimes difficult personality, Tony Clarke was a handsome man, and he could be charming when he wanted to be. She was still holding out some hope he’d use that charm on the investigators. It would make things so much easier.

  “What do you know about these Nova Force teams?” Tony asked, slightly mollified for the moment.

  “They’re the best at what they do. Highly trained. Handpicked.” She decided to omit the rest. Nova Force was known for two things: their unquestionable talent and their arrogance. When it came to investigations like this one, they were the best in the galaxy, and they knew it.

  “And what exactly is it that they’re trained to do? I’ve never even heard of this branch of the IAF before.”

  “Their job is to investigate all potential overreaches or crimes committed by the corporations. You know that the balance of power in the galaxy is precarious. The governments are supposed to make the rules, but the corporations are always looking for shortcuts and workarounds, anything that increases their influence and their profits.”

  Tony’s scowled. “I don’t want them nosing around the labs unescorted.”

  “I’ll see what I can do, but they have clearance to go anywhere and speak to anyone they want. This is a military facility, and I have my orders. There’s only so much I can do, Tony.” She used his first name, knowing it would please him. Despite the age difference between them, he’d made it clear that he would be happy to take their relationship much further than a professional friendship.

  If her life were different, she might have been tempted to agree, but she couldn’t let herself be distracted. Her mission had been the same since the day she’d joined the IAF, and nothing, not even a handsome doctor, was going to get in her way. When she had the answers she needed about her brother’s death, she’d be free to make different choices.

  “When are we telling everyone else?” he asked, which was as close to acceptance as she was likely to get from him.

  “I’ve asked V.I.D.A. to arrange for a briefing after dinner tonight. That should give everyone time to prepare before the team arrives tomorrow. We should make the announcement together, I think. I can send you my notes once I’ve written them up. Say, in an hour?”

  He nodded and rose from his chair. “A united front. Yes. That’s how we’ll handle this. I look forward to reading your notes. If you had time, perhaps we could go over them together? We could dine in my quarters before the briefing.”

  “Thank you for the invitation, but I doubt there will be time. I still need to speak to my Master Sergeant about this, and draft my notes.”

  He didn’t bother to hide his disappointment at her deferral. “Then I will see you at the briefing.”

  Once he departed, Trinity rose from her chair and rolled her shoulders to try and ease some of the tension building in her muscles. It was a hopeless task. Between her normal duties as base commander, her informal job as liaison between IAF personnel and the scientists, and her attempts to investigate the decade-old security breach, Trinity hadn’t had a chance to so much as catch her breath in weeks.

  “How am I ever going to get transferred if I can’t prove my worth?” She muttered.

  Helping to solve this case was her best chance at proving herself and getting promoted off this star-forsaken planet. She’d joined the IAF for a reason, and it wasn’t to guard a bunch of paranoid scientists and their top-secret experiments.

  Not that the residence scientists didn’t have reason to be paranoid. She might only have an intermediate degree in cybernetic engineering and bio-systems, but it was enough for her to understand that some of the experiments and research being done on Victor Base were not merely cutting-edge, they weren’t always within the boundaries of what was legal.

  This base was full of secrets. The investigators were certainly going to uncover more than a few of them while they were looking for their thief.

  “V.I.D.A., please inform Master Sergeant Gottfried I need to see her when she has a moment so I can update her on everything. And please notify me when the Nova Force vessel is about to make orbit. I’d like a little advanced warning so I can be ready to meet them.”

  “Lieutenant West. I have ascertained that the vessel you are referring to is already approaching. I estimate they will arrive in orbit in six minutes and eighteen seconds.”

  “What? No! Tomorrow. They’re not scheduled to get here until tomorrow morning.”

  “It would appear your schedule is incorrect, Lieutenant West.”

  “Recheck the transponder of the incoming vessel and confirm identity.”

  “Identity confirmed. The vessel is IAF Frigate Malora. Crew compliment: six active members of Nova Force. Their commanding officer is—“

  “Fraxxing early. That’s what they are. What do they think they’re going to accomplish by showing up here unannounced and ahead of schedule? I haven’t even had time to warn the civilians that their precious labs are about to be invaded by a bunch of outsiders.”

  Whatever progress she had made calming Tony down was about to burn up like an asteroid hitting atmosphere.

  “V.I.D.A., contact Dr. Clarke, tell him what’s happening and that I’ll catch up with him in a moment. When the Malora makes contact, direct their shuttle to landing site six. Keep me appraised of all communications and let me know exactly when they plan on landing. I’ll need to meet them. Oh, and update Master Sergeant Gottfried with this new information.”

  “Yes, Lieutenant West.”

  Trinity dashed for the door, already preparing for what was to come and wondering what else could go wrong with this day.

  Commander Dax Rossi sat back and watched his team as they joked and bickered with each other. They were a tightknit crew, more like family than co-workers. They trusted each other to watch their backs, and they trusted him to keep them as safe as the universe, and their chosen profession, allowed.

  He rapped his knuckles on the battered metal table top of the mess area, which doubled as their meeting room. Their ship, the Malora, was built for combat, not comfort, and space was at a premium.

  “Alright, boys and girls, time to go over what we know, and figure out how we’re going to find out what we don’t know.”

  “Girls?” Lieutenant Aria Jessop glowered at him. “There are no girls on this team, sir.”

  “He was talking about Magi and Buttercup. No one would mistake you for a girl, Jessop.” Lieutenant Crispin Caldwell winked at the only female on the team. “You’re all woman.”

  “And don’t you forget it.” She flashed him a grin that would have scared a saner man.

  “You calling me a girl, Cris? Next time we’re sparring, I’m going to make you eat those words.” Sergeant Dante Strak was a big, burly, tattooed man who looked like he could knock a comet off-course without straining himself.
/>   “No flirting on company time. We’ve got less than thirty minutes before we land, and I want everyone focused,” Dax declared. Most of the time, the team operated without the usual military formality and structure. He preferred it that way. But right now, he needed them to be at the top of their game.

  The room went silent, all eyes on him.

  “What do we know, Magi?” he prompted Ensign Erben, the team’s tech and systems wizard.

  The air above the table shimmered as a holo-projection of the base appeared. “There are two bases on this planet. Tango Base is on the southern continent and is used as a jungle warfare and tactics training center. Tango is self-contained and has no regular contact with the location we’re investigating: Victor Base. The population of Victor Base is three hundred and twelve. There are thirty-eight civilian scientists, a dozen or so civilian techs and support staff for those scientists, and the rest of the population are IAF personnel, mostly there to run base operations and provide security.”

  Lieutenant Commander Kurt Meyer, Dax’s second in command, scoffed. “And a fine job they’ve done of it, too. If they’d been decent guards, we wouldn’t be here.” He gestured to the display. “This place looks more like a day spa than a top secret research facility.”