Phoenix Feathers Part III, Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Joss is Boss, and all I do is toil day in and day out (with his ideas and few original thoughts) to quiet my inner Browncoat. Aren’t those supposed to go on the outside? Hmm.

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He wore a simple grey uniform, one that could easily be mistaken for a rich man’s well-tailored suit or a janitor’s work-suit from just down the hall. He displayed no rank pips or medals, but he could, and did, go anywhere he pleased without being questioned.

The man opened the door at the end of the corridor and stepped into the small office beyond. It too was very ordinary in appearance and modest in function- it also happened to be the most secure room in the galaxy. It was his base of operations, the central neuron of the almighty Alliance, and any messages that left the room were treated with the utmost import, for those directives decided the fate of billions of citizens on dozens of worlds. Here there were no deliberations, no debates, no bureaucratic pomp and ceremony- just certainty, resolve, and unending vigilance. This room was the Alliance, and the man- called the Colonel by the few that knew of him- was alone in the room.

“Sir.”

Well, not quite alone. The lighting changed, brightening considerably as a man- or rather, the image of a man- stepped into the center of the room from nothingness. The Colonel knew that the man couldn’t see him yet- the holo feed in the Colonel’s office was oriented towards the desk itself, and the Colonel was standing outside its range- but the image of the man knew that the Colonel in the room. This was the appointed hour for the meeting, and the Colonel always kept his appointments.

Almost instantaneously, a second man materialized in the office next to the first, quietly announced his presence, then stood at attention.

The Colonel’s green eyes narrowed. The newest arrival was dressed in a combat suit- a black body glove with matte black armor padding and a sleeve for his weapon resting along his spine- a posi