The Series 
                                                      Episode 21 
                                         The Commander of Phoenix 
 
After checking out her RV Githa finally gets to Malva's office on Administration level 40, waits in reception then gains entry, Malva stands up and walks around her desk giving Githa a big hug and congratulates her. 
"I wish I had more gutsy women like you, you get in and do the job without any hassles, it's fantastic." 
She has an elaborately engraved red badge with two flying eagles on it in her hand and pins it to Githa's black leather jacket lapel. 
"This is a reward for personal risk and high accomplishment, ten missions onto bad ground, no casualties and the prizes you've brought back, you're now officially CAPTAIN in charge of all aircraft and vehicles connected to Phoenix." 
Malva pauses and smiles like a cheshire cat. 
"On behalf of the governing body of PHOENIX we'd like to offer you a position on the COUNCIL of AUTHORITY and SECURITY, subject to an oath of allegiance for which we'll set a date." 
Malva looks at Githa expectantly. 
Githa had run the gauntlet of being irradiated many times, on seven missions she brought back small groups of healthy non contaminated males and females who'd been trapped in underground missile defense bunkers, the RV was equipped to extract  people and transport them in a life support chamber. 
They were brought to the city and processed  in the usual way, the MALE INTELLECTS were placed into suitable ROBOTS and SERVO mechanisms, organs were placed in deep frozen storage, DNA was kept on information cubes, female INTELLECTS were placed in SYNTHETIC MOBILES. 
After the WIPEOUT  laws had to be made to continue the human race under extraordinary conditions , thousands of fertile female embryo's were in storage along with a big population of male spermatozoa, any thoughts of bringing new life into this type of environment had been set aside until their technology had the ability to travel to another planet, plans were being worked on for a "faster than light" SPACE SHIP, even though there was a colony on MARS it couldn't support a large population due to lack of a suitable atmosphere. 
Malva was in her early fifties of asian descent, she had a remarkable photographic memory and she was multi lingual with degrees in aeronautical quantum engineering, she'd been in the Federal Australian Air Force since she was eighteen, a career women working hard to gain promotions before the takeover by women. 
She gives Githa a strange look and says. 
"Look I want to be straight with you, I'm not going to be around forever, I need someone to train for my job, we of the Council for Security think you would be a great COMMANDER IN CHIEF, what do you say?" 
Without hesitation Githa answers. 
"I accept the training position Malva, I'm honored, but I'm sure you'll be around for a long time to come." 
"Yes of course I will be, but you are one of the few who know I need a heart/lung DNA transplant after getting partially contaminated in the WIPEOUT, the Medics have found nothing that's compatible as yet, what I have isn't going to see the distance, we must start training someone as soon as possible, years ago when the ARMY/AIR FORCE decided to build this place, I pleaded with them to set up an organ bank, they didn't wake up till it was too late, something about ethics, anyway we did gain the benefit of the latest technology." 
Githa feels a bit nauseated thinking about the takeover. 
Malva keeps rattling about the past, babbling about what they did and didn't do, which gets on Githa's nerves, but she's too polite and respectful to allow Malva to see this as Malva continues.
"I'll never forget the look on that male Commander's face when you held a gun on him Githa, the other women were marvelous too, taking control off them so quickly, they never suspected a damn thing, it's a great pity about the girls that lost their lives for the cause." 
Githa cuts in trying to change the subject and says. 
"Commander, haven't you considered a SYNTHETIC mobile replacement for yourself instead of putting up with the pain you're enduring." 
"Githa I've considered it, but the COUNCIL prohibits me from being ARTIFICIAL while I have this position of trust, plus a SYNTHETIC giving people orders?...... it wouldn't work, the Council tell me I would have to stand down, otherwise it would become a security risk." 
Malva gets back to the takeover  again, she elbows Githa in the ribs and says. 
"Remember Githa, it wasn't very long ago when we put those bastards where they belong, INSIDE ROBOTS, to think it was a male scientist who discovered how to effect a TRANSFER of INTELLECT and DNA onto a PLASMA CUBE and from there to a SYNTHETIC BRAIN and a BODY, what a joke, the bastards destroy the world then they expect to rule down here as well, ha ha." 
Malva's face had turned bright red, she sat back in her chair breathing hard, Githa immediately summons Malva's personal doctor, excuses herself and leaves. 
She decides to have another look at her beloved RV, at least she had never been responsible for losing one. 
(Four RV's had been lost previously with heavy loss of life and robots.) 
Githa had been taken into the Australian Air force at the minimum age, a talented university student with ambition she went on to become a leading test pilot and then they transferred her to the secret underground base called Phoenix just before the Terrible wipeout of 2099. 
That had been another life-time ago, there had been a coup by the women led by Malva who was elected leader unopposed, resulting in the women taking full control of and restructuring PHOENIX to their new way of thinking on how a NEW SOCIETY should function. 
MANY CHALLENGES LAY AHEAD FOR THE BEAUTIFUL TALENTED CAPTAIN GITHA. 

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