Nightfall

by Jay Allan

  The layout had a curvature to it that didn’t appear clearly on the screen, not quite semi-circular, but enough bend to wrap around the expected enemy line of advance. There hadn’t been enough mines to cover every possible angle of approach, but avoiding the mines would require the invading forces to come almost to a dead stop, and then change their vectors ninety degrees along the Y or Z planes. It was an unlikely tactic, for all kinds of reasons, and it wouldn’t be possible at all, unless the Hegemony ships came through with almost no established velocity.

  And, if they did that, Barron knew the fighter wings would hit them like the fury of an ancient god of war or pestilence.

  “That should be perfect.” Barron turned toward Winters. He outranked his fellow admiral, if only by a few months of seniority, but the presence of Dustin Nguyen in command of the fleet had spared him from the need to enforce such an insignificant difference. In fairness, Winters had given no indication that he had any problem following Barron’s orders, but Tyler was just as happy not having to go down that road.

  Not yet, at least.

  “Yes, I think the fields will do their job. I can’t see them avoiding it. Honestly, even if they knew about them, they’d have a hard time coming in slow enough to sidestep the field before coming into range. And, their formation would be a mess. Stockton and the wings would tear them to shreds.”

  Barron nodded. The enemy ships didn’t even have to move into the field itself. The term ‘mines’ wasn’t even accurate, at least not technically. The weapons weren’t explosives waiting for enemy ships to strike them; they were bomb-pumped x-ray lasers, and the powerful one-shot devices would target their devastating rays on any ship that moved into range. The lasers were enormously powerful, stronger than a Confederation primary beam. Perhaps even a match for the enemy railguns. They were a deadly danger to any ship that moved into their zone of effectiveness, even the largest Hegemony battleships.

  The only problem was…there weren’t enough of them.

  Barron had scraped up every bit of heavy ordnance in the Olyus system, and on any planet within half a dozen transits, but the worlds of the Core, and even those of the inner Iron Belt, had long felt safe from any imminent attack. Many—most—had allowed their defense grids to decay from lack of maintenance, and their supplies of ordnance and weapons to dwindle over time.

  Megara’s defenses were strong, at least, as befitted the Confederation’s capital, but even the massive forts orbiting that central world had turned out to be poorly supplied for a full-scale fight.

  Barron stood for a few more seconds. The minefield was done, the laser satellites, at least all those available, deployed. There was nothing to be gained standing around guessing how they would work. And, there was more work to do.

  More work than seemed possible. Barron didn’t really believe the fleet could hold Megara, not against the overwhelming power of the Hegemony forces. But, he was damned sure of one thing.

  The enemy was going to get one hell of a fight.

  * * *

  Andi Lafarge walked across the room and into the bathroom. She looked in the mirror, trying to figure out who it was she saw. She looked okay, better, honestly than she’d expected. At least the dark, drawn look was gone. She wouldn’t have said she seemed wide awake exactly, but she’d definitely come a long way from the walking zombie who’d stepped tentatively out into the midday sun from the hospital bed that had come to feel almost like home.

  Almost three months in that facility, for broken bones, concussions, and more internal injuries than she could easily recall, was an ordeal all its own…and that terrible struggle for recovery of course followed the worst, most trying and painful battle she’d ever fought.

  She’d been surprised when she awoke in the hospital. Her astonishment wasn’t that she was in the hospital, but that she’d awakened at all. She hadn’t had any clear memories at first, just a hazy confusion, but then it began to come back to her. The long hunt for her enemy, the desperate struggle on the roof, and then falling, dragged over by Ricard Lille as he, too, plunged to the street below.

  Lille was dead. She hadn’t know when she’d awakened, and as soon as she’d come to her senses, she’d almost lost control, flailing about in the bed, searching for anything to use as a weapon, and reopening fused wounds as she did. She had trouble believing her enemy was dead, even after three or four people told her. It was only when Tyler Barron got there and confirmed the story, that she’d allowed it to truly sink in. She had succeeded. She had set out to take her vengeance, to kill the deadly assassin no one thought could be defeated, and she’d done just that.

  There had been some satisfaction in that knowledge, and acceptance…but not the catharsis she’d expected. Her wounds, those Lille inflicted on her, the realization that he’d broken her, that she was not as invincibly hard as she’d imagined, were still there, if perhaps now manageable enough for her to press on with her life.

  She’d told herself she’d been willing to die to kill her enemy, and she’d meant it, but as she’d lain there in her bed those first days of consciousness, Tyler standing above her, his face a mask of pain and worry, she’d decided she’d been wrong. She had to live. She was still badly injured, and though the doctors had told her she would likely be fine, she didn’t believe a word of it. She’d seen through too many liars in her life, better ones than the medical staff at Troyus City’s military hospital. She’d figured they’d given her about a 50/50 chance when outside her earshot. That was enough to terrify most people, but as far as Andi Lafarge was concerned, odds like that were a piece of cake.

  She’d battled hard, gritted her teeth and virtually willed her way back to health. And, the day she’d been released, Tyler had come for her, and he’d taken her back to his quarters. She’d had around the clock attendants, doctors stopping by two or three times a day to check on her…and a cluster of Marine guards outside the door, a precaution that remained despite her repeated reminders to Barron that Lille was dead. The admiral, her lover and her best friend, had just nodded sweetly each time she’d raised the issue, and he’d calmly ignored her. The couple times she’d pressed the matter, he had simply said he wasn’t taking any chances. She’d argued a bit, but in truth, she was relieved, at least while she was still recovering. Lille was dead, and by all accounts, Sector Nine activity on Megara had disappeared. But, it wasn’t hard to imagine some protégé of Lille’s lurking in the shadows, consumed with the need to avenge his master’s death, as Andi herself had been with her own lust to kill the master assassin himself.

  She ran her hand through her hair once or twice, and then she pulled away from the mirror and walked back out into the main room, just as a soft bong announced that someone was coming in.

  “Andi…it’s me. I’ve got Gary Holsten with me.”

  She smiled when she heard Barron’s voice, and lost only a little of it when she realized he wasn’t alone. That was a shame. She was feeling much better, physically at least, and she had all kinds of thoughts about what she could do with Tyler if they were alone. Still, Holsten was one of her best friends, and she was happy to see him as well.

  She walked up toward the door, just as the two men came in. She managed a smile, not a forced one, not even the crooked, weak grin that so often filled in, but a full-fledged, ‘I’m back from the dead’ smile.

  “Andi…I’m so glad to see you looking back to form. What you did was amazing, and to survive that fall was incredible. I’d never have bet against you before, but now…I think there’s nothing you couldn’t do.”

  “You are quite the smooth talker when you want to be, Gary.” She took a step toward him and planted a sisterly kiss on his cheek.

  She was genuinely glad to see him, but she could tell immediately, the visit was more than a social call. She kissed Barron as well, a bit more pointedly, but still appropriate for public consumption, and a quick glance told her that, whatever was going on, he was in on it, too. They were two of the very few people in t
he world she trusted, so she suspected whatever was about to follow would have something to do with their ideas of how to help her or keep her safe. She wished she cared about that as much as they did.

  “So, let’s cut to the heart of things. I love you both, but you’re here because you want me to do something.” The last time Gary Holsten had visited her with that look on his face, she’d ended up on Dannith, and then in a Sector Nine torture chamber. She knew the guilt he felt about all that, and she was pretty sure the last thing he would have done now was come to her with was something dangerous. Which means they want to protect me…

  Holsten paused, the normally unshakable spy seeming a bit lost. Barron stepped up and put his hand on Andi’s shoulder. “If you feel up to it, we’d like you to take command of a ship. There is something we’d like you to do, something very important.”

  “I’ve already got a ship, Tyler.”

  “Yes…but Pegasus isn’t big enough for this.” A pause. “She isn’t fast enough either, not for what we have in mind.”

  Andi wasn’t happy about being asked to command another ship, but she was intrigued. Pegasus was small, certainly, but she was a pretty damned fast vessel, and she couldn’t imagine what they wanted her to do that required more speed.

  “I thought we were getting to the point.” A little impatience slipped into her tone, half genuine, half by design.

  “The ship is called Hermes, Andi. She’s new.” Holsten spoke up now, beating Barron to the punch. “And, we want you to take command of her, and go to the Institute. The research facility is in the outer system, as you know. You’ll be on the other side of the enemy fleet there, and you’ll be in a good position to evacuate the key science teams working on the Hegemony tech…if that becomes necessary.” His tone suggested he didn’t really see that as a question mark.

  “You want me to load them onboard and run? While the battle is going on? While you, and most of the people I care about, are in the thick of the fight.” A pause. “Forget about it.”

  “Andi, please…” It was Barron again, and she felt her stomach tighten. She’d never had trouble saying ‘no’ to anyone about anything, at least until she’d met Tyler Barron. He was looking at her, his eyes boring into hers, almost pleading with her to go along with what he was asking. She knew the stress he’d been under, the almost impossible workload that had fallen on him. She tried to say no again, even managed to shake her head ever so slightly…but she felt her resolve buckling as she stared into his gaze.

  * * *

  “Sara, thank you for coming.” Gary Holsten gestured toward one of the chairs opposite his desk, and then he waited while Eaton sat down, before he dropped back into his own seat.

  “Of course. If there is anything more I can do to aid in the defense, you just have to let me know.”

  Holsten nodded slowly. Eaton had been immersed in the defensive preparations, acting as Tyler Barron’s right hand and blasting from the orbital fortresses, to the minefields, to the fleet waiting in its formations…and then around the circuit again. But, what Holsten had in mind had nothing to do with the expected battle, and everything to do with a chance of winning the war itself.

  But, it was something Eaton was going to hate, and most likely resist with considerable effort. He had to convince her…because if he couldn’t, he was going to have to ask Barron to order her, and that wasn’t something he wanted to do.

  “I’ll get right to the point, Sara. We have several new fast cruisers, the quickest things in the fleet. Andi Lafarge is going to command one of them, and she’s going to use it to evacuate the research teams at the Institute, if that becomes necessary.”

  “That sounds like a good plan…but, I’m not sure what it has to do with…”

  “We want you to take one of the others…and go out to the Far Rim.”

  “You want me to what?”

  “There are inhabited planets out there, Sara, nations…smaller than the Confederation, but combined they likely possess considerable military strength. We have some relations with these, others are barely known to us, but Imperator Tulus and his people have given us a complete breakdown, as well as a few likely places to start.”

  “Start what?”

  “Looking for allies. The Hegemony isn’t here to conquer the Confederation. They’ve come for the entire Rim. This is everyone’s problem, and quite frankly, we need all the help we can get if we’re going to win this fight.”

  “I agree with that, but what does it have to do with me? I’m no ambassador. And, besides, wouldn’t this be something for Imperator Tulus and his people? They’re much closer to these worlds than we are.”

  “You know Alliance history as well as I do, Sara. Every nation on the Far Rim is scared to death of the Palatians.”

  “You want me to leave the fleet…before the battle?” There was anguish in her voice.

  “I know that will be difficult, but this has to be someone we can trust…and someone with the stature to get the Far Rim nations to pay attention.” He reached down and scooped up a small box, handing it to her. “You’re getting your bump up to admiral, Sara, whether you agree to go or not. It’s well-deserved and long overdue. But, if you really want to do all you can to help, please…consider this.”

  Holsten looked over at her, and he saw the pain in her eyes. It was clear she’d rather face any nightmare than leave her comrades before the coming battle. But, there was something more, a deep sense of duty, and the analysis born of a strong intellect. He knew she realized everything he’d told her was true, he was sure of that. After the near civil war, Holsten didn’t trust any of the Confederation’s career diplomats, and he was pretty sure Eaton didn’t either. Besides, the Far Rim was dominated by small polities, most of them consisting of the conquests of gifted warriors, either present or past. They would listen more attentively to an admiral than they would to an ambassador.

  She didn’t answer, not for a long while…but, as he watched her expression, saw the thought in her eyes, a realization began to form.

  I’ve got her.

  * * *

  “Thank you, Andi. I know you don’t want to go, but we really needed someone we could trust to get the scientists out…assuming it comes to that.”

  “Shh…” She put her lips to his ears and pulled closer to him. She knew why he really wanted her to take command of Hermes and get the research teams to a safe place, and it had nothing to do with her being the only person who could do the job. She was a good pilot—a damned good pilot, if she did say so herself—but she was far from the only one who could ferry the research teams to whatever safe haven still existed out there.

  Tyler wanted her out of the system, period. He wanted her safe while everything else was slipping into the fires of hell…and she loved him for it. But, she still would have said no, refused to leave his side, sworn to stand by him to the last…save for one fact that bored into her brain like a drill.

  If she stayed he would worry about her. He would be distracted. And, if his mind was on her, it wasn’t where it needed to be. For the battle to be won. For him to survive.

  She would do anything to stay by Tyler’s side, to live with him—in peace, if she even believed such a thing existed—or if need be, die with him…but she would not allow herself to add to the desperate danger he faced. She couldn’t bear the thought of him dying when he might have lived, of wondering if it had been the distraction of her presence, the concern for what would happen to her, that had killed him.

  She wanted to scream. Part of her wanted him to leave, so she could lose her composure somewhere all alone, and let the tears come. But, she wouldn’t sacrifice the moments they had for anything. He was with her now, and she would enjoy that. She would get a lifetime’s joy from it, because she knew very well the enemy could come at any time…and when that happened…

  The night could well be the last they had together, for a long while at least. And, possibly forever. All she wanted now was to feel him next to her, to
know he was there.

  To forget about what was coming.

  Chapter Six

  UFS Illustre

  Pollux System

  Union-Confederation Border

  Union Year 222 (318 AC)

  Denisov stared at the scanner, trying to make sense of what he’d just seen. Vandaum was gone. Just gone. One instant, the battleship had been there, holding its position as ordered, and the next it was dust and radiation.

  And nine hundred dead spacers…

  Denisov had heard rumors of the enemy’s great main guns, but he hadn’t been prepared for the power he’d just seen at such extreme range.

  “The battle line will pull back. Full thrust…now!” The orders came out of his mouth, even without conscious thought. He’d intended to hit the enemy hard, before they could organize their formations after the transit, but now he realized, with a shock that made him almost numb, his entire fleet would be blasted to scrap before he got off a decent shot.

  “Yes, Admiral.” Lambert’s tone suggested the aide was well on the way to reaching the same conclusion.

  The range difference is going to be a huge problem in fighting these…whoever they are.

  His mind raced, trying to come up with tactics—any tactics—he might employ. The system was barren, stripped of any defenses by the treaties with the Confederation. There were two inhabited worlds, but both were barely colonized, with less than two hundred thousand people in the entire system.

  Still a lot of men and women to abandon to an enemy…

  Union doctrine placed a very low value on the lives of citizens, especially on peripheral worlds of no real value. Notwithstanding the fiction and propaganda that permeated every government proclamation, the population of the Union was expected to serve the State, without hesitation, but there were definitely some officers in the fleet who secretly differed from that point of view.