The Return of the Grey

by Robert Lee Henry

  ‘Commander Trahern. Your call?’ La Mar asked.

  The tall man turned to her. ‘There is no one to hear. They are all gone.’

  She left it like that for a minute then found the connection on the comm and hit it. Damn it, the Greys are here. They go on as you go on, as we go on.

  The call went out and something incredible happened, more wonderful than she could have imagined. Lights flared to fill in the wreck of battle they drifted through, the coruscating lights of the Ships, millions of tiny lights sparkling in myriad colours. Bursting to life at the descending notes of the Greys’ call, notes now familiar to La Mar. Like in the ghost hangar but thousand fold. How many Ships were there?

  ‘The Ships’ she heard from awed lips around her, from more than one as the realisation of what they saw sunk in. The lights went on and on.

  La Mar walked across to Quartermaine as the murmurs grew. She drew his head close to hers. ‘I’ll be damned if you knew that was going to happen.’

  ‘No, not this.’ He shook his head. ‘Now I know what he meant, ‘The Ships answer the Greys’ call’. My scout said that.’

  La Mar didn’t understand but didn’t want to take her mind off the wonder around them to try and work it out. ‘Many, many Ships,’ she said.

  ‘Maybe the equal of those we stopped at Triamo, maybe more,’ said Quartermaine.

  ‘And all these years we dismissed the Grey Group, or denigrated them, if not in words then in thought.’ La Mar bowed her head in shame. She lifted it to focus on the Grey. Others were doing the same but Trahern was unaware, standing with his usual stiffness, all his attention outside the port. Aloof, unapproachable. Now I see where some of that manner comes from. He carries this with him. Gati was at his side, facing in, surveying the room. Guarding his commander, she knew, while his attention is elsewhere. It hurt her to see how alone the Greys were.

  Cazaly broke the stillness of the room, lifting an arm to pat big Mike on the shoulder. Ahh marines. You got to love them.

  ‘Now we will fix command and you will take your orders,’ boomed out Quartermaine.

  La Mar saw it now. Oh you clever old man. Trust was what had been lacking but this settles that, and adds hope also. To have faced so numerous a foe and prevailed. For they had done that. No Ships had come from this direction to the Passages nine years ago.

  ‘Commander Trahern of the Greys will command this Group from this minute on.’

  Trahern turned slowly, the last of the lights from the port playing across his face then fading to leave his eyes in shadow.

  ‘Your dispositions, please, Commander,’ said Quartermaine.

  *

  What? What! Colda was shocked from his reverie. Me, not him! This was all preparation, this flight through the wreckage of battle, orchestrated by Quartermaine. A demonstration. A great number of enemy had been destroyed but at the cost of a Group. That was the point of it, surely. I bring my command back whole. I can do more than the Grey. He acknowledged me superior. I should command.

  Trahern was speaking but Colda didn’t take in the words, couldn’t. Talk of the imminent meeting with the Ships, of Weaves and flights. Even the mention of his name couldn’t break his incapacitation.

  Quartermaine thanked me. Credited the survival of the Guard to me. I know he meant it. How could he say that then give the command away? The hurt was great, as great as any of those of his childhood.

  *

  A yellow light flashed from the control panel. A battle alert, automatic, from the scouts. The enemy was registering on their sensors. You’ve timed this close Quartermaine, thought La Mar. Again she appreciated his skill. No time to object. Training would get them to their posts, combat responses kicking in from then on. That yellow light made her want to move, to have her hands on her own controls.

  ‘Two Weaves,’ said Trahern. ‘One by me, the other by Commander Quartermaine. The Blues go long to the right, as we stand now. The Amazons and Rangers go left, down toward the Passages.’ The Grey fixed his stare on Coltrane and waited until the Blue Commander’s head came up. ‘You have to keep them stretched out. Don’t let them bunch on the Weaves. Whatever it takes.’ Apparently satisfied with what he saw in Coltrane’s eyes, Trahern continued, ‘I will Weave all I can of PlanCon. Quartermaine, what you can of the RARs. We take them through the centre, staggered, one flight length apart. Back and forth.’

  That’s good! Thought La Mar. The Weaves will tear at the enemy. If we can keep them stretched out, the angle will limit the Ships engagement to narrow fronts, negate their numbers.

  ‘The remainder of PlanCon, under Commander Colda will follow the first Weave. The rest of the cadres go behind the second.’

  And if Colda hesitates or fails to advance then his lot will serve to hold the line of the Ships at the centre, completing the stretch. La Mar smiled at Trahern’s cunning. We can do this, she exulted. ‘Let me take the marines with the Amazons,’ she called when Trahern paused to let his orders set.

  ‘The Amazons can have them, La Mar, but not you. You command the cadres behind Quartermaine’s Weave. Pull your transport out and position it accordingly when we form up. Bethane will take your cadre down the line.’

  What? A claxon stopped her thoughts. The warning light changed to orange. The Ships would be showing on the screens now!

  ‘Commander!’ called out a comm tech. ‘Message from Base. A drone relay. Most Urgent.’ His eyes jumped back and forth between Trahern and Quartermaine.

  What’s this? worried La Mar. Why does he delay? Get it done so we can look to the Ships.

  ‘Put it on the screen,’ directed Trahern.

  When it went up she saw the cause. The message started with ‘For Commander Quartermaine Only’ but Trahern held command, absolute now with the orange alert glowing. The rest of the message chilled her. ‘Unauthorised departure. Scoutship, believed to have Weave gear on board, lifted Base six hours post completion of Group embarkation. Unknown control. Vectored towards Passages. Tracking lost ex-system.’

  Weave gear? How could that be? Her hand went to the silver twist in her hair. If the Ships can stop our Weaves … she didn’t finish that thought as she had a worse one. What if he delivers us all? Her hand came down and swung to the laser on her belt. Gati moved to step across in front of Trahern but was stopped by the Grey’s arm, a casual gesture, hardly noted by the other cadre leaders as they turned to each other in puzzlement. The message would not mean much to them, perhaps only vaguely reinforcing their apprehension about the Weaves. Quartermaine’s face showed more confusion than alarm. Left to me, thought La Mar, settling hard eyes on Trahern. He met her gaze, and she was shocked by the hurt and regret showing. Only one time before had she seen so much in his eyes. In the corridor in Supply, when he saw Briodi’s torn body. Like then she saw the tender emotions pass, replaced by stony resolve.

  ‘If the Weaves fail or are compromised, battle command passes to Commander La Mar,’ said Trahern. The hand that had held Gati back now propelled him forward. ‘La Mar. Brief the shadows accordingly. They will operate on your instructions.’

  ‘Accordingly’. You mean savagely. You know I will do it, Trahern. Cut the Weaves at the first sign of treachery or misuse. Instantly. No gradual tap out to preserve your mind. She turned to Quartermaine and received his nod of accord. He understood. The sentence was his also. Her hand dropped from her waist.

  ‘Commanders. To your cadres,’ ordered Trahern. ‘Wait until the Weaves are established then take up your positions. We must not let them come to us, their numbers are too great. We will attack.’

  *

  What was happening? Going to battle? How could this be? STOP THIS NOISE AND THESE LIGHTS! Colda looked for Quartermaine. This is not the way to proceed. We must move away. Find some peace to consider. Plan properly, not rush madly. This is panic. That was the explanation. Panic. Quartermaine was old. In his confusion and alarm he must have voiced the first name that came into his mind, naming the Grey because they were sailing
through the wreckage of the Grey’s last battle. Calm was needed. Calm and quiet would see sense returned. We must remove from here! He would have already given the order if he was at his own command. He searched for Quartermaine. A moment would set this right. When he sees me he will remember. I am the saviour of the Guard. He said so. But the old man was going out into the corridor with the last of the cadre leaders. NO! The white-haired head leaned back but only to shout something to the Amazon. With a smile he disappeared around the corner.

  NO!

  *

  Don’t worry about me old man. I will be there in time. La Mar lifted her eyes to the screen. The Ships were a long way away. Too far for anything yet but you never know. With all the commanders in transit and Trahern lying in the alcove with crystals growing into his face, they were leaderless. A mistake there, Trahern. You never know what surprises are in store. She kept Colda in the corner of her eye. Or where they will come from. A glance to Gati told her that at least that one was covered.

  Not enough words either, Trahern. You should have learned that from the old man. This was the largest Group taken out of Base in memory. There were some old hands here that had flown with Burnett but not many. The rest hadn’t been part of something this big, nor had they been against the Ships in a serious fight. The sweep that PlanCon had made through the Gap counted for little. You need to settle them. Bring them up to it slowly.

  She opened the comm. ‘La Mar here. Your commanders are on their way to you. As Commander Trahern has ordered, they will take you to your positions after the Weaves are set, however, there are a few things we can do to get ready.’ She moved to the controls. ‘I’ll give you the grid.’ Everyone should have this up. This was basic stuff but there was time to go through it. Seeing your training come good gave comfort. A bit of routine would also help get them into the flow of the action, sort of ease them in.

  ‘The Zed is our flight path, it has been straight enough for a while now. The command transport, this one that I am talking to you from, is the triple point, the origin. The line of the enemy is the X, the ‘right’ and ‘left’ our Commander mentioned in the orders.’ No problem picking that. It ran sharp across the screen at this distance, incredibly continuing off the screen at both ends. Phenomenal numbers. But let’s not think about that. ‘That makes up and down the Y. The Passages should be away to your left, negative X now. If they are on your right you are upside down.’ She was sure that there would be more than a few craft discretely rotating at the moment. ‘Okay, light that up if you haven’t already, then pull the focus back to us.’ She paused to let them take it in. Now their own numbers would be reassuring, a screen full of their own craft. ‘Find yourselves.’ Each would have one light glowing brighter, a speck in the display that was the Group.

  ‘Pretty good. You have done well. That’s great positioning after a flight of days.’ Actually it looked awful. The cadres were tight enough but PlanCon was spread out unevenly and they made up almost half the Group. Some were still coming out of the Grey’s old battlefield way back on the Zed. ‘Just a little bit of movement needed. Let’s make some room for the Weaves. Remember, your commanders will take you to your final position. This is just neatening up. Blues slide over to X positive, about one flight length, Far Rangers X negative.’ These two cadres had been out front so it was easy to start their shift. She was infringing on Trahern’s orders but she wanted craft moving before the Weaves started. Seeing manned craft going under remote control in the numbers she expected would be unnerving for the rest. Best to be busy. ‘Amazons up to X negative, two lengths.’ That put them on the outside. The Rangers wouldn’t like that. They took the ‘Far’ in their name seriously. It was a bad slot too, only the Blues had worse. If you could pick a worse in a battle like this. But her girls had done it before, made a run to a Passage and held it. ‘Just like the Rim. You can do it,’ she said. Embarrassed that she let that thought slip out she went through the remaining cadres quickly. ‘RARs centre on Quartermaine’s transport, you have it in blue. Negative one X, negative one Zed.’ She put the rest of the cadres behind them, each by name. Now for PlanCon.

  ‘PlanCon, come up on the Zed, stay positive on the X.’ Colda and the three he had brought with him, staff or bodyguards, she didn’t know which, were still in the control room but she doubted that they would be needed. Control of the more tedious aspects of manoeuvre would reside far down the line of command in that outfit.

  The numerous craft came across smoothly, gaps were closed and the overall configuration improved. Well, there are some good ones in PlanCon after all. ‘Well done,’ she said, and this time she meant it. Not quite finished yet. Trahern would need room for the Weave. ‘Okay, PlanCon, come forward, leading edge to negative one Zed, X to one X.’ She saw Trahern’s arm lift from the side of the reclined chair in the alcove. His hand showed two fingers then the finger and thumb came together then opened wide. ‘Make that X origin to X two, spread them out.’ Good. He’s following it. Soon he would be able to talk, once the crystals were all in. And I will be able to get to my post.

  She looked at Colda. He was making no move to leave, his only motion a clenching and unclenching of his fists. Maybe he is waiting to see how many of his craft Trahern takes.

  ‘PlanCon. Transports and multiple craft to quarter speed.’ The bigger craft dropped back through the fleet. She keyed off the comm. It was up to Trahern now.

  ‘That leaves the volunteers at the front,’ said Mancine from beside her, a smile to go with the words. It was an old marine trick after all.

  ‘Probably Tollen’s,’ they both said at once. They shared a laugh, cut off as movement on the screen grabbed their attention.

  Her heart swooped as Trahern took the leading elements, accelerated them and arced them forward. All across the PlanCon front. He pulled others from behind and spun them after the first. ‘Stars in the night, he’s taking hundreds.’ On the left of the screen lesser lights began to move as quickly.

  Quartermaine starting his Weave. Time for me to go. She tapped the controls for a wider view. One last check on the Ships. They filled the screen. Tens of thousands she guessed and looked to the monitor for confirmation. The count was rising. She shut the display when it passed fifty thousand. Probably two to three times that. Too many. Oh, I wish I was with my girls. The end wouldn’t seem so bad, all of us going out together. Oh Rhone, I am so sorry.

  ‘Commander La Mar,’ called the comm tech. ‘We are being hailed.’

  ‘What? Who?’ was all that she could muster.

  ‘Pulsed message, our code. An old one but one of ours.’

  ‘From them?’ she asked in amazement. Never before, never ever according to the Scholar.

  ‘No. From below. There by the dead zone. A single craft, coming fast, real fast. Off the edge of the dead zone, just off.’ The tone of his voice made clear what he thought of that madness.

  ‘The message?’ demanded La Mar.

  ‘Wait.’

  At her glare he clarified. ‘Wait. That is the message. Just that one word over and over. Wait.’ The tech quickly dipped his head back to his screen. ‘Now there are images also. Base Planet, the satellites, stars, constellations I don’t recognise.’

  ‘Is he getting this?’ she asked indicating Trahern.

  ‘About a thousand times, Commander.’

  She checked the screen. Oh you wonder. Thousands, you are going for thousands. Trahern was taking all of PlanCon! The Weave was large enough to show on the wide setting as a form of its own. A day of wonders, she thought. Is this how the end comes? Wonder after wonder and emotions piling up with an intensity approaching pain. Before her eyes the shape of the Weave changed from a cylinder to a sphere. I can’t take too much more of this.

  ‘The craft has stopped, Commander. There in the middle. A scoutship. It is still transmitting, sending sensor data, images. Not just to us.’

  She found it on the screen. A tiny spark midway between the Group and the enemy. Not so far now. She co
uld see movement in the enemy ranks. Time’s up. We will have to move soon if we want to take the attack to them. ‘Who is it?’ The Gold maybe, trying to save a few of his beloved Ships. Elsewise? Either of those would acceptable, better than her fear.

  ‘There is no pilot. No one on board. That is what is being transmitted, sensor scans of the inside, everything inside in fine detail.’

  The Weave equipment! She spun to the alcove. ‘Trahern! Attack now!’ She opened the comm and added a visual. So everyone would hear and see his command. Or her action.

  *

  ‘Trahern’ and ‘attack’. Colda heard the words. They broke through his shock. Yes! I won’t let them take things from me again. All his hurt turned to anger. Kill him and take what is mine. So easy, just a rip of his hand through the wires. That would destroy the Grey’s mind. Yes! This is the way. Take command with a show of force. This was always meant to happen.

  Colda strode to the alcove and stepped up onto the platform. He swung his arm up.

  *

  Someone crossed in front of her. Colda? What? No, not like this! panicked La Mar. But Gati was there suddenly in between, and Colda rocked back, one step to the edge of the platform, then over backwards in a slow full length fall, as though he had lost his balance. La Mar stooped to catch his head before it hit the floor.

  No strength in the body. Dead, she knew. I didn’t even see Gati’s hand move. Would he follow my command to tap Trahern out? One look told her no. Their eyes locked; she wondered if Gati would allow her to move, now that her intent was clear.

  ‘Wait,’ said a voice over the comm. ‘I know who it is.’

  Yah, it’s Gati, thought La Mar. And he is so damn fast that I have no hope. But I have to try. To tap out Trahern and take over.

  ‘Wait,’ said Trahern from the alcove.