When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars)

by Korenman, Adam

  The last three rooms had been costly. He’d called in Alexa’s reinforcements after a stray round clipped Valenzuela. Gordon and Naren had fallen to a tripmine shortly thereafter, and Alberts had taken a round to the throat before they’d cleared the final room on the floor. With only five soldiers left to take the complex, the odds of success continued to dwindle. They’d used the last of their grenades flushing out a nest of heavy gunners in a hallway, leaving them with only their rifles to take the loft. Eight Alpha troops stood between them and victory. If they could kill four more and hold until the siren, they would be the winners for the game by a hair.

  “Throw down your arms,”he called out, crouching by the final doorway.“Surrender and you’ll be allowed to live.”It was a bluff he knew they wouldn’t call. Even if he’d had a full squad, they had to know it was Charlie and not Delta in their base. Night had fallen quickly and the casualty report was surely posted.

  A voice called out.“Come and get us.”

  Josh couldn’t help but grin. He knew who was inside.“Zev? You still alive?”

  “So far. Is that you, Rantz?”Zev laughed.“I was sure we killed you a month ago. Didn’t I shoot you by the resupply post?”

  Josh looked over at Dax.“That was you? At the cache?”He signaled for Dax to pull his DaVinci out. The big man grumbled, slinging his rifle over his back and lugging out the heavy weapon.“That was some mean shit. I didn’t see the mines until we were sitting on them”

  “Sorry I missed. Why don’t you come in here and I’ll make it up to you?”

  Nicholai and Malcolm, Alexa’s support gunners, hunkered behind a table and reloaded their magazines. Each tapped their ammo pouch and held up a finger, signaling that they had a single magazine remaining. At the far end of the hall, aiming a machine gun at the door, Felix waved his hand that he was ready. Josh and Dax rose up and prepared to breach.

  “Last chance, Zev.”

  The Alpha sergeant responded with a burst of rifle fire that caused Nicholai to duck down. Josh pulled a small pouch from his thigh pocket. It was a heater from his combat rations. He sucked in a mouthful of water and spit into the sack, sealing it tight. The heater began to boil, gasses building up inside the enclosed bag. When he felt the bubbles reach a breaking point, he tossed the heater inside the room.

  “Frag out!”

  The decoy worked, exploding with a sudden bang and causing the Alpha soldiers to flinch. Josh and Dax charged the room, firing on full auto. They killed two soldiers with their initial burst and drove in, taking cover behind upturned cots. Nicholai and Malcolm rushed in behind them, shooting from the hip. They took down another two before being cut apart by heavy machine gun fire. Dax growled and lunged at the gunner, leaping over the cot and firing at the same time. He hit the man in the sternum, but took a round to the shoulder from Zev. Felix came into the room, but was hit in the face before he could get off a shot. Dax hit the wall, bowling over a young private who had been cowering in the corner. Josh struggled hand-to-hand with a gangly corporal, trying to reach his pistol while fending off a knife.

  The Alpha sergeant continued to fire, putting two more rounds in Dax’s chest before his rifle suddenly locked up. He slapped the magazine, trying to fix the jam. Josh seized the moment. He brought a knee up into the corporal’s stomach, opening a space to draw his pistol and fire two rounds at point blank. The soldier fell back into a cot and slumped to the ground. Josh pivoted and rushed forward, tackling Zev into the corner. The bigger man ripped his rifle away and tossed it aside, drawing his knife. Josh rolled out from under and aimed his sidearm, but Zev was faster. He lashed out with the blade, just barely missing Josh’s throat.

  Josh fired a round but missed wide, hitting the wall. Zev charged in screaming, driving them both through the window. Boards exploded outward as they fell ten feet to the ground outside, hitting the dirt with a thud that knocked their wind away. Josh scrambled to his feet, fighting to catch his breath as the enemy searched for his knife. The pistol lay in the sand a few feet to the side, just behind the last Alpha soldier. Zev beckoned Josh forward, grinning.

  “Just you and me now, Josh.”

  Josh pulled his own knife and twirled it in his hand, holding it blade down. His heart pounded in his ears as the hulking sergeant rushed him again. Josh sidestepped and brought his knee up, connecting with Zev’s solar plexus. The impact spun them both around.

  “Come on, Zev,”Josh shouted.“I don’t have all day.”

  Zev laughed.“No, you don’t.”He lunged with the knife, trying to cut into Josh’s forearms.

  They struck at the same time, catching each other’s arms at the last moment, blades inches from each other’s faces. Josh knew he was overpowered and allowed the momentum to slip his arm inside his opponent. He countered the spin, using his hips to launch Zev up and over his head. The big man flew in the air and slammed down on the ground. Josh leapt on top, using his knees to pin the soldier’s arms to the dirt. The staff sergeant bucked hard, knocking Josh to the side. He barely was able to keep hold of the knife as they grappled on the ground. Zev grabbed the weapon and threw it to the side. He snatched Josh by the vest and dragged him to his feet. With incredible strength, he threw the smaller soldier into the door of one of the trucks. Zev walked over to the downed man, breathing heavily.

  “You really thought you could take me?”

  Josh lay on his back, sore as all hell. He looked at up his enemy, eyes burning.“Didn’t have to beat you,”he said.“Just keep you occupied long enough.”Zev’s eyes widened as he realized that he was standing alone on the battlefield.“Take the shot.”

  On the ridge, Alexa squeezed the trigger a quarter centimeter and loosed a round. The bullet flew straight and true, nailing Zev in the chest and dropping him to the ground. She let out a shout that echoed in the canyon, jumping into the air.

  Josh crawled to his feet as Alexa ran down the ridge toward the base. He pulled his radio from his belt and twisted the knob to the command channel. He leaned against the J10 for support, his right arm tingling. He felt as though he’d been hit by a truck. Looking at the size of his enemy on the ground, he understood how. Lights snapped on overhead and Josh saw three separate Seraphs floating low over the complex, the glowing windows filled with onlookers. He waved.

  “Eagle one two, this is Caveman white one. Enemy company has been destroyed, vicinity Foxtrot November 834-213. Requesting immediate evac and class six support.”Alexa and Felix jogged in, sweating from the run. They grinned as Josh waited for the response from the command net.

  “Caveman, this is Eagle. Endex declared. All suits powering down. Standby for immediate pickup and debrief. Outstanding job. Eagle out.”

  Alexa grabbed Josh in a bearhug, squeezing him so hard his ribs hurt. He laughed out loud, putting his helmet against hers. When Alexa finally let go, Josh walked over to where Zev lay on the ground and waited for his eyes to open.

  “You dead?”

  Zev’s eyes remained closed.“Feels like.”He blinked, grimacing.“Damn electrodes hurt like a sonofabitch.”

  Josh held out a hand and helped the big man to his feet.“You know I could have taken you. I’d just let you think you were winning.”

  Zev smirked.“I’d love to have seen that. I threw you into a car.”

  “Yeah, and that’s clearly cheating. If there hadn’t been a car there, I would have been right back at you like a bobcat.”

  The Alpha sergeant hobbled to the vehicle and sat down in the passenger seat, rubbing his legs.“That would have been something.”He took off his helmet, taking a long drink from his camel back.“They coming to pick us up?”

  Josh looked up at the sky, watching as a Seraph platform glided overhead, lights flashing around in a circle.“I hope so. I don’t really know the way back from here.”He leaned against the door near Zev.“That was a good fight. Thanks for not breaking anything important.”

  “Figured you needed your arms, otherwise you’ll be dateless.”


  They shared a laugh as the rest of the soldiers began filing from the tents and buildings. Dax helped an Alpha gunner who’d twisted her ankle during the fighting, easing her down against a wall. A few people pulled out cards and sat to play while they waited for the shuttles to arrive for pickup.

  - XIII -

  The order came suddenly, in a painful burst. Visions of the planet flashed in front of the Warlord’s eyes, mixed with a message. He slammed his hand down on the crystalline console arm on his chair. Druuma messages were never easy to take, and a direct feed from the Homeworld even worse. The bond between host and Parasite was tenuous, and the override felt like being gutted with a rusty blade. When it was over, the Warlord leaned over and hacked, clearing his throat of phlegm. It took immense strength to recover quickly and dip his six-fingered hand into the conduit gel next to his chair.

  “This is Warlord Eruk djun Tolan,”his words passed to each ship’s commander through the gel.“Our leader has ordered us to hold beyond the planet’s systems, by the gas giant. We will observe the planet for a time before moving in. All ships must avoid contact with the humans until ordered.”He turned to his Blood Chief, a foul and misshapen thing.“Send one of the frigates closer to observe their movements.”

  As one, the ships began to slow, dropping to standard speed. They veered hard to the left and down the solar plane, moving into the shadow of an immense gas giant. The gravitational disruption hid their signatures, and the opaque atmosphere would provide excellent concealment while they observed their enemy. Only a single frigate continued forward, moving to a better position from which to gather intelligence.

  Aboard the dreadnought, Eruk whispered the evensong of the Drova Waste and closed his four eyes. He was not known for patience, but for now he could endure.

  * * * * *

  Charley was watching the monitor when the anomaly simply disappeared. One moment the large formation of muffled dots was on a course for New Eden, the next gone. The Room Leader waddled over, munching on a pastry. She spilled crumbs on his desk as she leaned over his shoulder. Her perfume was offensively strong, a flowery mixture of chemicals and compost.

  “Chucky,”she said, spraying flakes of her dessert onto the back of his neck.“What’s this I hear about you contacting SP? You know it’s my call to make.”Her voice was sickly sweet, but Charley heard the malice underneath.“Are you trying to sneak into my job?”

  Charles sighed.“I’m sorry, ma’am. I saw something that caught my attention and you were indisposed. I had to make a decision.”

  “But that’s not your decision to make. Do you see why that would upset me?”

  He placed his head in his hands.“Look, you were gone. If we didn’t get ahold of SP, the situation could have turned into something ugly. You would have done the same thing.”

  She laughed, a horrid and wet sound.“Oh, I don’t think so. I didn’t get where I am by crying wolf every time an Observer broke down.”She put her face close to his, blood red lipstick glistening as she clucked her tongue.“Honestly, Chucky, I just don’t know what to do with you. You realize this is your second warning for overriding authority?”

  Stacey stuck her head up, eyes wide.“Ma’am, he’s telling the truth. I checked the satellite myself. It wasn’t reporting anymore.”She handed the room leader a printed out report.“It’s protocol to report any loss to the TSI network. With or without supervisory approval.”

  The fat woman scowled, her beady eyes narrowing.“Is this a fucking democracy? I’m in charge here, and I’d appreciate it if you stopped taking these liberties with your job. If you don’t like it, I’m sure you can find another line of work elsewhere.”She slammed her palm on the console and shuffled away, grumbling under her breath.

  Charley looked over at Stacey, mouthing“thank you.”She smiled and rolled her eyes, ducking back down to her terminal. When his boss was out of sight, Charley opened up the report on his computer. He couldn’t understand what had happened. The Observer went down after reporting a spacial disturbance akin to a Blue Space exit. Then the dots had appeared on the radar. Everything pointed to an unidentified object, or many objects, traveling through the system. SP hadn’t seemed at all surprised that he’d found something worth looking into. So where had it gone?

  He thought back to the short conversation with his wife, remembering the thoughts that had gone through his head when they’d spoken. Now he felt like a fool, screaming the sky was falling. He shook his head. It was better to be cautious and he knew it. Now, because of his gut, he might be looking for another job. Figured they’d shoot the messenger.

  Something stuck in his head, a feeling he couldn’t quite shake. Charley opened up the news report regarding Tallus, looking for the report made by the node crew. Somewhere in that file there was a similarity. He was sure of it. He just had to find out what to look for.

  - XIV -

  There was no more time to wait. Cameron’s filters were red lined, and he could sense the thinning oxygen in his darkening vision. If he activated the ship, he’d had enough time to make a single maneuver, but the frigate would probably destroy him before he got anywhere. He’d fixed his ejection lever, but the same problem existed.

  It had seemed like the best course of action at the time. To the rest of the alien armada, he must have looked like a piece of debris. When the fleet broke off to hide behind the far orbiting gas giant, Cameron’s frigate had continued on until it was only a few thousand kilometers from the moon Kronos. From his cockpit, Cameron saw the winking lights of different stations and satellites, all within range of his radio. But if he sent a message, the alien ship might detect him and destroy him. It seemed that every choice would lead to him getting shot.

  The catch-22 lasted until the blinking red warning light became a solid glow on the console. If he waited much longer, he would die anyway. Add to that his damaged wing and slowly overheating fuel rods, and the Phoenix was fast becoming a death trap. Cameron sat in his canopy, sweat dripping down his face, and planned.

  A shudder brought his attention to the Boxti frigate. From the far side, something flailed in the dim light of distant Eros. As Cameron watched on, jaw dropped in amazement, a strange creature emerged onto the hull. It crawled in zero gravity on five limbs, each both foot and arm in one. It wore a jumpsuit and mask to protect it from the harsh environment. For a moment, Cameron couldn’t help but sit and stare. He’d only seen the Nangolani on TV, but they at least were humanoid. This was...unreal.

  It dawned on him that the creature must be conducting a routine inspection of the ship. With only so much ground to cover, it wouldn’t be long before the Boxti crewman saw the human fighter caught up underneath the belly of the frigate. His timeline, it seemed, had just been accelerated. Cameron squeezed his eyes shut, thinking back to a mechanical lesson regarding the Phoenix drive core.

  While larger Terran ships utilized cold fusion systems, fighters operated with compressed hydrogen slush and powered fuel rods. The way these two sources reacted inside the sealed chamber only a few feet from his head could be described as volatile, but only if the word had a tamer meaning. Given the warnings that persisted even in auxiliary power, Cameron figured he didn’t have much time before the entire ship became somewhat less hospitable. And less not-on-fire.

  He worked quickly, flipping switches that deactivated key safety features in the fighter. His fingers hit buttons that he had been expressly told never to touch, causing alarms to activate even in auxiliary power. The entire ship seemed to be asking what exactly he thought he was doing. Cameron paused to wipe sweat from his eyes, knowing how precious each breath was as the air turned warm and sour in his mouth. Finally, figuring he’d done as much damage as possible, Cameron prepared to leave his perch.

  A fighter pilot comes to see his ship as his home, and Cameron had come to love his battered old Phoenix. She wasn’t his first, but this model had kept him safe for the last few years. It seemed a shame to leave, but the only thing left inside was death. He
strapped into his seat, tugging each strap of the five-point harness to test the link. As he looked up and pulled his helmet on tight, the Boxti turned to face him. Its black eyes widened in a comical expression, and it pointed with a three-fingered hand/foot. He waved back and engaged the engine, stomping down on the afterburner.

  Flames shot out the back of the Phoenix, scorching the alien hull. The journey had practically fused the two ships together, and instead of shooting away the human fighter began to rotate the jumbled vessels. Slowly but surely, the larger frigate began to turn. Holding on for dear life, the Boxti crewman screamed and shook its head. Cameron could only guess what it was saying, but figured it was the same as he would do if their roles had been reversed. The frigate shook violently, fighting the sudden movement caused by the Phoenix.

  Another alarm sounded, this was even more dire than before. The engine compartment had reached a critical temperature. Cam’s neck burned from the intense heat generated behind him, but he kept the afterburners rocking. He gritted his teeth, counting the rotations in his head and watching the moon spin past every fifteen seconds. His timing had to be perfect. He released the afterburner and tapped his foot against the canopy, finding the rhythm in the spin. At the last moment, as the moon began to rise into view, he gripped the yellow handle by his seat and pulled as hard as he could. The canopy exploded outward, rocketing past the frigate and out into space. Centrifugal force shot the pod at breakneck speed, pressing Cameron deep into his seat.

  Cameron used small bursts of his control jets to spin around just in time to see the Phoenix’s engines go critical. Heat from the fuel rods burnt into the hydrogen chamber, igniting what remained of the accelerant. When the chemicals mixed they sparked, blossoming into a bright white fireball. The explosion tore the frigate to shreds, sending chunks of the alien ship spiraling in all directions. He braced himself for the shockwave, which hit like a jackhammer moments later. Shoved by the force of the fireball, Cameron’s escape pod shot toward Kronos, trailing smoke.