When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars)

by Korenman, Adam

  “Take a seat,”he shouted over his shoulder. He stopped, eyes wide, and started patting down his pockets.“Come on, come on.”

  “What is it?”Adeline asked, her voice wavering.

  Don’t do this to me, he thought. His fingers felt a familiar shape inside his jacket liner, and a moment later drew out his silver cross. I need you now, buddy. Don’t let me down. He was about to look for more survivors when another ship crashed through the hangar wall. The decompression collapsed the far side and sucked the dazed crew and passengers out into the void.

  Cameron squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring the twisting knot in his stomach. He closed the ramp and sealed the shuttle as another section of the hangar folded in. Grabbing the yoke, he released the brake clamps and held on. They tumbled out of the broken ship, flipping end-over-end with the rest of the debris. As soon as they cleared the shattered walls Cameron engaged the engines. Under low power, they moved out into the burning field of slag and floating detritus. Things thumped against the windshield with a wet sound, like bags of meat. Cameron said a silent prayer and ignored them. He pushed the throttle forward and the ship shot out into the black.

  As the shuttle raced away from the Imperion, a final kamikaze flared his rockets and charged in. The impact destroyed the capital ship’s engine and ignited the fuel lines. With a dazzling flash, the Terran cruiser erupted into a fireball, vaporizing all who remained inside. Just outside the blast radius, a single silver fighter hovered in wait. A few escape pods had launched, only to be caught by an interceptor missile seconds later. When the ambassador shuttle cleared the field, the fighter lit its engines and moved to engage.

  “Shit,”Cameron said. The contact alarm screamed in his ears. On screen, the words Missile Lockflashed again and again, as though that was a message he would easily ignore.“Hold on, guys. This is going to get ugly.”Jerry could do little more than moan, but Adeline began to cry. Cameron checked the grid to find out how far he was from the Cove. He was calculating the numbers when the first blast nearly took off the port side wing. His right foot kicked out, searching for an afterburner pedal. It’s not a fighter, dumbass. Slamming the throttle forward, the pilot raced ahead and tried to evade.

  It wasn’t a fair fight. The shuttle was designed for comfort, not combat maneuvers. The Nangolani ship had no trouble falling in behind and hitting every shot. Had it been a civilian ship, Cameron knew he’d already be dead. Ambassadors, however, know they may have to leave in a hurry. Rear shields and composite plating protected the transport from the heavy barrage of fire. But they couldn’t hold out forever.

  Cameron’s mind ran a mile a minute. They’d never make the station, not with the fighter peppering them every step of the way. He was about to wonder aloud where the High Chancellor’s escort had gone to when he passed the flaming chassis of a Phoenix III. Anduin’s own guards must have attacked. This close, without warning, the pilots hadn’t stood a chance. It set his blood on fire to think about the betrayal. Another hit from the fighter shook him from his thoughts.

  A chime drew his attention to the navigation console. They had just entered launch range for a nearby relay. A small blue button lit up on the command panel, winking on and off. Cameron mashed the controls until he saw a destination he liked. Without hesitation he pressed the ignition.

  At first nothing happened. Then everything happened at once. An insanely bright light snapped on in front of the ship, opening to a gate in seconds. Another shot from the alien craft flew wide as Cameron pushed the throttle to full, sending the shuttle into the void. With a deafening boom, the transport rocketed forward and the sapphire maw closed shut.

  - VIII -

  In his office, Jonah read the report from his agent. It surprised him that he didn’t take more joy in the news. Unexpected as the attack was, it mirrored his own designs closely. But not having a hand in the death stroke of the Council was a thorn in his side. He lamented the loss of Kerrigan, but only so far that it hindered a small part of his plan. The loss of a majority of the Centurial Council would only strengthen his hand during the final phase of the operation, and with Admiral Gilroy out of the picture, the remaining forces on Earth would be easier to crush. Rebuilding the government would take time, but now he had as much of that as he wanted. He stared across the room at his gift to the High Chancellor: a wooden chess set with pieces carved of marble.

  The hour approached quickly. Alexander Burton would die, and the Hammer would rise as the true power of the Terran people.

  Chapter Eight

  On the Job Training

  “All stations, Castle. I say again, Cas—(static, end of transmission)”

  General Burton Casey

  Supreme Commander

  New Eden

  2237

  - I -

  February 22, 2237

  Cameron set his flight plan and walked out into the passenger area. Jerry lay against the seats, floating in and out of consciousness. He held Cam’s jacket against his stomach, the blood soaking clear through the thick wool. Adeline had passed out in a chair at the back of the shuttle. Out the window, the spinning blue tunnel cast haunting shadows. The pilot stared in wonder. That was a question his professors at the academy could never answer. Why did the light flicker inside that impossible spiral?

  “Where is he?”Jerry spoke in a whisper. His eyes stayed shut as pain wracked his body.

  Cameron knelt down, checking the wound. Black fluid mixed with dark red. Liver’s hit,he thought.“Someone put him in the emergency pod. I didn’t catch his face.”

  “Arthur,”Jerry croaked.“His top aide. He shot me.”

  The pilot nodded.“You need to keep up your strength. We’re headed toward Eros. I’m trying to raise someone, but the transmitter’s out.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Most of the Council is dead. The High Chancellor is kidnapped, and I’d bet my life it was Jonah. There’s nothing we can do.”

  Cameron sat down on the floor, opening a bottle of water he’d found in the refrigerator. The ambassador, whoever he had been, had loved a well stocked shuttle.“Who takes over now? Who’s in charge of the government?”

  “It’ll be a power grab. Counsellor Doyle maybe, or one of the higher ranked Ambassadors. The Colonial Pillar has always been the weakest; they’ll rush at the chance to take over.”He coughed, his chest heaving.“The military will use this as an excuse to start fighting on New Eden. The Hammer will start whatever they have planned for Earth, if they haven’t already. Face it son, this is the beginning of the end.”

  Cameron spat.“How can you give up? This is bad, but it’s not over. We just need to find the right people and get control of the situation.”

  Jerry’s eyes opened and he smiled weakly.“Semper Fidelis,”he said.

  “That’s Marines,”Cameron laughed.“I’m Fleet.”

  The chief of staff’s eyes went to the ceiling as he tried to remember the motto.“We stand the line?”

  Cameron shook his head.“Imperial Guards. I thought you were well-read, chief.”

  Jerry coughed, a wet hacking sound.“Never served. Still, I should know this.”

  “Well, you know the leathernecks’at least. Army hasn’t changed in four hundred years either.‘This, we’ll defend.’Fleet has always been tricky.”He took a sip from the water bottle and settled down against the benches.“People think it’s‘send the rain,’but that’s just from the movie.”

  “Movie?”Jerry asked.

  Cameron nodded.“Came out about ten years ago, right after the Colonial Delegation renamed the Navy. Had that actor from the Net show about marrying a robot.”He suppressed a snort.“Terrible show, but put him on the map. Anyway, he says that line about a hundred times. Now everyone thinks that’s what we say.”

  “And what do you actually say?”

  “Until the stars fade.”

  Jerry managed a weary smirk.“You certainly have spirit, son. The military does finds the best and brightest. But this is politics. Whoever is willing to
crawl through the mud wins.”

  “So what should we do?”Cameron handed the water to the Chief of Staff, helping him drink.

  “We wait to see what happens next. And we pray.”

  - II -

  Mara’s hearts pounded in rapid succession, the beats coming and going so quickly they almost melded together. She paced the small room, her footsteps echoing against the bare walls. Things were going as well as she’d expected, which was to say abysmally. Ray hadn’t released any information through his channels, at least to her knowledge, but she couldn’t simply hold back from asking questions.

  She’d gone to her superiors, the Magistrate, aboard the golden Capital Cruiser Xenogasand asked point blank whether or not they knew of the deception their leaders had orchestrated. There wasn’t much point in beating around the bush, not this late in the game. They’d played dumb, but she could tell the information was anything but news. The Royal Magister cried out in his booming voice that a full investigation would follow, although the rest of the elders were strangely absent. Hours later, Mara had been woken in her chambers and dragged off to a holding cell. The guards hadn’t told her why she was being taken, just that the order had come from high above. Someone in the Imperial court had noticed her inquiries and moved to silence them. That she was still alive meant nothing. She could be quieted permanently with little thought.

  She hadn’t been surprised. Back in the refugee fleet, outspoken critics of the government often vanished without a trace. She’d never given it any thought, figuring that there must be a reason to remove such troublemakers. As long as she played by the rules they’d never have a reason to take her as well. Now, sitting in the tiny cell waiting for death, all she could think about was Ray. Would the humans treat him the same? Would killing him keep the peace any longer? As she waited, she played the scenarios over and over in her mind.

  The Boxti would take New Eden, probably costing the Terrans a few billion more lives. Even if that prompted all-out war, would it matter? She was a student of history, and the cards played out the same again and again. Civilizations in the sights of the alien menace didn’t stand a chance. No matter how much strength they brought against this threat, they would fall in the end. Even the Pharsamin, with their doomsday weapon, had perished. Anduin knew this. He had seen more than his share of species succumb to the same fate. Maybe, in his eyes, the loss of another race was acceptable if it meant the survival of the Nangolani.

  Mara rubbed her temples, summoning her knowledge of the enemy’s war plan. After New Eden, the Boxti would search for Earth. Home planets were always the last to fall. Without a world to call their own, the humans would dissolve until nothing remained. It was a cycle she knew all too well. And there was nothing to stop them. They were apex predators, unrelenting in the attack. It would take the might of a hundred fleets to end their reign of terror. The Emperor would simply continue to run.

  Her wrist pinged as the small chip inside came to life. She pushed a thumb into the soft flesh by her palm, feeling the resistance from the electronic device. Mara had planned ahead, sending out a message to those she felt she could still trust. It wouldn’t matter. Who would stand against the court? Who would risk their own lives for the truth?

  In her tiny room, Mara waited for death. She knew it couldn’t be far away.

  - III -

  “Dead?”

  Markov grinned at his dumbfounded second-in-command. He’d waited until they’d checked the room for bugs before announcing his big news. He didn’t want this secret to be leaked to the troops just yet.“The majority of the Centurial Council, and more than a few members of the Colonial Delegation. All eyes are focused out there, and not on us. As of right now, the candidates are off the grid.”

  Sasha scowled, pacing the office. It wasn’t a large room and there was too much furniture for him to cover much ground.“This is bad, Markov. If this was the Boxti, they could just as easily come here next.”

  “They won’t,”the doctor said.“I’ve been monitoring the traffic overhead. There was a single alien band broadcasting last night, and it wasn’t them.”He seemed practically giddy.

  “Then who was it?”

  Markov laughed.“Our silver-skinned allies.”

  Sasha stopped and placed his face in his hands, sighing loudly.“Should we tell the soldiers?”

  “What for? I doubt they’ll lose sleep over a few politicians.”

  “A few? Eto piz‘dets, that was nearly all of the Centurial Council. Two Pillars wiped out at once, and plenty of the Delegation killed as well. This will end the government.”

  Markov shrugged.“We’re privately funded.”

  “Would you stop? This affects us, whether or not you care to admit it.”Sasha threw his hands in the air.“New Eden is going to explode over this. They’ll want to get in the fight even more now.”

  “Let Eros fight its own battles.”

  Sasha stormed up to the doctor, stopping inches from his face.“The military isn’t going to simply forget about us, Markov. They put a lot of money into the project. Helping in this fight is just a little important, don’t you think?”

  “We don’t need the military’s support anymore. With the funds we’ve already procured, this facility is self-sustaining. I can operate just fine without some general crawling inside my asshole every five minutes asking for an update. We can actually do some good, get the soldiers into situations that really need their expertise.”He put his hands on Sasha’s shoulders.“We wanted to be black-ops. This is as covert as it gets. We’ll see where the soldiers can make the most impact on the battlefield and send them in. They turn the tide and are back before anyone knows what happened. It’s what Josh and the others want.”

  “They aren’t slaves, Markov. We have to treat them like soldiers.”

  Markov scoffed.“They knew the risks when they signed up. They knew this wasn’t a short-term contract. We own them. There’s more classified material inside their bodies than normal organic matter. Basically, they are property.”

  That stopped the sergeant cold. He stared at his friend with new eyes, unsure what to say. Was it even his old comrade inside that head? Markov had always been eccentric, prone to rash decisions. But this was madness. Sasha couldn’t bring himself to speak.

  “Look,”the doc said.“I know what you’re thinking, and this isn’t Phobos all over again. I’m fine. This is going to work. We wanted a black ops group, and this is as black as they can get. Crossed off the books by everyone. We’ll operate with complete impunity.”

  Sasha sat down, defeated.“And if they get caught? Or if one gets killed and their body recovered by the military?”

  “The nanomachines will take care of that. I can write a program that will consume every shred of evidence. There won’t be a body to recover.”

  There was no point in arguing. Sasha had seen this side of Markov before, back when they’d first met. He’d had to play it safe, let the doctor carry on, and find a way out later. He thought about the soldiers, what he would say to them. But there was nothing that would make a dent. He couldn’t very well tell them what had happened. Sure, they would find out once they had access to a computer off world, but they’d cross that bridge when it came. For now, he would continue their training and hope his friend came to his senses.

  “Fine,”Sasha said finally.“Where do we go from here?”

  Markov smiled, feeling he’d won.“You are right about one thing. The war for New Eden is about to begin. If humanity loses there, they will be forced to come here. As that interferes with my work, we must not let it happen. I know exactly where to send the Archangels.”He held out his tablet, pointing to a map on the screen.

  The sergeant rubbed at his scar.“Are they ready for something this big?”

  “It’s not the test run I’d have envisioned, but it will have to do. Are the Mark IIIs ready?”

  “Yes, but Josh’s team isn’t. They can’t control their descent well enough.”

  Markov
groaned.“Fine, we’ll insert with the old gliders. Get the candidates prepped to move. It’s time for some on-the-job training.”

  - IV -

  The entire Terran military held it’s breath. All day long, they’d received a play-by-play from the soldiers standing guard at the parlay tent, waiting to hear the fate of the human race. The aliens’demands had quickly spread throughout the ranks, stirring the soldiers into a frenzy. Some swore they’d pay back the monsters for the genocide on Tallus. Others, the natives of New Eden, were eager to win back their homes. Not a one prayed for peace.

  On General Casey’s orders, ground troops had begun preparing for the worst. Divisions took their positions around the Boxti fortress, weapon systems locking on and calibrating firing solutions. Shiva tanks took up battle positions behind berms and hillsides. Thor cannons, safely in the rear, locked onto scout signals and loaded high-explosive 300mm artillery rounds. Infantry reserves conducted pre-combat inspections and rehearsed their battle drills. Across the surface of the colonized planet, engines roared to life and vehicles began to move, preparing the massive evacuation Arks for launch. Fighters aboard the nearby stations were loaded and set on rails, pilots waiting in their ships for the go order.

  The firecracker was set. It just needed a match.