When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars)

by Korenman, Adam

Josh played with the grid, spinning the miniature spaceship around and around.“That does’t make any sense. How did they expect to leave once they were done here?”As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew the answer. Josh nearly fell backwards as the realization washed over him.“This isn’t a carrier.”

  “What do you mean?”Dax asked.

  “Check out the design.”He walked them through the blueprints as he spoke.“We came in here, at the top. Traditionally that’s storage. Non-essential crew and non-mission-critical equipment is put at the inner hull. They had nothing for three bulk-heads, which means they didn’t bring enough crew for the ship.”He put a finger over the main hangar.“The launch bay digs too deep into the central structure of the carrier. Once this baby touched down, she wasn’t ever flying out again.

  “And this right here is the big problem.”He circled the pools, showing how they travelled all the way to the bottom levels of the ship.“We thought these were fuel pods for the engines, but they’re biological containers. There are no rockets staged to get this boat off the dirt. That’s why they’re not trying to fix her. That’s why they didn’t put up a fight for defense, they just went for the offensive. If we’d managed to hold them back, all they would have had to do is put their entire payload into the air. Hell, they just needed to sit back and wait for us to do exactly what we were sent here to do.”

  “And what’s that?”Alexa asked.

  Josh felt the blood rushing to his head.“The bomb. We’re the delivery system.”His mind raced, ignoring the fact that it had been up for over 38 hours. All of his ordnance disposal classes came flooding back in. He grabbed the tablet from Liane, manipulating the image until he saw a full topographical map of the area. Doing the math in this head, he added an initial blast radius and debris cloud estimation as an overlay. The numbers made his spine shiver.“Healthy estimate, we put a cloud of this shit over half the planet. This is how they take over worlds. It’s a goddamn Trojan Horse.”

  Cho stepped up, all piss and vinegar.“Then we shut it down. Abort the mission.”

  “And leave all of this to be used later on? Or wait for Valley Forgeto bombard the site again and kick up the spores anyway?”Josh shook his head.“We have to destroy this carrier. At all costs. But we have to make sure that all of this stays put.”He crossed his arms, looking at his captive audience.“I’m open to suggestions as to how.”

  No one spoke. Each soldier looked to their left and right, hoping someone else would have the solution. It was Fares who answered at last, walking to the center of the group with solemn purpose.

  “The Scourge is a virus, so we should treat it as such.”He pulled a pouch from his combat webbing and held it up.“Nano-Thermatic Cauterizers. Standard issue for all medical facilities. Inside are trillions of microscopic machines just like the ones inside all of us. They target mutated RNA and DNA strands, eliminate viruses, and burn out bacteria before it can take hold. When we use it on the field, we dilute it with water to prevent overmedication. A few full canisters in each tube, combined with an accelerant, should effectively destroy whatever those creatures are stirring.”

  Josh thought on that idea for a moment, but already saw a flaw.“We only have seven field kits, and that’s not even enough for this room.”The group fell silent again.

  “And that’s assuming this stuff dies at high temp,”Pierre said.“You know, there is another way.”He pulled the tablet over, showing everyone the diagram.“If we move the bomb below the hangar, to the lowest level, the vents and armor plates will direct the blast down into the ground.”He handed the device back to Josh.“Should turn the dirt into liquid.”

  Dax sat up straight, crawling over.“It’ll bury the ship.”

  Each of the soldiers drew closer, their minds focusing together on a single point.

  “We sink the Hive, cover it so the Scourge can’t leak out,”Liane said.

  Alexa nodded.“We blast the dorsal vents with missiles as we bug out, make sure they can’t release the virus.”

  Josh shut off the pad and handed it to Liane.“I’m excited about this plan. Seems foolproof. I absolutely can’t wait to see what goes wrong.”

  Dax laughed.“Probably something important.”

  “Only if we’re lucky.”

  - IX -

  Zev arched his back as he stretched. The pain in his chest surged, but not so much to fell the soldier. He grinned, pressing at the bandaged area and savoring the sting of the stitches. Dr. Missirlian had thrown a fit when he left, but there was nothing more he could do in a bed. It was time for him to get back in the fight. There’d been more than enough gear at the entrance to the triage center to get a full battle rattle. Armed with enough ammunition to take on an army, Sergeant First Class Perez went off to find his platoon.

  At first he didn’t notice his companions tagging along. He walked through the desolate parking structure that had become the FOB, searching for any recognizable faces. Most of those he found were too injured or scared to venture back out into the world. He was able to find out a bit of information. Gabriel and the eight remaining soldiers from the Scouts had set out to reach the radio tower and, with luck, punch through the jamming devices the Boxti had in place. From there they could call in an air strike or, better yet, a rescue shuttle. Though almost one hundred soldiers stood guard at the base, the thousand civilians crammed inside were in no condition to fight.

  Zev reached the last guard post before the surface level and stopped. A young corporal stood duty, deep circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. He barely moved when the sergeant approached.

  “Morning, sergeant.”

  “How’s the weather?”Zev asked.

  The boy shrugged, humorless.“Can’t see the sky, sergeant. You thinking of heading out?”Zev nodded.“I’d recommend bringing someone with better depth perception. Just in case.”

  Zev was about to spit out a retort when a sound caused him to spin around. Standing by a concrete pillar, her face obscured by a brown bandana, stood Mary. Timothy leaned against a wall nearby, a dusty submachine gun slung over his shoulder. In the last few weeks he’d become a quick study of guerrilla warfare, though he was much better at hiding behind cover than actually fighting. His clothes were worn and weather beaten: a faded green shirt and black jeans. A thick beard had replaced the stubble from days before.

  “We’ll join you,”Timothy said casually.

  Zev shook his head.“I’m not going for a stroll, Tim. My platoon is out there. It’s not right for me to be back here.”

  The civilian walked toward the sergeant, his steps shadowed by his daughter. By his swagger, one would think he was an old vet.“The way I see it, we’re living on borrowed time. The only chance Mary and I have is getting that radio working. And I don’t know about you soldiers, but I have a degree in electrical engineering. Might come in handy, sergeant.”Timothy moved close to the sergeant’s face.“I’m getting her off this planet.”

  For once, Zev didn’t have a punchy comeback. He gestured toward the gate, letting Timothy take point as they walked out of the FOB and into the brisk morning air. Mary stopped at the entrance and tugged on the soldier’s combat webbing. Zev looked down with his good eye.

  “You look like a pirate,”Mary said. She spun around and skipped after her dad, not waiting for a response.

  - X -

  Alexander found Arthur standing in the kitchen on the sixtieth floor of the building. The power was out and had been for almost 10 hours. General Titus and his Liberation Army of Terra had become quite the thorn in Jonah’s side. Within days of their public statement of a coup, they’d taken control of twenty percent of the planet. Granted, those areas had always been light in Hammer support, but it was an ominous sign in these turbulent times.

  Jonah, for his part, ignored the goings on outside the tower. He’d become increasingly insular, devoting more and more of his time to conversations with the High Chancellor and preparation for his ultimate execution. Most of the day-to-day work of runnin
g the now pan-solar terrorist group had fallen to his second-in-command Victor. The German native seemed to relish the position of power, issuing commands that seemed more in line with his own personal ideals than the goals of the whole. Alexander didn’t exactly have the most reliable source of information, but from what he’d gathered from conversations there had been some dicey incidents around South Africa and Madagascar.

  Arthur was armed, as he had been since arrival in New York. Alexander knew not to approach him suddenly, as the young man was prone to reacting violently when startled. The High Chancellor made a show of stomping and coughing as he drew near to announce his presence. The former-aide turned, smiling smugly. His patchwork beard was coming along nicely, adding absolutely no sense of maturity to his face.

  “Alexander, always a pleasure to see you traipsing about.”

  The older politician ignored the bait. He walked around the central prep table, eyeing the assortment. Without electricity, all of the food had begun to spoil. Arthur, unable to sleep, had taken to pulling out snacks in the middle of the night and working through what he could. The stress of the job had finally started taking its toll, at least from what Alexander could tell. Arthur must have gained five pounds since they left Imperion.

  “Still can’t sleep through the night, Arthur?”

  The aide scowled.“You shouldn’t test me, Alexander.”

  The High Chancellor took a seat, pulling a gallon box of gelato to his side of the table. He located a spoon within arm’s reach and began picking at the mint chocolate treat.“You still haven’t learned to lighten up, Arthur. It’s gonna kill you one of these days.”

  “You know,”Arthur said.“That was what always made me hate you. Having to listen to your stupid folksy advice and pretend it wasn’t completely retarded. Taxing on the brain.”He plopped down in a chair, stuffing his mouth with leftover turkey.“How have you enjoyed your stay at our humble tower?”

  Alexander placed a spoonful of the melting cream into his mouth.“The utilities are terrible. You really ought to speak to your landlord.”

  “General Titus will tire of his siege,”Arthur said. It sounded as though he wanted to believe it.“Jonah knows what he’s doing. And Victor has kept us strong during these early trials. Soon, the people of Earth will awaken from this stupor you left them in and rise up against the oppressors.”

  Alexander shook his head. He didn’t even know this boy, this child who used to be a close friend.“What did they get you to drink to fall for all this? The Hammer doesn’t have any better answers than the Council. Hell, the Federate didn’t have any better answers than the UEC or the Empire before. Every governing body inherits the problems of its predecessors, and never fixes them. It’s a way of life. Not a great one, but it’s the only game in town.”

  “You never made a compelling case to keep the people happy. It was always about the greater goals, the path that we as humans had to take forward.”Arthur sneered.“That was when I knew I hated you, when I listened to your speech after the Council summit on the food crisis.”

  “And here I thought it was because of the color of my skin.”The High Chancellor lowered his gaze. Even he had to admit it had been one of the darkest hours of his career.“There was nothing we could have done for those poor souls.”

  “There was plenty,”Arthur shouted. He slammed a fist onto the table, rattling the containers.“Three million people dead, all because one of the biggest companies on the planet needed to turn a more profitable fourth quarter so they could earn a bigger bonus.”

  “That’s not true,”he said. But Alexander didn’t mean it. He’d spoken to the CEO, Mr. Flowers, and found him to be as inhuman a person as had ever existed. So many countless dead at the whim of a few members of the board. Reliable Fabrications had long been the top producer of synthetic food for the ever-impoverished African continent. Hundreds of years of warlords and tribal genocide had left the land nearly uninhabitable, but with all the minerals and metals still waiting to be mined it was hard to give up the real estate. Flowers and his board had bought acres and acres on which they build vegetable and meat creation labs. For four years they saw amazing growth and, for the people living around the sites, prosperity. And then, one day, the food stopped flowing. Children were dying hungry in the streets and no one said a word. By the time Alexander and the Council took action, millions starved to death. All because it was more economical to run their glass and marble fabrication warehouses instead of the food houses, at least for the quarter.

  Arthur took a sip of water from a glass on the table, chuckling to himself.“Tell yourself whatever you have to. I stopped listening to your bullshit a long time ago.”

  “How long?”Alexander asked.“How long ago did you switch over to them? When did Jonah put enough money in your pocket or bullshit in your head to make you want to betray me?”

  The aide looked away, unwilling to answer.“Have you thought of what you’ll say to the camera before they execute you?”

  “Don’t change the subject,”Alexander warned.“It’s not very becoming of an enterprising young lackey.”

  Arthur pouted.“I’m an up and comer, Alexander. Pretty soon I’ll be running this city. And you’ll just be a fading memory.”

  “You think you can whitewash all this and move on, but the world doesn’t work like that.”Alexander pushed the gelato aside, folding his hands together.“Arthur, listen to me. There isn’t a way this ends well for you. Either the Army busts though the door and kills everyone inside, or sooner or later you piss off Jonah and face him. You’re young, you shouldn’t have to look over your shoulder the rest of your life.”

  Arthur laughed, though it sounded somewhat forced.“Alexander, pompous doesn’t work in your position. I’m doing fine with my new coworkers, and the Army doesn’t have the firepower or the willpower to get inside this tower. Face it, I’ve won.”

  “This round,”Alexander said darkly. He stood, turning away from the slowly spoiling feast.“I’d wish you good luck, Arthur. But honestly, I’m rooting for the other guy.”

  - XI -

  They worked quickly, without speaking. Trik and Vim barely glanced in each other’s direction while they set about gathering what salvageable supplies remained in the derelict hangar. Vim, for his part, hadn’t shown signs of panic once. Every few minutes, the room would rotate into the view of the shattered remains of Xenogas. It was a sobering and haunting reminder of the ticking clock. Trik used it as a totem, a pillar from which he found strength to carry on. His arm still ached, but it wasn’t broken as he’d previously suspected, just dislocated. Vim had managed to pop it back in rather quickly.

  The smell drew the hardest toll. The two soldiers had moved the bodies into a corner, and they had already begun to decay. Trik had been around death before, but Vim struggled to maintain control of his stomach. He’d already vomited twice that Trik had seen. Still, there had been no griping or complaining since they’d started the frenzied reconstruction of one of the raider’s shuttles.

  Vim, as the only one with any workable knowledge of spacecraft, directed Trik toward different wreckages to scavenge computers and other small bits and pieces. The engineer took on the lion’s share of gathering material, using a small gravity lifter to haul sections of hull and engine compartments across the bay. Little by little, their rescue craft came together. It wasn’t pretty, in fact it was quite the opposite, but if it flew it would be more than enough.

  Trik paused at the outside of a crumpled Imperial troop transport. Half of the ship had been obliterated by the shore party, cleared away to make room for more shuttles. The more he thought about it, the more the soldier felt he may have destroyed this very vessel. Invading Xenogasseemed like a lifetime ago. Dozens of special forces had been committed to a rescue operation for only three people. It had seemed like a waste to him, but a soldier of the Stone Guard was sworn to obey the orders of his commander. As he stood there, catching his breath, his thoughts found their way to Mara. Bursting th
rough her door, he hadn’t had time to marvel at her beauty. He never fancied himself a romantic, but his hearts had beaten faster.

  “Are you okay?”Vim called out from across the room.

  Trik regained his composure.“Just fine. I found the converter coil. How much do you need?”

  “About six arm-lengths should do,”he replied.

  Trik pulled on the thick, blue and black cord. He measured it from wrist to shoulder, counting in his head until he had enough. Just to be safe, he added a few extra feet before cutting the line with his combat knife. The wires split with snaps and pops before finally separating. The soldier dragged his prize across the floor, dumping at Vim’s feet. His arms ached at the effort, but the engineer swore the coil was worth its weight in gold.

  “How sure are you that this will work?”Trik asked.

  Vim sighed.“I’m pretty much certain we will die if we stay here. In fact, that much can be considered gospel. But I’ve done a few tours in the factories, so building a shuttle isn’t outside of my area of expertise. Granted, we had machined parts and weren’t borrowing our air scrubbers from five different wrecks.”

  “Will we have Blue capability?”

  The engineer laughed.“I’ll be amazed if we can fly faster than this room.”He saw the look of anger flash over Trik’s face and caught himself.“I can try to work in a drive from one of the smaller fighters. They’re short-range, made for jumping between planets so that they never stray too far from the deploying vessel. Makes for an awful long trip.”

  “It’ll be a lot longer and a lot more awful if we’re traveling at standard speeds,”Trik said.“How long will it take to install?”

  Vim thought for a moment, looking at the vast array of parts and pieces scattered on the floor.“Another week, I’d say.”

  “And how long until the air becomes toxic?”

  “Less than three hours,”Vim said grimly.

  Trik knelt down by his weary prisoner. He held the man’s shoulders firmly, looking him in the eyes.“Focus on me. I’ve been in worse places, Vim. Lost on the battlefield, surrounded by Chtanul and out of ammunition. It always seems hopeless right before you find the way. Are you a believer?”Vim nodded.“Every choice we make takes us further down the path of light or the path of shadow. Today we will make the right choices. Today we will survive. Tell me what to do. Use my hands.”He picked up a hand laser, testing the charge.“You say we have three hours? We’re launching in two.”