When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars)

by Korenman, Adam

* * * * *

  They ran full speed at the carrier, the scent of blood sending powerful signals through their mutated brains. The alarm triggered by the human ambush had sent up a warning flare for all druumatan in the area. A swarm of misshapen creatures galloped toward the towering fortress, chests heaving in a chorus of grunts and growls. Hooves and paws and padded feet pounded the earth soft as the stampede closed in on the site. Dust kicked up from the thousands of limbs, trailing in a massive cloud behind the group.

  With each passing minute, the snarling horde neared their prey. A single thought ran through their heads, aided by the parasites in their brains: The humans must not destroy the Hive. As they approached the high black walls, the group funneled into a small sewage tube. It would take them time, but this would deposit the beasts right underneath the carrier without arousing the enemy.

  It was the perfect place to start an ambush.

  - XVI -

  Hiro gripped the arms of his chair, riding the shockwave. Most of the fighting had slowed down once the huge vortex reached its limit. Emanations from within the tumbling void reaped havoc with the two armadas. Navigation systems fluttered and crashed, pressure plates buckled and several derelicts disappeared into the tunnel. Midway’s engines burned nearly at full reverse to keep from spiraling out of control.

  On the opposite side of the room, Earl held tight to his tether. Sweat poured down his face as he strained against the violent shift in gravity.“Hiro,”he called out.“We can’t take much more of this.”

  “I know,”Hiro’s stomach churned as another swell caused the entire bridge to lurch up and forward. It was like riding the universe’s largest roller-coaster. On the monitor, the brilliant blue funnel continued to glow in brighter and brighter pulses.“Lieutenant, bring us to full reverse.”

  The flight officer nodded.“Aye, sir. All reverse.”He unlocked the safety lever by his station and pulled the throttle all the way back.

  With a huge shudder, the engines gave their last push. Fuel cells dumped power into the raging inferno, coaxing every last ounce of thrust from the building-sized pods. Vibrations rattled every corner of the wounded ship, knocking crew to their knees. Metal groaned and panels popped free of the walls as the powerful rockets fought against the vicious pull of the Blue. Slowly, inch-by-inch, Midwaymanaged to break free of the tide and steady itself in New Eden’s orbit. Alarms sounded around the supercarrier as Hiro and his crew took stock of the damage.

  Earl sat with his back to the wall, out of breath.“Jesus Christ, Hiro.”He swallowed a surge of bile, forcing it back down.“What in God’s name is out there?”

  Hiro didn’t answer. He stared at the monitor, absolutely enchanted by what he saw. His eyes grew wide as saucers.“All hands,”he said softly.“Battle stations.”His lips were moving, but it was hard to get the words out when he could hardly breath.“Battle stations.”He tried, but his tongue felt dry as cotton in his mouth. He squeezed his eyes shut, summoning every bit of strength he could muster.“BATTLE STATIONS!”

  It emerged from the swirling void, a mind-numbing expanse of metal and rock. The juggernaut wasn’t so much a ship as it was an asteroid made to function like a ship. Whoever had built this living nightmare hadn’t possessed the time or technology to build a vessel this large, so they slapped it onto a broken moon. Every inch of hull sprouted at least one turret, and in many cases whole clusters of them. The entire backside seemed comprised of hundreds of tiny rockets. From his position inside the supercarrier, Hiro thought another planet had just appeared over New Eden. A planet with teeth.

  The monstrous Gehnomarrived with its sixteen arms folded forward, looking like a flower preparing to bloom. Its black-and-green-plated armor showed no windows or ports of any kind, and the barren gray rock of its body was rough and solid. No one—human or alien—made a move, lest they anger this new threat unintentionally. The Boxti halted their attacks, withdrawing to the safety of the resupply area. There was no need to press further. If the humans chose to pursue their fight, they could take it up with the new arrival.

  “Primus?”Hiro asked, almost a whisper.“Are you seeing this?”

  There was a long pause, as no one in the Primus TOC was in any condition to speak. A timid voice came over the net. The fear was evident in every cracked note.

  “Stand by.”

  - XVII -

  Josh had never run so fast in his life.

  The first part of the plan had gone swimmingly. There were no real engines to speak of, so he’d set the bomb at the lowest point in the bottom floor, down an exhaust shaft underneath a heavy armor plate. The ground was soft and cracked from the landing; it would quickly melt away once the bomb detonated, sinking the carrier deep down below the surface. After setting the timer and double-checking the charge, Josh had scrambled back to the lowest floor of the carrier and begun working his way out.

  Josh grinned. His heart was pounding so hard it hurt, but there was nothing like the thrill of a mission. And things were, thus far, going better than expected. Still, there was a nagging thought in the back of his head, and old saying from the Infantry Field Manual that had been passed down for hundreds of years: If your attack was going well, you’re walking into an ambush. Seconds after the thought passed through his head, Josh was sprinting for the exit as though Hell itself were at his heels.

  While Josh worked his way through the maze of corridors, Dax and the rest of the Archangels prepped for their exit. Squinting through his visor, Dax could just make out their ride as it descended into the carrier. Dust and steam billowed from the engines’exhausts. Dax waved the pilot down toward the landing zone while the rest of the squad stood guard.

  “Josh,”Dax said.“Valkyrie is on station. We’ll be ready to leave in two.”

  Then he heard something. A noise unlike anything he’d ever known. A roar that touched upon a primal part of his brain, the animalistic instinct that a predator was coming and he needed to run and hide. It howled with rage and hunger, echoing off the walls of the cavernous space. And then it was joined by a hundred more voices. Dax, along with the rest of the squad, felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach.

  “Dax,”Alexa said.“Did you hear that?”

  His heart was still pounding, but no longer from excitement. Perspiration leaked down into his eyes, stinging them.“All right, Angels. Let’s hurry this the hell up. I think mom and dad are coming home early.”

  Heavy breathing came over the net, and for a moment Dax couldn’t tell who it was. Then Josh spoke.“No, Dax.”He sounded as though he were in the middle of a dead sprint.“They’re already here.”

  Josh broke through into the Scourge chamber with a dozen barking dogs snapping at his ankles. They were big, some as large as dobermans, and all seemed intent on eating his flesh. As he ran, Josh fired his rifle at the pack. Something screamed and collapsed into a bubbling pool, but the lieutenant didn’t turn to see his handiwork. He rounded a corner and barreled through a small door, slamming it shut behind him. A quick look around found him a heavy crate to use as a barricade. Seconds later the walls shuddered as the animals slammed their bodies into the metal, searching for the human.

  He didn’t stop. Each floor was a maze of turns followed by a quick sprint up a ramp or staircase. Josh’s legs burned from the effort, but fear kept him moving. He paused every few turns to drop a mine, grateful for the effort every time an explosion vibrated the walls. He didn’t now how high he climbed until he reached the operation center. Strange computer consoles covered the wall, while another section looked down over a hundred feet to the ground floor. Holographic tables displayed the war zone just outside the ship. Josh secured the entrance and went to the windows.

  His blood ran cold as he heard the howling cries of the mutated fiends. Josh could see them racing into the chamber by the hundreds. They wore no clothing or armor as they sped screaming toward the encircled humans. The Archangels had formed a small wall around the Valkyrie as it hovered near the center of the hangar. Each sol
dier took a quadrant and opened fire, sending a steam of lead into the oncoming horde. The creatures shrugged it off and kept charging.

  “Josh!”Alexa screamed.“There’s too many of them.”

  They must have emptied a forest for the amount of mutated beasts inside the carrier. They clawed their way forward, pushing past the bodies of the dead to get toward the humans. Every second that passed put them closer.

  “Fall back,”Josh heard himself say.“Fall back,”he shouted.“Get into the shuttle!”He put his rifle over the window sill and fired into the crowd, trying to get their attention away from his squad. The Valkyrie lifted up slowly, every open space filled with a firing weapon. Animals leapt at the sides, biting the landing skirts and scratching at the hull. One managed to make its way to the cockpit and held onto the vents near the glass. Josh watched as the windshield exploded out and the monster flew back in a spray of blood and gore.

  It was Cho in the cockpit, standing guard while the pilot struggling to bring the damaged bird about.“We’re clear,”Cho said.“You planning on joining us?”

  Josh couldn’t contain his relief. His legs nearly gave out from under him. He was searching for a door when he saw it.

  How it had snuck up, he’d never know. A small part of his brain shouted out“Maneton”before it attacked. Surely it couldn’t have been the once docile gorilla-like native of the planet. They never grew to be twelve feet tall. And their bifurcated lower jaws didn’t have those horrific tusks leering out. Josh barely had a second to try and comprehend the abomination standing in the room before it lunged out and shoved a spiked paw clear through his chest, launching him out the window.

  Dax saw the body fly out from his seat at the door. The HUD caught sight of the object and labeled it“SHOGUN-CRITICAL.”The heavy gunner didn’t think. He leapt from the shuttle, reaching out for his friend’s falling form. They met with a slamming of carbon fiber, sending sparks out. Dax wrapped Josh in his arms as they plummeted toward the ground twelve stories below. As the floor rushed to meet them, Dax activated his Phantom gear. The wings shot out and buckled under the added weight. After only a dozen feet the thin arms snapped, sending the two men crashing through a section of the fifth floor.

  Dax rolled to a stop against a wall, his body crying out in pain. The onboard medical computer informed him that he had just broken four ribs and had a hairline fracture running from hip to heel on his right side. He looked over at Josh, praying for movement. The officer lay still, blood pooling from a ghastly hole in his armor. The HUD still read“CRITICAL.”His suit began to apply first aid, flooding his torso with pain killers and hardening the under armor to create a cast.

  “Dax!”It was Liane back in the shuttle.

  He couldn’t see them, prone on his back, but he could hear the engines protesting.“Go,”he said, his voice weak.“I’ll meet you outside. Get out of here.”

  “Goddamnit, Dax.”She was crying, but sounded more angry than worried.“You’d better be there. Damn you, Dax. You’d better be outside.”

  Dax crawled over to his friend’s body, pulling the medical pack from the blood soaked combat webbing. He popped the cap off the biofoam, a medical sealant that expanded to contain bleeding and prevent infection. Taking a breath, Dax jammed the applicator deep into the wound and squeezed until the can was empty. He took Josh’s hand in his own, tears dripping onto the inside of his mask.

  “Dax?”Josh’s words were barely a whisper.

  “Please,”Dax said, blubbering.“Please don’t go.”

  Josh squeezed back.“The bomb. Go.”He went limp, his hand falling down to the ground with a thud. The HUD read“KIA.”

  “Dax,”Pierre said over the radio.“I don’t know if you can still hear me, but everything is headed your way. All of those creatures know where you are and they are coming with a vengeance.”The distant cry of the beasts confirmed his warning.“And there is one mean-looking hoss leading the charge.”

  The heavy gunner didn’t answer. His eyes were red and full of fire. He set his jaw, blood surging to every muscle, bringing powerful adrenaline around his body. Dax stood, throwing Josh over his shoulder. He lifted his HMG with one arm, pointing it forward. He didn’t wait for the enemy to find them. With a battle cry that rivaled the howling horde, Dax charged into the fight.

  Chapter Ten

  Ronin Protocol

  “I was a sergeant then, leading a raid. We were inside a shaft, trying to flank the bastards coming from the other side, when a bombing run knocked down the walls. Both sides of the tunnel caved in and we were stuck in that pitch black. It was dark like you’ve never known, the absolute absence of light. Iona, my friend, had his leg caught in the rubble. I couldn’t see him, but his screams were deafening. I remember that, and it still scares me. Because that was the end. There was no way back. No way out.”

  Sasha Otravlyatovich

  Veteran, Martian Conflict

  2238

  - I -

  February 27, 2237

  Eruk relished the smell of battle. Blood and smoke mixed in the air in a constant assault on the senses. Towering over his soldiers, the Cthanul strode unchallenged through the Boxti lines. He wore a necklace made of bones; fingers ripped from his slain enemies. It was his one keepsake from his former existence, this old Homeworld tradition. He was, after all, a warrior at heart. The Druuma never chastised him about his souvenirs, and none of his soldiers dared speak of it in his presence. Already his jewelry dangled near his belt, and he had plans to add another row.

  New Eden was already in Boxti control, the humans simply hadn’t come to terms with that reality. Every day the front grew further and further into the enemy’s backyard. Cities fell under constant bombardment. The ports were blockaded, and even the escape vessels were summarily knocked down by the patrolling Hornets and Wasps. There were millions already under the influence of the Druumatan. Those hideous mutations served as cannon fodder, keeping the Terran military busy while the Black Army moved ever onward.

  “Warlord,”a young Boun ran over. The powerfully built alien resembled a brick wall hastily carved into a humanoid shape. It’s mottled red skin was marked with warpaint and chipped from enemy fire.

  Eruk didn’t care much for their kind, but they made sturdy infantry. This one wore a simple orange neck wrap, signifying him as a platoon leader. Boun wore no other amor; they needed none. Eruk sneered at the diminutive officer, but allowed him to speak.

  “We have located a small detachment of enemy tanks,”the Boun said.“They are heavily outnumbered, but have held off all attacks.”

  The Cthanul sighed.“Must I handle every battle myself? Who is your pack commander?”

  “Lord Futakhan, sir.”

  Eruk thought on the name, drumming up a picture of a squat, hairy creature. He didn’t recall the name of the species, only that he found that particular officer to be pathetically useless.“Kill him and assume command.”

  “I’m sorry, sir?”If it were possible for a brick to look apprehensive, the Boun was pulling it off.

  The Warlord grabbed the rock creature by the throat and squeezed. Even in the warzone Eruk heard a sound like gravel rubbing together as the platoon leader choked.“Put his head on your battle flag as a lesson to other commanders unable to crush our enemies. I will not tolerate failure.”

  “Yes, my lord. It will be done.”The Boun ran off, his feet leaving square imprints in the soft ground.

  Eruk looked out in the direction of the enemy, wondering if he should take a better part in the fight. He had already waded through several skirmishes, firing his pistol and swinging two great cleavers at neck height. It had been the most fun he’d had in years. Still, he longed for more of a challenge. Perhaps there was a warrior out there worthy of a fight.

  The Druuma sensed his thoughts and rumbled.“Your place is here, commanding the battle.”

  “I know,”Eruk said.“But there is no honor in this combat. The humans are weak, fleshy creatures that break at the touch. I
want a champion to destroy.”

  “There are no champions in human society. They are like Qom or Nangolani. They fight as a whole to compensate for their weakness. You must make do with what they provide.”

  They walked through the encampment, passing dozens of different species of soldiers. Some walked on multiple limbs, others rode in mechanized armor that supported their tiny frames. Each wore their own haphazardly constructed armor and carried worn equipment. It was the one area Eruk often felt the Boxti failed. Their army was massive, but comprised of slaves and conscripts. Sure, there were regiments of true soldiers nearer to the home planet, but those were kept in reserve. In fact, now that he thought about it, the Dread Knights had never been sent to a fight in his lifetime. There had been a point during his indoctrination that the Cthanul thought he would choose such a prominent path, but the idea of remaining behind while others went to war pained him. Besides, that silver armor was too gaudy for a true warrior.

  “Gehnomsends a message,”the Druuma said. There was a feeling of ice running through his spine and Eruk could sense a second voice join the parasite.“Greetings, Warlord.”

  Eruk paused mid-step. It was a sign of respect to remain still while addressing the Harbinger.“Ma’Arak, it is an honor. I had not been warned of your arrival, or I would have made sure to meet you in person.”

  “That would have been unnecessary, Warlord,”Vanwa said through the Druuma.“As it is, I see you are busy cleansing this planet of a small pest problem.”

  The Cthanul smiled. He had not expected the Commander of the Gehnomto speak so warmly. It was a pleasant surprise.“Nothing that won’t be handled in due time. I can say with certainty that New Eden will be ready for colonization within the week.”

  Vanwa gurgled, a sensation that did not properly translate and came across as a disturbing vibration in Eruk’s chest.“I appreciate the work that has been done, and you and the Vanguard should take momentary pride in your accomplishments, but an order has been given. This planet is to be an example of the Great King’s supremacy. Gehnomwill destroy it.”