When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars)

by Korenman, Adam

  “We are hours away, my Guardian.”

  Speaking in the common tongue was hard for Vanwa; he’d never had a head for languages. Still, it did no good to crew a ship with which you could not communicate. Vanwa’s words came out with a lisp as his thin tongue darted between dozens of rows of teeth.“Excellent, Warlord. See that the battle group is ready to receive us.”

  Gehnomwas a powerhouse, but had many blind spots. It would take a considerable amount of time to do any real damage, but it wasn’t a prudent military decision to allow the enemy such luxuries. The armada in Eros would be repurposed as an escort group while the juggernaut warmed up for attack. As it had been a century since its last use, Vanwa couldn’t say how quickly the system would charge.

  As the hum of the engines lulled the commander into a restful sleep, he smiled. The name had finally come back to him. He remembered clearly now, the stubborn refusal of the race to kowtow even after years of defeat. The cowards had fled the galaxy shortly before the attack, an act which the Great King felt made them unworthy even as enemies of the Horde.

  Vanwa closed his eleven eyes, murmuring, and began to drift off with the name on the tip of his tongue.

  “Nangol.”

  - XVI -

  The tow line snapped taut as it connected with the hook from a landing bomber. Wires stretched and groaned, fighting against the combined mass and velocity of the craft. It was a battle that lasted less than a second. The momentum stopped and flight crew flooded the hangar, pulling up a ladder to aid the pilots exiting the craft. The rear engine spewed black smoke and sparked every few seconds. Across the entire starboard side of the ship were fist-sized holes from a Y-fighter strafing run.

  With a hiss the door opened up and out. Kaileen ducked under the frame and stepped into the cool, damp air. Her hair was matted down with sweat, and a bruise covered her cheek. The fire in her eyes, on the other hand, burned brighter than ever. She hopped the last few rungs down to the deck, reaching back to catch her bag as her copilot flung it from the cockpit.

  It had been over a day since the news from Colorum. From the official report, no one had survived the attack. The High Chancellor was missing and presumed dead, along with nearly every member of the Council. Already the press were putting out suggestions as to who they thought would make the better replacement for the highest office in politics. They had yet to release the list of those lost, but there was only one name that mattered. She’d talked to Cameron only hours before, telling him she hoped he could stay awake through all the boring speeches. Now she’d never talk to him again.

  She couldn’t let herself cry. Fleet hadn’t given her much time, anyway. Minutes after the attack was reported, the offensive began. Her bomber made the first strike into the heart of the enemy. Following that close to an orbital bombardment had been heart-pounding, but also therapeutic. Riding down next to Thunder and Lightning, Kaileen had reveled in the danger. A single gust of wind could have thrown her into the maelstrom. Once the rounds hit, her squadron dropped a field-clearing payload on the shocked enemy.

  Kaileen threw her helmet on the couch in the pilot’s lounge. Primus definitely had fewer perks than the Cove, but the lounge was still pleasant. There were TVs and billiards tables, as well as a small snack bar near the stairs. She rested her head back against a cushion, taking a deep breath of the cold, recycled air. She didn’t remember falling asleep. Though she was only out for an hour, it felt like much longer. Someone was shaking her, calling her name. She opened her eyes and saw one of the new pilots, Alice or Olive or something like that. Kaileen glared.

  “What? What do you want?”She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

  Alice/Olive smiled, her bubbly personality already bothering Kaileen.“You have to come quick. They’ve received an SOS.”

  “We get a hundred of those a day, newbie. Go away.”

  The greenhorn pulled on Kaileen’s arm.“But it’s asking for you.”

  That was odd enough to get her attention. The older pilot led the way to the flight control deck. As she pushed through the door, she caught the back end of the transmission. Captain Donovan sat at the head desk, taking the call.

  “He’s hurt pretty bad, don’t know how he’s made it this far but we need a medic fast.”

  Donovan was an old vet, with scars that dated back before most of his hangar crew had been born. He spoke like a grandfather, without the slightest iota of urgency.“All right, son. Let’s take it slow now. What kind of boat are you running?”

  A pause, then a burst of static.“She’s a shuttle, some sort of diplomat transport. A lot of fancy lights for no goddamn reason. And there’s an AI that keeps asking if I want to turn the air conditioning back on.”

  “Have you already rerouted power from the alternate systems?”

  The pilot scoffed.“Not my first rodeo, sir. I’ve broken more than my fair share of ships. This one just wants to break herself first.”

  Captain Donovan laughed, a warm sound in the tense room. Kaileen shuffled closer, not sure if she was welcome. When the officer saw her he waved a hand, motioning for her to sit down.“Hey there, son. We found that lady you were asking about.”

  She leaned toward the microphone.“This is Kaileen Nuvarian.”Her voice wavered.“Who is this?”

  Static hissed. And then,“K?”

  No, she thought. Tears welled in her eyes and her hands shook.“Cam?”She bit her lip.“Are you there?”The white noise persisted for almost a minute.

  Captain Donovan leaned in.“It comes and goes.”

  “Cameron!”She shouted into the radio.“Damn it, Cam. You can’t do this to me.”

  The speakers crackled and popped but remained empty. People began to shuffle away, not sure how to act. If the pilot’s ship had been that damaged, it might have just imploded inside the void. Sadly, it wouldn’t be the first time.

  “Please. God, Cameron. I can’t do this. I can’t lose you. I know we said this wasn’t serious. I know what I told you.”She wiped at her eyes with the palm of her hand.“But I can’t. Please, Cameron. I need you to come back to me. I need you here. Please.”Captain Donovan laid a hand on her shoulder, but she refused to crumble. Kaileen stared at the communication console, willing it to talk. After what seemed like ages, the static built up again.

  “Wow. I should escape death more often.”

  Now the emotion poured out of her all at once. Kaileen fell forward, propped up by her forearms, and wept. The room let out a collective sigh, scrambling back to work. Captain Donovan grinned from ear to ear. In a time like this, with every day a new defeat, even the smallest win counted. But, the old vet knew, they were far from home safe.

  Cameron’s voice vibrated as he spoke.“Kail, God, it’s good to hear your voice.”

  She was crying, damn it all. It didn’t matter who saw, not to her, not now.“What happened?”

  “We were attacked. I can’t say much over the line, but I managed to find a shuttle and escape in time.”

  “Just you?”Kaileen asked.

  Static cut the line for a brief moment.“I say again, three passengers. I got the Chief of Staff and his assistant with me. Mr. Ahmad’s in bad shape. We need a medic, fast.”

  Kaileen wiped her tears away, looking into the nearby tracking computer.“Where’s your beacon?”

  “Probably fried. Imperionwent out with a pretty big bang. Nav’s out, too. Damn thing tore off the hull. I’m running without instruments right now.”

  That got the room talking. Flying in space was difficult enough, with objects coming at you from literally every direction. Blue space was triple that threat, and a Flight Control System was the only way to safely navigate. Captain Donovan grabbed the mic.“Are you saying you’ve shut off your FCS?”

  “Didn’t give me much of a choice,”Cameron said.“We’re running on fumes and my cells are glowing a nice red. I’ll jettison them before we get to close, just use momentum to carry us the rest of the way in.”

  Donovan frowned.“And how
will you stop once you get inside my hangar?”

  Cameron scoffed.“Details. Just clear a path and have some collision foam spread out for me. Lots.”For a moment the line squelched static, but then the pilot returned.“No, I’m serious. All the foam you have in that bay. I’m half on fire out here. And an escort wouldn’t hurt either. I hear there’s a war on.”

  Donovan snapped his fingers and a pilot appeared, helmet in hand.“Get a Dragonfly and head out there. He’s coming in too hot for a landing.”

  “Roger, sir.”The pilot took off at a sprint, with Kaileen close behind.

  Her feet didn’t touch the ground as she sprinted from the communication room to the flight deck. There, prepping for a rescue mission, was a battered and bruised skiff. Once inside the support craft, she’d taken the copilot seat, drumming her fingers impatiently on the console while they cleared a path for takeoff. It felt interminable, and the pilot wasn’t helping any by constantly asking her to“stop making that awful noise.”

  They rocketed away toward a small mote of light in the distance. Far away and to the left, relatively speaking, the battle for New Eden continued. The Terran fleet had decided, after some argument among the brass, that the enemy must have a limited supply of pilots and craft. With the home court advantage, it was only a matter of time before the show in the air became officially one-sided. So far, however, that had not been the case. For ever Y-fighter shot out of the sky, another three appeared from the belly of a frigate or cruiser or carrier. There was a supply chain hidden somewhere in the system, and the aliens had been successful at hiding it from every search.

  In her chair, Kaileen could hardly sit still. Her heart was still racing from hearing Cameron’s voice over the radio. The last twenty-four hours had been harder than she’d imagined. Sure, they’d talked about their relationship as casual, and it felt so. Being with him was just easy. It took no effort. She’d hardly noticed how much she’d come to depend on him, rely on him to be there when she needed more than just another friend.

  The radio crackled and she grabbed at the handset eagerly.“This is Orion One-One-Three. We’re close, Cam. Can you signal us?”

  Cameron’s voice was marred with static, but understandable.“I’ve got a pen light. I’ll flash out the window.”Two winks appeared from the distant shuttle.“Is that a Dodo?”

  The pilot of the shuttle answered.“This is a Dragonfly, kid. Best small bird in the fleet.”

  “I’ve always heard it called a Dodo because it can’t fly for shit.”

  Kaileen laughed.“If your ego can’t take it, we’ll just let you float your way home.”

  “I’m going to get a lot of flak for this, I hope you appreciate that. Big Ace like me, limping home on the short bus.”

  They closed the gap quickly, easing off the engines on approach before finally throttling backward to match Cameron’s momentum. His shuttle was still running dangerously hot from its exit out of Blue Space. The fact that the broken piece of junk had survived the voyage was a miracle. Kaileen counted no less than a dozen critical faults from the explosion. Cameron’s ride looked ready to fall apart at any moment.

  “How you managed to keep that thing flying defies me,”Kaileen said. She wasn’t joking, either. Massive decompression had crushed the stabilizer vents. It must have been a struggle just to maintain a straight heading. As she stared she noticed pieces of the transport were still falling off, like dandruff.

  Cam’s laughter echoed over the net.“I’m barrels of awesome. Sometimes I impress myself.”His mirth was cut off by a sudden and violent geyser of air shooting out the passenger cabin.“Though sometimes less so.”They were close enough now that Kaileen could see Cameron exit the cockpit and check on the area behind the door. A moment later he returned to his seat.“So, slight problem.”

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing to worry about. Just a small explosion of the main oxygen filtration system. We’re venting all of our air.”

  Her heart skipped a beat.“Seal the cockpit, switch to an area-based cycle.”

  Cam’s voice didn’t shake at all as he snapped toggles into position, altering the flow of breathable air in the shuttle.“Yes, ma’am. Sure do enjoy the whole being conscious thing. Wouldn’t want to jeopardize that.”He looked out the exposed window at Kaileen, smiling. He was so close she could see the glint of light in his eye.“Hey there, beautiful.”

  “Cam,”Kaileen said, blushing.“This is an open channel.”

  “Not saying anything they didn’t already know.”

  Kaileen focused on her computer, initiating the magnetic towline and directing the field toward Cameron’s ship. She felt the connection pulling near her feet before the locking mechanism snapped on. Immediately the skiff jerked to the side, dragged hard by the heavier transport. The pilot gunned the engines in reverse, but the change in speed was barely noticeable.“Give us another five minutes and we’ll have you guys out of there.”

  Inside the cockpit, Cameron sighed with relief.“Sounds good from here. I’m gonna take a nap.”He looked at his riding partners. Adeline had a seat cushion covering her mouth and screamed a litany of curses every time the ship bucked. Jerry seemed to be rallying.“How about you, Chief? You ready to get off this tin can?”

  “Oh, this has been one for the books. Seems a shame to end such a fun ride early.”He coughed so much Cameron thought he might not stop.“You have to go to Chirac Aghamad. He will know what to do about Jonah.”

  “Jerry,”Cameron said.“You have to let this be for now. There’s a war going on five feet away from us, and it’s about something more important than politics. Jonah isn’t going anywhere, and if this Foundation you talked about is half as powerful as the stories make them, they’ll be able to survive without us for a hot minute.”

  The dying man winced.“You haven’t heard a thing. You think I’m just a senile old man, spitting stories out to make myself sound important.”

  “You were the Chief of Staff to the most powerful man in the galaxy. I don’t think you need any help sounding important.”

  “The Foundation is real.”He coughed, more blood dribbling down his chin.“And if you don’t help them understand what has happened, Jonah will take them by surprise. They’re not omnipotent. The right leverage in the right place will bring the house of cards tumbling.”

  Adeline leaned over, wiping away the froth.“Jerry, calm down. We’re almost home.”Her voice shook, but her face glowed with renewed energy.

  “No!”Jerry’s eye grew wide and he grabbed his aide by the collar and brought her in close.“Go to London. The Abbey, they’re in the Abbey. If you tell them this, they’ll know I sent you.”

  Adeline looked at Cameron, shaking her head.“I don’t know. Cameron, I can’t believe this.”

  The pilot felt a strong grip on his wrist. Jerry could barely speak, but his pleading tone was apparent.“I won’t be able to just up and leave, but you owe this to him. If he’s wrong, you end up with a short vacation in London.”Cameron paused, swallowing a lump that fought to stay in his throat.“If he’s right...if the Foundation is real, you and I are part of something bigger than we can imagine.”

  She fumbled under her seat, pulling out the half-empty bottle of liquor.“I’ll do it, Jerry.”She sniffed, wiping her running nose on the filthy sleeve of her blouse.“I promise.”She started to uncap the bottle, but Jerry snatched it away.

  “I need you to learn this phrase,”he said in a raspy, fading voice.“Learn it and never forget.”He said it three times, then made them repeat it ten more. Finally, he was satisfied. Jerry pulled off the cap of the bottle and took a swig.“Damn. Don’t they know I hate vodka.”He smiled, his breath slowing down until it couldn’t be heard anymore.

  Silence fell inside the cockpit and Cameron felt as far from certain as he had ever been. He could feel the battle being fought outside, even though the nearest ships were well beyond visual range. After enough time flying in space, one recognized the pressure change caused by
an explosion. But even with that as a backdrop, his allegiance was torn. The war wasn’t for political gain or strategic resources. Humanity was fighting to survive. But if the human race fell into the hands of a madman, how quickly would their enemies capitalize and crush them? Which was the greater threat now, from without or within?

  Strobes cast fast moving-shadows over his face as the station loomed into existence. Cameron had another problem. Jerry had said many wild and interesting things during their day together. In fact, the man had barely slept at all. But one thing that stuck in the pilot’s mind was how high up the infiltration of Red Hammer had been. Arthur was the High Chancellor’s aide, and not a new replacement or substitute. Arthur had been there for years. Who in Primus worked for the terrorist organization? Or on New Eden? Or still in the Council? Who could he trust? Captain Newman? Commander Osaka? Adeline? Any of them could be agents for the other side. It was too much to take in.

  As the shuttle barreled into the hangar, Cameron wished for a brief moment that he could talk to his friend Josh. If nothing else, it would be nice to know he was okay. But even that thought quickly turned sour. No, he had a decision to make. And he would make it on his own. He rose and looked out the window, a smile creeping onto his face.

  “Well look at that,”he said to Adeline.“They laid out allthe foam.”

  - XVII -

  Looking up, Josh was amazed he could still see the entrance they’d use hundreds of feet overhead. It seemed liked ages ago that they’d climbed into the mammoth carrier, lugging nothing but a day’s gear and a bomb. His shoulders had ached for a moment, but the nanomachines dispensed some manner of pain reliever almost instantly. That was a blessing, as Josh was sure they had a long way to go.

  He led the fire team, with Alexa and Cho behind him. Liane, back in an overwatch position, tracked their every move through her scope. Dax served as her security. He’d laid down several mines at key entrances to the small alcove two stories above the ground. If discovered, they would take the long way down rather than fight through the enemy. Fares and Pierre picked their way through the debris field, rifles snapping to every sound. Save the birds flying around the central spire, they had seen no other life inside the hive.