“How would I even begin?”
Hanweh smiled, and thankfully there was warmth within.“I’m sure there is someone you can contact.”
- III -
Ray’s leg would not stop moving. Ever since he’d sat down at the table, his right knee bobbed up and down like a piston. He tried applying pressure with his hands, but the tension was already too high. He was not made for such high stakes.
It was Mara’s fault, he reckoned. Had she never shown him the truth about her people’s deception, he never would have risen so quickly amidst a sea of genius analysts. His stint at TSI was supposed to have been short-lived, a quick perusal of life’s options before settling down at a relaxing job in software development, or being a DJ at a nightclub on Luna. Now he was neck-deep in more political fallout than he could have ever imagined.
New Eden looked absolutely awful through the various viewing portals. Most of the surface was hidden behind a thick layer of smoke, broken only by huge pillars of fire. Each screen displayed a different landmass of the once-idyllic planet. The Scourge, as the spores had come to be called, covered roughly sixty percent of the land now. Firebombing had stemmed the tide for a spell, but the spores had gone underground and found new routes around the world. Whole species were lost, converted to ravaging monsters that stalked with unnerving purpose toward human outposts. The few remaining cities had become fortresses. Enormous makeshift walls held off the howling damned, but weakened every day. And what little good the modern castles did washed away when the actual enemy rode in. Scorpion tanks and Wasp support fighters carved through the indigenous forces with impunity.
The frontline was long since lost. The carrier and subsequent transports had dispatched so many heavy units that the frail forces on the ground had been overrun. What remained of the original assault now hid in the canyons outside Fort Metts, cut off from supplies and communications. Ray could see the electronic markers from a platoon of tanks, but the growing red river of enemy troops grew closer every hour. The noose tightened.
It wasn’t all bad news, or at least that’s how they acted on the station. Several groups of infantry had taken positions in the cities around the planet, supporting guerrilla operations and holding out against incredible odds. Rescue missions flew hourly, pulling civilians off world and sending them back into space. Five Ark transports had already been sent back to Earth laden with refugees. There were still millions unaccounted for, along with the eight hundred thousand ground troops slugging it out with the aliens.
Ray hadn’t enjoyed the flight over, or the supposition that his input was apparently necessary to discover what exactly had gone wrong in the fight. They’d also nixed the in-flight movie in favor of news footage detailing the loss of the High Chancellor and a majority of the Council. None of it seemed real, and Ray couldn’t help but think that this star system would be his last stop. The entire universe was unravelling, and he was just an insignificant insect in the grand scheme of things.
“Mr. Lee.”
Raymond jumped out of his seat. He hated his travel partner, a“ghost from the fade”as they were known to the soldiers. The man wasn’t old, nor did he seem young. He had a youthful appearance but a deep voice. His jet-black suit was immaculate, but in the way that a soldier’s uniform is neat and orderly. There was a manner in which he moved that reminded Ray of a cat stalking prey. He had never said his name, but told the analyst to call him“Mr. Blake.”
“It’s time.”
Ray rose from his chair and walked with the taller agent down a series of dim corridors. Primus was uniformly drab gray and olive green, with short bursts of color to denote specific areas of the ship for quick access to crew. To Ray, it looked like every other space station he’d ever visited. With the exception of a luxury hotel near Luna, he’d never been truly impressed with life off-world. At least gravity felt normal aboard the massive structure. They had used an RRV from Sol, or a Rapid Redeployment Vehicle. Most of the twin-seat shuttle’s mass was devoted to engines, leaving no room for central inertia generators. Without a CIG to pull in one direction, Ray had been in zero gravity the whole trip. He’d brought up most of what he’d eaten for the past week.
They arrived at a small room guarded by a single soldier. The young corporal panicked when he noticed the small golden pin on the agent’s lapel. The unblinking eye, the symbol of FAID, always elicited a unique response from the military. Some saluted, others bowed their heads, and a frightened few just found excuses to leave. This rifleman chose to avert his eyes and maintain a strict posture. Blake, for his part, said nothing and simply strode into the room. Ray scampered in behind, letting the door shut and lock.
Inside was also fairly dim, with only two yellow bulbs glowing in the ceiling. It was once a storage container, not originally intended to be an interrogation room. Ray didn’t know who had chosen to set it up as such. Seated at a solitary table, hands resting together, was a pilot. Ray nearly did a double-take. He would have recognized the man anywhere. He’d seen his face plastered over propaganda posters and vids all across the city back on Earth. Even at Terra Node, as he waited for his new ghost friend, Ray had heard broadcasts of the famous“survivor of Tallus.”
“Lieutenant Cameron Davis,”Blake said. He took out a secure data tab and placed it on the table. Immediately images popped into existence and floated in the air: the pilot’s personnel file, clips from recent news events, footage from the warfront.“How are you feeling today?”
“It’s Captain,”the pilot said. He tapped the parallel silver bars on his neck and smirked.“Though I can’t blame you, they’re just handing these things out today.”
Blake’s face showed no reaction.“Captain, then. I would like to take a moment to assure you that you are in no danger. There is no reason for alarm. This meeting is to ensure a mutual understanding of the circumstances that led to you and a deceased member of the High Chancellor’s cabinet arriving via an unscheduled jump into an active war zone.”
“Boy,”Cameron said.“When you say it like that, I can’t imagine how I could think I’m in trouble.”
The Agent took a seat and began arranging the files on the table. It looked chaotic, but the man moved with purpose. Whatever his organization process was, it had a unique flair. By the time he was ready, most of the space between the two men had been filled with data nodes.
Cameron turned to look at Ray.“Who are you?”he asked.
“Me?”Ray looked around, blushing.“I’m just an analyst. I worked on a project for TSI.”
The pilot turned his attention to Blake.“Don’t you feds usually work alone? Did your boss think you needed a babysitter?”
“Any particular reason you’re feeling hostile, Captain?”
Cameron slammed a hand on the table.“Maybe because I’ve been sitting in this room for over an hour waiting on you. There’s no windows, no air conditioning and nothing to eat. I just spent the better part of two days trying to avoid a rather unpleasant death, and I’ve come home to find out that the war I’d heard wasn’t going to happen is looking pretty fucking bad. I’m tired, I’m hungry and no one is giving me shit for information around here.”
“You’ve been back for more than five minutes, so I’m sure you know what’s going on.”Blake swiped his hand across the table, bringing up images from the surface of the planet.“New Eden is all but lost. The enemy has armor that takes 10 of our tanks for every one of theirs. We lost the air in the opening hour of the fight, so even our support operations are greatly hindered. Most of the combat is taking place in the cities, though the majority of the civilian population was able to evacuate to the capitals of the continents. And, thankfully, a few still remain secure. That may be our one saving grace.
“Tarrytown, Liner, Fort Haver, Fort Metts and Canton: all lost to the enemy. And what ground they don’t yet control is infested with the mutated offspring of their biological attack. With most of the military in the galaxy spread around Sol, we’re fighting a losing battle. And no
w we just lost our political leadership, throwing an incredible monkey wrench into what is already a chaotic affair. Needless to say, Captain, the Federate is not faring well at the moment. Please take that into consideration when you decide whether or not to hold umbrage over a few hours of your time spent in a box.”
Cameron didn’t have an answer. He crossed his arms and scowled, annoyed at having been told off like a child.“How can I help?”he asked begrudgingly.
“You’ve been in closer contact with the enemy than anyone,”Blake said.“I need to know how the attack went down on the Imperionso I can figure out what their next move will be. Are they looking for resources? For power? Do they need slaves to build some sort of religious structure on the surface?”
Ray laughed, but cut it off when he saw the death glare in agent Blake’s eyes.“You read the transcript from the Ambassador’s meeting. Apparently they just want to kill us or conquer us. It’s like that guy who climbs a mountain just because it’s there. They commit genocide because it is an option.”
“There is always a reason,”Blake insisted.“And once we find it, we will discover their weakness. Then we can truly fight back.”
Cameron sighed.“Will that take long? Because our species doesn’t have many planets left to use as a buffer.”He looked at the TSI scientist quizzically.“Why did you say you were here again?”
Ray shrugged.“I got lucky. I was part of the group watching the recordings from first contact. And Tallus. There were some weird discrepancies. After I talked with my director, I was contacted by the FAID and told that I was being relocated. I actually thought they were taking me somewhere to kill me.”He laughed nervously, but stopped when no one else joined.“I know as much about the Boxti as anyone. I guess they think me hearing your story will shed some more light.”
Blake leaned forward.“Tell us what happened on the High Chancellor’s ship.”
The pilot ran a hand through his hair, stalling.“It’s not what you think.”He looked around the room, wishing he had more time to come up with an answer. Jerry’s words still followed him around, urging him to head to Earth and complete the dying man’s request.“It was a sneak attack, aimed at getting us to go to war.”
Blake tapped out notes onto the table.“To what end?”
“I don’t know, I’m not the goddamn mastermind.”
Ray leaned over, smiling sympathetically.“What he meant was, what do you think the point would be, drawing us into open conflict?”
Cameron shrugged.“Maybe they needed us distracted while they pull off something on the other side of the galaxy. Maybe they’re just crazy.”
Blake sat back in his chair, pressing his tie down with his hand reflexively.“But they had the means to win the fight already. Why wait for us to launch the opening strike?”
“Agent, you don’t understand,”Cameron said.“It wasn’t the Boxti who attacked.”
That caught Blake by surprise. His face registered a near-human emotion. Only Ray took the news in stride, though he did appear somewhat queasy.
Blake asked,“Then who?”
Before Cameron could speak, Raymond stole his words.“It was the Nangolani,”Ray said.
The room became silent, save the sound of the engines humming throughout the entire station. A muffled voice came over the intercom, announcing a call for Cameron’s flight wing. No one moved while the reality sunk in. Blake composed himself, taking notes on his phone and filing them away for review by the FAID.
Cameron leaned back in his chair, satisfied to have won the verbal sparring, but not enjoying his victory.“I didn’t want to believe it either, but it’s the truth. This,”he pointed to the video of New Eden.“This is the Grays’war, we’re just the ones fighting it.”
“They killed all those people.”Ray leaned against the wall. It wasn’t the first time he’d had that thought. Ever since his conversation with Mara, the idea of an assassination had floated around in his head, bouncing around like a pinball. It made sense. They needed the humans back in the fight with a fury, and what better way to crystalize an alliance than with another devastating attack? Tallus had been too far away, and New Eden didn’t have the right body count. But losing the face of the Terran government? That was just what they needed. Ray bent over, sucking in bellyfuls of air.“They killed the High Chancellor.”
Cameron smirked.“Well, there is something you should know about that.”
- IV -
“Fares, tell me what you’re seeing.”
The rifleman couldn’t move. He’d turned the corner minutes before, but hadn’t taken a step since. If he’d managed to stay unnoticed so far, then he saw no reason to draw attention now.
Fares and Pierre had climbed down another level looking for the engine room, and still without enemy contact. What had started as a steady stream of luck had become an unnerving wait for the other shoe to drop. Fares was superstitious by nature, a byproduct of his religious upbringing back on Earth. Strange sounds echoed off the glistening walls. Creatures clicked and growled at one another just out of sight, all while the engines heaved and bellowed many decks below. Room by room they cleared each section, expecting an ambush to be hidden in every shadow. Each empty hall built the tension until Fares wanted to scream.
In fact he nearly had when he’d stepped to the side and into a cavernous room near the stairs. There they saw the crew, or what little remained. Only a few dozen creatures worked the dark room, skittering to and from large steaming pools of bubbling liquid. The two soldiers froze in place, weapons clenched tight in their hands, but the aliens paid them no attention. They busied themselves with whatever tasks were required to keep the ominous room in operation. A few held long paddles and stirred the vats like brewmasters. Others held glowing orbs and ran from one tank to another.
Fares tried to absorb as much about the room as his brain could take. The walls were the same hybrid of metal and organic matter as the rest of the ship. Vapor coming off the swirling ooze created an artificial atmosphere that hung in the air as a grayish green haze, fogging the glass visor. The insect-like workers resembled man-sized ants, laboring away without a thought or distraction. They wore simple plated clothing that covered what Dax could only imagine were their important parts, though he shuddered to envision what lay underneath.
Pierre had stopped at the turn and moved slowly, on his stomach, to a concealed position. He watched through his rifle scope, trying to determine what exactly was happening inside the chamber. It was the only activity they had encountered thus far, and it seemed to have no direct bearing to repairs of the carrier. In fact, as far as they could tell, the Boxti hadn’t wasted anyone fixing their battered carrier.
“Fares?”
He let out a breath he’d been holding.“I’m here. They’re still just moving from pool to pool, stirring things inside.”
“What does it look like they’re doing?”
“Mixing something,”Fares said.“I can’t be sure. A few seem to be testing it for something.”
“Any chance this is just their mess hall?”Pierre chuckled.“Making some alien gumbo for the troops?”
Fares knelt down near his battle buddy, concentrating on Josh to establish a connection. The radio winked to life and he saw Josh’s face on the HUD.“What’s your take, Josh?”
The line was silent for a moment as Josh thought of a course of action.“OK, Archangels. Stand fast, and make sure your filters are still running. We don’t know what they’re brewing, but we know they have biological weapons aboard.”
Pierre squelched his radio and Fares turned. The prone man pointed across the room, toward the back wall where the faintest light could be seen. Fares squinted, and the HUD responded by zooming in and enhancing the image. There, in the back of the room, was what appeared to be a water tower. He was about to call Josh when he heard the fire team approach from behind.
“What the hell is this place?”
Fares slowly knelt down, scooting back until he was behind cover. He tur
ned toward his fellow soldiers, breathing heavily.“This is definitely a brewery. There are about a dozen tanks spread all around, and they look pretty deep.”
Alexa, coming up from the rear, joined the group.“How can you tell?”She kept her rifle pointed the way they had come.
“They use these long poles to stir the vats,”Fares said.“Each one has to be twenty or thirty feet.”
Josh grumbled.“That doesn’t make any sense. There aren’t enough floors left.”
“What do you mean?”Alexa asked.
“If these things drop down another three stories, where is there room for an engine?”
Cho shrugged.“So, what do we do?”
Josh grabbed the sides of his helmet, taking in a deep breath. He closed his eyes, trying to remember everything he’d learned about the alien ships. Nowhere had there been a discussion of a chemical processing plant in the belly of the massive hives. Every minute that passed, another human lost their life somewhere on the planet. If he didn’t make a decision soon, there wouldn’t be a planet left to save.
“We’ll wait five minutes, see what they do.”Even as the words left his mouth, he felt that familiar pinching in his chest. It’s the best option for now. But he couldn’t lie to himself. It was a rotten feeling, not knowing what to do.
The soldiers nodded, assuming defensive positions. Alexa pulled out a map of the structure and began a recon of the surrounding area. Fares and Pierre took up posts overlook the steaming pools. Cho pulled the bomb from Pierre’s back, checking the system to ensure no components had been damaged in the last two days. Josh, meanwhile, leaned against the wall and tried to come up with a better plan than sitting and waiting.
When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) Page 53