Shadow Fall (The Shadow Saga) (6 page)

The Halo rose high enough in the sky to where the enemy could be seen on the horizon, and Donalson’s eyes flared with anger.
Infallible
raced forward in the center of a small convoy, her distinctive size making the ship recognizable even from miles away.

The pilot frowned as he looked back at the fuming grand admiral, “With respect, sir, it would appear she doesn’t—not anymore.”

-X-

Derek drew his sidearm and fired several rounds at the advancing soldiers. Many took shelter along the walls, but most surged forward even as the bullets killed the men beside them. Derek yelled over the cacophony of his own gunfire, “Shut it down now! We have to get out of here!”

301’s fingers flew desperately over the controls of the console just as one of the imperial soldiers came within range and opened fire. The bullets ricocheted throughout the room, forcing Derek to dive out of the way and roll to his feet right next to 301 before returning fire. “Come on, Captain! Shut it down!”

“I’m trying!” he yelled. “Surely you didn’t think this would be as simple as pressing a…” a flashing box suddenly appeared on the screen containing the words
Emergency Shutdown
, “…button.” Could it really be that easy?

Another soldier opened fire and Derek screamed, “Do it!”

301 pressed the button, and a loud resonance forced him to cover his ears. He looked back at the fiery blue sphere and saw it begin to shrink. The electricity surrounding it grew brighter, forcing the sun-like object back into nothingness. A small shockwave reverberated throughout the room as the sphere disappeared with a
pop
, throwing Derek and 301 back against the computer console and to the floor. Luckily, it also threw the soldiers coming after them into disarray. Without the Fusiosphere, the only lights were the weak beams on their rifle-mounts.

301 grabbed Derek by the collar and pulled him to his feet, “Let’s go. We’ll have to find another way out.”

“We can take them, Captain! There’s less than fifty of them. In battle Specters are worth—”

“I know the statistics!” 301 interrupted angrily as they ran around a corner and passed out of the range of the gunfire. “But there are thousands of men on this ship…do you think we can take them all? Just a minute ago
you
said we needed to get out of here! Now keep going—that’s an order!”

The corridor was empty all the way to the stair, which suggested to 301 that the Imperials were planning to make a stand in the open on the main deck. Static sounded in 301’s ear as they ascended, followed by Admiral McCall’s voice, “Specter Captain, I’ve been trying to reach you for over half an hour! Where are you?”

“Uh…” 301 fought the urge to laugh, despite the seriousness of the situation. “We’re on the
Infallible
. They had some sort of highly advanced jamming equipment. We were able to disable it, but our way out was blocked. We’re looking for another way out now.”

“Central Command just issued a red alert for Division One,” the admiral said. “Apparently a convoy of eight enemy ships has appeared as though from thin air in the Chesapeake. Are you telling me you are
on
one of those vessels?”

“We are, sir,” 301 said breathlessly. “And we could really use some support here.”

“Halos are lifting off as we speak,” McCall told him. “We’re hoping the Halos can keep the convoy at bay until the Atlantic fleet can come up behind them. Is there any way you can get off the ship?”

301 sighed with frustration, “Yes, but I’d rather not get shot to pieces in the process.”

“Hold tight, Captain,” McCall said with a slight waver in his voice. “Help is on the way.”

301 switched off his earpiece as they reached the door to the main deck, and he relayed what he had learned to his partner, “Central Command is sending in the cavalry. McCall says they’re coming to help us, but I know better. If we’re still on this ship by the time they arrive, we’ll be just as much a target as the traitors.”

“Figures,” Derek sighed. “Okay…once we get outside this door it will be about fifty meters to the aft railing. Summoning the Halo-4 will buy us a few extra seconds, but we will still have to fight our way through the patrols on the main deck.”

301 drew
Calumnior
and felt comforted as it came to life in a flash of white, “We stand a much better chance if we fight together. Create a whirlwind attack—if we can make them back off for even a few moments to regroup, that may be all the time we need.”

“Don’t worry, Captain,” Derek smiled. “In less than an hour we’ll be laughing about this whole thing.”

“Let’s hope so,” 301 nodded. “It’s now or never.”

“Ready when you are.”

301 hesitated for one second more, then pushed open the door and plunged forward onto the main deck. The Specters ran as fast as their legs would take them toward the aft railing of the ship,
Calumnior
and
Exusia
flashing at all imperial patrols that stood in their way. They made it nearly halfway before an imperial squad got the chance to open fire, forcing them to dive out of the way, roll back to their feet, and continue running. In a particularly impressive move, Derek pulled back the hilt of
Exusia
so that it transformed into its secondary state and fired upon the squad. The ball of energy caused a small explosion behind the imperials, killing some and throwing the rest to the ground. Derek returned
Exusia
to its primary form just in time to heed 301’s warning, “Look out!”

Another squad filed out in front of them, raising their assault weapons to spray the two with gunfire. 301 felt the impact of two bullets, and for a moment believed he had been hit. But then he realized that he had caught them on the flat of his blade. Not having time to be impressed with himself, he allowed the momentum to carry him forward as
Calumnior
flashed, piercing metal and flesh with extraordinary precision and speed while
Exusia
wreaked the same havoc beside him. Gunfire continued to sound, but the bullets only found their mark in other imperial soldiers and in the hull of the ship. One volley hit a pressurized tank not far from the center of the fight, and the explosion threw several imperials aside.

It was an organized chaos. Derek and 301 moved like phantoms, never in the same place for more than a split second, leading the soldiers to believe they were dealing with far more than just two men. So at last they retreated from the white fury of the advancing Specters to regroup—exactly what 301 had hoped for.

The aft railing was now only a few meters away, and one final line of white uniforms stood in their path. 301’s grip on
Calumnior
tightened as they drew nearer, and he pulled back in readiness to strike. Then Derek took a sudden tumble just behind him, falling to the deck as his blade slipped out of reach.

“Hold it right there, 301!”

The Specter Captain stopped, immediately recognizing the voice that addressed him. He turned to see Liz standing over Derek with a gun to his head, her hair carried softly by the breeze. The Specter Captain’s words were biting, “This is the second time you have betrayed me, Liz, but even I didn’t think you would go this far.”

“I really am sorry, 301,” Liz replied. “But Sullivan has something I need, and I can’t let anyone stand in my way…not even you. You’ve done well today, but it ends here.”

Derek shook his head, indicating that 301 should go and just leave him behind, but the Specter Captain couldn’t live with that. His gaze swept across the soldiers that surrounded them, and he built a plan of attack in his mind.

“Don’t do it, 301,” Liz warned, reading his subtle movements like an open book. “You have experienced for yourself that Sullivan is a more merciful man than Napoleon Alexander. He helped you, protected you in a time of need, while Alexander would have had you tortured and killed. Perhaps now is your chance to return the favor.”

“So that’s what this was all about?” 301 demanded, trying to buy more time. “All this time you’ve just been manipulating me?”

“Don’t play the righteous card with me, 301!” her eyes flashed. “I was prepared to give up everything for you, but I should have known I could never overcome what you feel for that rebel slave! I thought helping you set her free would get her out of the way and endear me to you, but now I see it was all a waste. Even in her absence she casts a shadow over you, and you only turned to me because you couldn’t be with her. So yes, I used you…but you used me, too.”

“Then let’s end this here,” 301 offered. “Release Derek, and we all go our separate ways. Now that the jamming equipment is destroyed I’d say you have bigger problems.”

“I can’t let you leave here, not after what you’ve done.”

“Liz, please. Don’t make me kill you.”

“Do it, Captain!” Derek urged from his place on the deck. “Take her down!”

Liz pressed the gun harder against the back of Derek’s head, “Shut up, Blaine! It won’t take much convincing for me to put a bullet in your brain.”

301 looked her straight in the eye, knowing the time to act had come. “This is your last chance, Liz.”

“Make your move, 301. You’re surrounded and your partner is unarmed at my mercy. If this were chess, we’d call it a checkmate.”

301 smiled, “You should examine the board more closely.” He raised his Spectral Gladius, pulling back on the hilt to transform it into its secondary form even as he leveled it at Liz’s chest and squeezed the trigger. Her eyes grew wide and she dove quickly out of the way, unconcerned with killing Derek while only a breath away from death herself. 301 kicked a sidearm from one of the fallen imperials toward Derek, who scooped it up and began firing at the soldiers as he launched forward for his Gladius.

Liz recovered and came at 301,
Ignis
blazing.
Calumnior
’s diamond armor reignited just in time to block the attack, and then Liz unleashed a flurry of swings that caught him off-guard. Apparently she had been holding back in training sessions. 301 cried out and unleashed a merciless offensive against her, his fluid movements not slowing until Liz’s Gladius had been knocked out of her reach.

“Captain!” Derek called out from behind him. “Our way is clear! Let’s get out of here!”

301 turned his gaze back to Liz, who stood helpless and unarmed in front of him. Seeing the fire in his eyes, she nodded with sad resignation, “Do what you have to do, 301. Just make it quick.” She winced as his blade came to rest against her neck.

He looked into her eyes—a deep blue ocean of wounded feelings—and spoke so only she could hear, “You spared my life. Now I spare yours.” He withdrew his weapon and took a step toward her. “But before I go there is one thing you need to know: whatever you might believe about our time together, I really did care about you. I could have loved you, Liz, if only you had given me time. I hope you find what you’re looking for, and that when you do, it’s worth what you have lost.”

301 turned on and strode back to the aft railing, where the Halo-4 rose into view drenched by the spray of the sea. As Derek climbed inside 301 looked back to see that Liz had not moved, but watched him with an expression of intense sorrow. He thought he saw a tear slide down her cheek, but couldn’t be sure—after all, he had never seen her cry.

He climbed on board the Halo and followed Derek into the cockpit just in time to see a massive fleet of System hovercraft descend upon the imperial convoy and rain fire upon them. Many on the decks of the enemy vessels met their end that day…but despite everything his only thought was for Liz, and whether her body would be counted among the dead.

6

G
RACE
S
AWYER TRAVELED THROUGH
the solemn darkness of the underground, listening to the rhythmic pounding of boots on concrete as Silent Thunder marched back to the Command Center. It had been a long night—successful, but long. And though her body longed for the comfort of a bed, the day ahead would prove even longer than the night.

Few spoke as they drew near their destination. The city was massive, and it felt as though they had walked its entire length twice over. But the victory had been worth it, made sweeter by the fact that it had not cost even a single life. It was more than Grace had thought possible. She could only hope that the commanders felt the same.

Unity in Silent Thunder hung only by the frayed thread left by her father’s death, and she needed something to prove herself capable of leading in his place. That night’s victory was a start, but it still might not be enough. Within the 2
nd
Battalion, the last of the original four, her ascension had been confirmed unanimously. The loyalty of the other commanders, however, remained in doubt.

Since its inception the commanders of Silent Thunder had been chosen from among the ranks and voted upon by the officers. In a way, it was the last democratic tradition in existence, and most officers considered it a sacred practice. Her election was a moment she would never forget. Sitting at that table surrounded by her father’s most trusted advisors—men she had grown up around, some of whom loved her as if she were their own—and seeing them all stand for her...in the wake of her father’s death, it had been an emotional moment.