When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (105 page)

             
Jonah shrugged
.“
Honestly, sometime I think you are my only friend. The only person ever really honest with me. These soldiers are too pliable. I could ask them to march off the roof, and the
y’
d do it because I said so. But you
,”
he stumbled as he pointed a finger
.“
Yo
u’
re the real deal
.
”

             
Alexander sniffed the air
.“
How drunk are you right now
?
”

             
“Between dead sober and just plain dead
,”
Jonah said, smiling with glassy eyes
.“I’
m going to have you die at the end of May. That should give you enough time to think about a good last speech, make any preparations for your estate. I feel i
t’
s only fair to warn you
.
”

             
The High Chancellor set his jaw, but inside he had turned to jello. He could visualize a ticking clock floating in the air, a countdown to his last breath. He changed his mind. H
e’
d rather have not known.

             
Jonah took his seat, swinging his black boots on top of the desk
.“
Now, I need to ask you a favor
.”
He gestured Alexander toward a waiting chair. When the politician did
n’
t move, a goon stepped in and put him in place
.“
Better. I need the codes to the Node relay center
.
”

             
“What for
?”
Alexander asked.

             
The rebel raised his eyebrows
.“
Is
n’
t that obvious
?”
He leaned to the side, looking out the wall of windows that faced the city. Up in the sky, barely visible,
Point du Hoc
kept a watchful eye on the planet. Even from the ground, the supercruise
r’
s presence was undeniable
.“
I ca
n’
t have the Fleet moments away from flattening my armies when we finally move. We can handle the fight here, and in a very limited capacity up there. But you and I are students of history. Mars lost because we did
n’
t prepare our navy for the long haul. I wo
n’
t make that mistake again
.
”

             
“But control of the Node wo
n’
t help you. Terra has no weapons aside from anti-asteroid cannons, and those have little effect on a warship
.
”

             
“I
t’
s not about the weapons
,”
Jonah said
.“
I
t’
s about the relays
.”
That struck a chord
.“
Now you see. If we ca
n’
t control the skies, w
e’
ll just have to limit the competition
.
”

             
Alexander leaned forward, eyes burning
.“
The Ronin Protocol? You ca
n’
t shut down the relays. Earth will be cut off. We wo
n’
t survive
.
”

             
“No, we will survive. Earth is the only self-sufficient planet in Sol. We can make it as long as we have to. The military, however, will lose hope without their air support
.
”

             
The High Chancellor sneered
.“
Admiral Knight will obliterate the station before h
e’
d allow you to board
.
”

             
“Tha
t’
s why I need the codes. Then I can do all the heavy lifting from here
.”
He downed the rest of his drink, slamming the glass on the table
.“
The rest of the Sol Fleet will be stranded in their docks around the system. They can try to make it here on standard drives, but that will take years. Or they can risk it and Stride, but without the relays the
y’
re more likely to wind up inside the planet than next to it
.
”

             
Alexander could
n’
t believe what he was hearing. Voluntary segregation? And to abandon the other colonies? New Eden was in bad shape, Colorum was under some sort of attack by the Nangolani. His thought process froze. The Nangolani! No one else knew about the
Imperion
, about the sneak attack. The
y’
d blame the Boxti, not that the aliens needed a reason to be hated. His people would be working with those treacherous gray bastards, forming a plan to take revenge for the suicide attack. And there was nothing he could do, not from here.

             
“
I’
m never giving you those codes
,”
Alexander said.

             
Jonah rolled his eyes
.“
W
e’
ll see. The day is just starting.
I’
m sure by tonight yo
u’
ll have a different tune to sing
.
”

-                           
VI                            -

              Dax awoke buried under the weight of his fellow soldiers. Valkyries were tough, made to handle the worst kinds of landings. Even riding the blast wave from a thermobaric device, the shuttle had managed a survivable crash. The heavy gunner pushed Pierre off his chest, crawling from the wreckage to see where they had ended up. Thei
r“
landin
g”
had cleared a path through thick trees, leaving a massive arrow in the landscape that pointed right at them. It would
n’
t be long before the Boxti showed up to finish the job.

             
Cho groaned from the cockpit. The pilot was gone, ejected through the windshield during the crash
.“
We hit something
.
”

             
“Yeah
,”
Dax said
.“
The ground
.
”

             
Liane was the next out, favoring her left leg as she hobbled over to her team leader
.“
Where are we
?
”

             
“Outside of Fort Metts. Or what used to be the base
.
”

             
There was
n’
t much left. The human presence had been wiped clean, fire bombed into blackened skeletons and ash-covered streets. Tanks and trucks littered the field of battle, engines still burning what fuel remained inside into pillars of smoke hundreds of feet high. Armored personnel carriers lay on their sides, treads fallen to the ground. Every few hundred feet or so a downed aircraft lay in scattered ruins amidst a small crater.

             
The other Archangels emerged, shaking off wounds or checking their weapons to make sure they would function. Alexa remained by the downed shuttle, cradling Jos
h’
s head in her lap. They had
n’
t removed his armor. It did
n’
t seemed right to take it off, not on this world. Dax looked back at her, at his friends. He could
n’
t even remember what had gotten him here, to this moment. The rage he had felt before was still fresh. Nothing had changed, except for possibly another broken rib. He had to be careful, only a few of those left.

             
Cho walked over, limping all the way from the shuttle
.“
Think we can get this thing back off the ground
?
”

             
Dax shook his head
.“
W
e’
d better. There are
n’
t many humans left
.
”

             
“Cho nodded, turning to stare out at the pillar of white smoke that rose over the destroyed Hive
.“
You think any of the Scourge leaked out
?
”

             
“No point in worrying about that now
,”
Pierre said, striding over
.“
We need to get back to Omega
.”
He looked down at his rifle, admiring the ninety degree turn his barrel had taken during impact. Cursing, he threw it aside
.“
For starters, I need a new weapon
.
”

             
“In any case, we wo
n’
t be taking off in the middle of the forest
.”
Fares sighed, pulling his helmet off and sucking in a breath of fresh air
.“
We need to make an LZ
.”
He set his cover aside and began clearing debris from the crash. Despite hitting the ground like a brick, the Valkyrie could still fly. It just needed an adept pilot.

             
Dax let the other soldiers clear out a landing area. He sat down next to Alexa, putting an arm around her shoulder. She had taken her helmet off and he could see how red her eyes had become. Reaching up, he activated the switch at the back of his head and felt the armor unweave itself. The jaw dropped out and he was able to swing the rest of the gear off his head. A cool breeze was blowing and it felt amazing against his skin.

             
“He ca
n’
t be gone
,”
Alexa said, her voice numb
.“
It just is
n’
t fair
.
”

             
Dax nodded
.“
I know
.”
He held her close, squeezing his eyes and hoping the tears ran together with the sweat on his face. He looked up at the sound of gunfire.

             
A few hundred yards ahead, weaving through the thick wood, two pilots exchanged shots with a pursuing alien force. One of the humans looked wounded, but both defended ferociously. Still, Dax could see no less than ten heavily armed Boxti closing in. He snapped on his helmet and turned to Alexa.

             
“Keep Josh safe.
I’
m going to take care of this
.”
He reached back, drawing his katana, and jogged out to meet the enemy.

*              *              *              *              *

              Kaileen shielded her eyes as another blast sent splinters flying off a nearby tree trunk. The Boxti were throwing a relentless wave of fire at her, seemingly fearless in their pursuit. Sh
e’
d been attacked almost immediately after exiting the Seed. The aliens had arrived in single-wheeled Pills, firing their rifles as they leapt from the vehicles. She had barely made the edge of the forest in time.

             
Not that it seemed to matter. Once lost inside the woods, Kailee
n’
s friends in the sky had been all but useless. Cameron could
n’
t fire indiscriminately lest he kill her too. Armed only with her repeater, Kaileen and her wounded copilot fought their way toward the wreckage of the Valkyrie. The aliens were close behind, shouting and howling in their bizarre language as they bore down on the humans.

             
She swore as another blast grazed her shoulder. The alien
s’
weapons were mostly heat-based, and each bolt left a stink like burning metal in the air. Kaileen gripped her arm where the shot had narrowly missed, wincing at the hot pain. Her young partner lay against a nearby rock, blood oozing from a hole in her stomach. Sh
e’
d taken a hit meant for Kaileen as the
y’
d cleared a path through the trees. Without immediate help, she did
n’
t have a chance.

             
Another blast, this one close than ever. Kaileen raised her repeater and squeezed the trigger. Bullets spat from the automatic weapon, hitting a lizard-faced soldier in the neck. It gurgled, yellow liquid spurting from the wound as it collapsed to the dirt. Another took its place, firing a bulbous rifle. Kaileen tried to fire again but she was out of ammunition. Frustrated, she threw the gun aside. She crawled to her copilot, hearing the hiss of enemy rounds flying overhead. Her hands searched the unresponsive pilo
t’
s body, coming away with a weak-looking pistol. Kaileen had just turned when she saw the black creature appear.