When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (11 page)

             
Trying to prove himself in his first engagement controlling a boat, Edward had driven the frigate hard toward the fray. It seemed to work as they carved a path through the enemy destroyers, leaving smoldering husks in their wake. But then the tide turned.
Savanna
ended up a full ten kilometers past the rally point, hammered by wave after wave of fighters and bombers. With her hull venting oxygen and whole sections collapsing, the end was nearing. Thus far, the best decision Edward made had been to begin evacuating.

             
“Aft crew quarters are cleared, sir
.”
The ensign at the controls held on to her terminal as the ship took another hit from a bombing run. A thin tether line kept her at the console as gravity had given out on the bridge. A missile had struck the generator for the shi
p’
s gyros, sending the crew drifting around the room
.“
Sir, escape pods fourteen through twenty were damaged in the last run. Might not fly
.
”

             
“Missile batteries one through twenty critically overheated
,”
the weapons master shouted. The burly petty officer turned toward his commander
.“
Coolan
t’
s spent. W
e’
re going to have to make do with the last ten
.
”

             
“Keep them firing
,”
Edward said
.“
We need to buy every second for the evac
.
”

             
The weapons master pushed away from his station, floating near the Lieutenant
.“
Sir, the tubes will cook off the rounds before we can launch them
.
”

             
Edward glared back at the subordinate
.“
And w
e’
ll die before they cool off. W
e’
re out of nitrogen, venting our air and low on ammo. I do
n’
t care if w
e’
re throwing cans of soup, put something in those tubes and keep firing
.
”

             
Fuming, the petty officer returned to his console and gave the order to the crews decks below. More missiles launched from the frigate, creating a deadly front through which fighters had to pass. The nimble alien craft continued to plow into the kill zone, exploding into red and yellow stars before fading to nothing.They persisted with abandon, riding through their burning dead to press the attack.

             
In the deck below, chaos gave way to training. Missile crews, many veterans of their craft, slung the ammunition with precision and grace. Though wary of the glowing red tubes, the senior enlisted urged their men onward. They rubbed heat-resistant lubrication on the missile cases to prevent a cookoff, then threw the munitions into the chutes. On the upper level of the room, near tube 5, a young seaman slipped on a loose grate. The cart h
e’
d been pushing jerked hard and slammed into the bulkhead wall, knocking two missiles together with a resounding clank. A petty officer ran over, running his hands along the titanium tubes.

             
“
I’
m sorry, shit,
I’
m so sorry
.”
The seaman visibly shook
.“
That grat
e’
s warped, PO
.
”

             
Petty Officer Martinez waved his hand
.“
Forget it. The
y’
re fine. Get them in the tubes
.”
He moved on down the line, waiting for the order to abandon ship. He figured they would
n’
t even get a chance to fire the two rounds. Any other day he would take the missiles from the rack and set them to the side for closer inspection, but there was
n’
t time for perfectionism. Already the hull groaned in protest, popping as micro-decompression began in the outer sections. It would
n’
t be long before the general evac came down.

             
The metal on the missiles showed no dimples or dents, but inside the body a hairline fracture split the barrier between the warhead and the rocket. Accelerant leaked into the midsection, soaking the gelatin capsule that held the explosive ModEx material. Slowly, bit by bit, the gelatin wore down.

-                           
VI                            -

              An explosion rocked Camero
n’
s Phoenix, throwing him into a tumble. Without his port control jets he was having trouble breaking the spin. George came up fast on his side and rapped his wing against Ca
m’
s, halting the momentum. They flew in perfect sync, the adrenaline rush from the initial attack mellowing down to a dull tingle. In the back of his mind Cameron knew McLane was dead. But there was
n’
t anything to be done except take down every threat available. With George covering his weak side, Cameron tore into the enemy with a vengeance. His Gauss cannons spat out bursts of metal at anything trailing red.

             
The Wolfpack never arrived, save the two fighters still in the air. Three pilots had taken missiles to their engines before firing a shot, and the rest were aboard
Midway
wit
h“
critical hull damag
e
”
—
they were shot to hell. Instead, Cameron and George fell in with Helios flight group, harassing the alien bombers and protecting
Savann
a
’
s evacuation. Fleet craft dove in and out of the cloud of shrapnel, chasing after the swarming enemy ships.

             
Savanna
listed hard to port, her starboard side a mangled mess of shredded armor and burning fuel. Her hundred-meter frame belched fire and smoke and shuddered with every decompression. Ten-person ExoPods launched in constant succession from the battered frigate, racing for the rear. As Cameron flew past the flaming hull of the missile boat, an escape craft caught a bolt of red energy and exploded into slag and shrapnel. Bits of steaming metal hit Ca
m’
s kinetic barrier with flashes of white and blue.

             
“I count two pods left
,”
George said. Outside his canopy, a black cloud billowed from the open launch tubes. The aft section of
Savanna
collapsed in on itself, the hull losing integrity faster and faster. He saw what looked like a sea of wiry debris floating away from the frigate. As he drew closer, the debris became a stream of bodies; crewmen sucked clear of the vessel. George turned away and winced
.“
Jesus, Cam. This is bad
.
”

             
“I know, George. We have to do what we can for whoeve
r’
s left
.
”

             
Midwa
y
’
s Executive Officer came over the net
.“
Helios squadron, open a flight path along quadrant 44 to 43 via sector 18. Clear a line for these pods
.
”

             
“Wolfpack, you copy that transmission
?”
Helios leader Lieutenant Young pulled his fighter alongside Cameron. The Phoenix III resembled her older sibling in form, but had larger engines and a sharper wing design. Three silver bars painted on the hull designated the ship as squadron leader.

             
Cameron looked through his canopy at his new wingman. LT Young wore the new booster suit, an armored version of Ca
m’
s own flight uniform. The polarized visor and added bulk made Young look like a mad robot. The SP pilot was instantly jealous
.“I’
m on board. Wolfpack will take nearside security
.”
He dropped throttle, using his thruster jets to guide his fighter in closer to
Savanna
. His left side dragged more than usual; the hit from before was getting worse
.“
George, shadow me. My port side is trash
.
”

             
“Roger, closing in
.”
He spun the Phoenix to get a better look at his budd
y’
s hull
.“
Well, number 15 wo
n’
t be a problem anymore. It looks like someone chewed on the wing
.
”

             
“Great
,”
Cameron said
.“
Le
t’
s see how long she lasts.
I’
m not going home until the field is clear
.
”

             
The Phoenix shuddered as another split off the guidance tower then ran under the belly of the frigate. Debris bounced off the glass sounding like a heavy rain. As Cameron started his turn around the port side the second-to-last ExoPod launched, narrowly avoiding his fighter. The escaping shuttle joined Captain Youn
g’
s ship and rocketed toward
Midway
.

*              *              *              *              *

              Aboard TFC
Midway
, Hiro ordered wave after wave of bombers to continue their assault on the alien fleet. What had seemed daunting at first had since become almost a tragically easy battle. The black armada, for all its impressive design and aggression, simply could not match a well-trained and coordinated strike force. Reacting to the attack in a by-the-book fashion had led to three quarters of the warships destroyed in thirty minutes, with almost every fighter and bomber in the air smashed by overwhelming superiority. The silver craft had all but pulled away from the sortie.

             
Hiro made his rounds from one side of the bridge to the other. He did
n’
t worry about the senior enlisted men. They were used to the shock and horrors of war, in such a way that they became insulated even to the unexpected. It was the younger enlisted, the seamen and even the newer officers. Hiro made sure to spend a few minutes with each person, not so much asking questions as allowing them to see a picture of calm acceptance. It was a technique h
e’
d learned from his father, the ever-wise martial-arts instructor.
Calm waters can bear any weight.

             
Earl stood by the board, taking the tally of the shi
p’
s injured. He smiled as Hiro drew near
.“
A few dozen scrapes and bruises, and Hangar
A’
s crew chief suffered pretty severe burns pulling a pilot from a wreck. Not a single death
.
”

             
“Very good
,”
Hiro said curtly.

             
The Executive Officer frowned
.“
What? Hiro, this is unbelievable.
I’
ve never heard of a battle this one-sided in history
.
”

             
“But that is not what will be remembered about this day
.”
The old commander sighed, his face etched in lines. He looked out at the carnage, maintaining a stoic face. Smaller carriers burned as they were towed back to repair stations. Fighters continued the mop-up operation even as rescue efforts began
.“
My entire life, I have wondered what we would find beyond the stars. That this monumental day should be bathed in blood seems...unfair
.
”

             
Earl nodded. As they watched the screens, the final alien carrier fired a slug into the dying
Savanna
. It sucked up the return volley without any signs of damage
.“
What would you like me to do, sir
?
”

             
“Concentrate on support and repairs
,”
Hiro said
.“
But no one lowers the alert. Not until that last bastard is dead
.
”

*              *              *              *              *

              Edward pushed his crew toward the escape pods, alarms screaming overhead. Crew members crawled along the walls in the smoke-filled corridors, trying desperately to escape the crumbling frigate. Arriving at the last ExoPod, Edward stopped short. Around him, the throng of bodies pushed into the craft, filling every inch of space. A panel came on in the cramped hall.