When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (15 page)

             
Aboard
Gettysburg,
Lieutenant Junior Grade Kaileen Nuvarian drummed her fingers on her console. Her uniform was crisp and hugged her athletic frame, bulging out under her left knee to make room for a thick plaster cast. The dark orange jumpsuit made her pale skin even lighter. She chewed on her lower lip as another blank report came back.

             
“Nothing, Kilo. Skies are clear
.
”

             
Inside the tactical center for
Gettysburg
, the young officer aided her fellow pilots in the snipe hunt. Sh
e’
d rather have been out in her bomber, flying alongside her friends, but she was the only officer aboard with any training time on the new projectors.  That and a broken tibia put her out of action for the time being. It meant a comfortable room near the bridge, but also excessive boredom.

             
“Roger, overwatch
.”
Frank sighed audibly
.“
W
e’
re ten mikes to bingo out here. Show us RTB
.
”

             
Kaileen blew a strand of black hair away from her face
.“
I copy, return to base
.
”

             
For the other pilots in the wing, the tedium was palpable
.“
This is some fucking borex, sir
.”
Kilo three, a rat-faced Tallus native, griped into the net
.“
Pucker factor is zero
.
”

             
Thre
e’
s wingman laughed. The chubby pilot chimed in
.“
So pretty much on par with your last date
.
”

             
“Fuck you, Olsen
.
”

             
“Not with your teeny little pencil dick
.
”

             
Another voice said
,“
Who sent us on this snipe hunt
?
”

             
“Would you believe this came from our new gray buddies
?
”

             
“Fuck that
,”
Kilo seven added
.“
I do
n’
t need some bug-eyed freak telling me what to do
.
”

             
Dunham barked
,“
Cut the goddamn chatter
.”
The radio went silent
.“
Keep some fucking discipline until we land
.”
He did
n’
t actually care. It was a local net;
Gettysburg
could only see that they were talking to each other, not listen in on the conversation. But like the chore itself, their griping had become painfully routine.

             
Back aboard the carrier, Kailee
n’
s terminal chirped as an unknown signature winked into existence. She tapped the screen, resolving the contact until it stuck. Long range radar had something, but could
n’
t identify the object at this distance.
Could
n’
t be them
, she thought.
Intel says we can barely track the aliens with our systems.
Her pulse quickened all the same.

             
“Kilo, this is overwatch. Come in
.
”

             
“Overwatch, Kilo. Go ahead
.”
Dunham let his mind drift to the bottle of Belgian ale he had stashed in his quarters. H
e’
d never needed a beer more. It was breaking seven different regulations, including a federal statute against alcohol on a military vessel. Still, the worst that could happen would be a few days in the brig. Last time h
e’
d been down there, Chief Petty Officer Harrison had taught him a dozen new dirty jokes and lost a hundred credits in a game of poker.

             
Kaileen reset the radar and gave it a moment to refresh. The same unidentified objects appeared. Kaileen pulled at her hair, concerned but certain of needed to happen. She opened the channel to Kilo and waited for the tone
.“
Kilo, this is Overwatch. You have neighbors in your yard, quadrant 921, sector 113. Identify and report. How copy
?”
She waited while the pilot confirmed with his own radar before responding.

             
Frank looked down at his screen, finding it clear
.“
Overwatch, are you sure tha
t’
s a good read
?”
Suddenly a small green dot popped into existence, just on the far side of the planet
.“
Check that, Overwatch, I have contact on approach. W
e’
re low on fuel, so this is going to be a quick peek
.
”

             
“Roger, good hunting. Overwatch out
.
”

-                           
III                            -

              New Freeman, the capital of Tallus, covered almost an entire continent. The arid planet stored most of its water underground, only supporting one meager ocean and a few dozen rivers. This kept the temperature aboveground  warm and dry, perfect for the scientific communities that called the rock their home. Natives often found it hard to take other atmospheres if they ever vacationed, so accustomed had they become to the vapor-free air. Tourism, on the other hand, was almost nonexistent.

             
Most Terrans forgot that Tallus, not New Eden, had been the first colonized planet. Though farther out in the galaxy, the orange planet had been the savior of the International Space Commissio
n’
s catastrophic
Odyssey
voyage. Launched over 150 years before,
Odyssey
used Strider technology to race for new horizons. Only five days in, the massive ship inadvertently entered Blue Space while passing by the asteroid Vesta. Dragged millions of kilometers off course,
Odyssey
found itself floating in the center of a strange and otherworldly formation of gas giants.

             
Concerned with repairing the extensive damage the ship had taken in the blue tunnel, the captain of the voyage brought them down on a new, golden planet. Landing near the only source of water, the scientist aboard were baffled to discover how similar the atmosphere was to Eart
h’
s own. Days later, the crew emerged from their battered boat and stepped foot on alien soil. Not knowing how far from home they truly were, the crew began their mission in earnest, building a small settlement and starting experiments on the myriad of local wildlife.

             
Nearly eight years passed before contact was regained with Earth. The spinning FTL receiver caught wind of a transmission several thousand lightyears away. Hours later, the captain was able to have a slow, lag-plagued conversation with a controller back on Titan. Days later, the crew was able to talk to families long lost to the distant stars. It was a momentous occasion, not only for the success of the mission, but for the possibility of return.

             
It took the effort of every man and woman in the
Odyssey
crew to build a suitable relay node and place it into orbit. The ship was too damaged to return to Earth, and the only way to ensure a rescue mission would be to rely on home for help. A plan was hatched and put into motion. Luckily, the years of research on the planet had led to a small but thriving community outside
Odyssey
. Shelters turned into homes, and the center of Freema
n—
named after the captai
n—
was founded.

             
The hell of it was, when Earth finally reached Tallus,
Odysse
y’
s
crew did
n’
t want to leave. They were already home. And with the advent of Blue Drive technology, more and more Terrans flocked to the dry landscape to carve out their own slice of freedom. Platinum mining became an extremely profitable business, and the population grew rapidly. Now united under new government, and still playing home to Flee
t’
s training field in the Valley, Tallus sparkled as a gem amidst the galaxy.

             
The swift rotation of the small planet led to short days at only 18 hours. Schools were letting out as the twin blue suns began to tango their way down below the horizon. It was the magic hour, when the city lights had
n’
t yet drowned out the faint yet visible Valley overhead. Third-grader Natalie Barkovski stopped to wave up at the sky toward the slow-moving speck of light that orbited her world. She smiled a toothy grin and shouted.

             
“Have a good night, mom
!
”

-                           
IV-

              “Contact, vector nine-zero
.
”

             
Dunham looked at the distant curve of the approaching gas giant and saw light reflect off a glossy black hull. He brought his fighter to bear and saw the convoy: A black vessel, almost as long as a Terran frigate, orbited Venetian Four. The pilot could hardly understand what he was seeing. A large funnel dangled by a long tether into the swirling gasses, sucking up the emerald cloud. Five fighters, four Y-shaped ships and a larger command variant, circled the vessel.

             
“Overwatch
,”
Dunham said
.“
This is Kilo. We have visual on enemy targets. Eyes on five fighters and one...looks to be frigate-class, if not bigger
.
”

             
Kaileen tried to adjust her radar controls to pick up the enemy signal, but the plane
t’
s gravity played havoc with the system. She turned to face the commander, Captain Gregorovich. The aging war vet sat placidly in his chair, smoking a fat cigar. He had
n’
t said a word in almost an hour, and most of the crew thought he had fallen asleep again.

             
“Sir, Kilo has enemy contact. W
e’
re within striding distance
.
”

             
Gregorovich glared at Kaileen
.“
And waste fuel? Kilo has twenty fighters, what are they looking at that they ca
n’
t handle
?
”

             
Kaileen spoke with Dunham over the comm before answering
.“
Captain Dunham says he has five fighters and a frigate-class vessel
.
”

             
The commander laughed
.“
Tell him to stop begging mommy for help and to face the big bully on his own. Weapons free. A few Harpies and the whole show will be over. W
e’
d arrive about thirty minutes too late, lieutenant. No reason to even spin the engines
.”
He tapped the ash off his cigar into a waiting cup
.“
Comms, send a notice to Fleet that enemy ships have been spotted. Hell, w
e’
ll probably get medals out of this
.
”

             
She did
n’
t like the Captain, but their was no reason to argue. He was, on all accounts, making a sound judgement call. After reviewing the tapes from Luna, the odds were clearly stacked in Kil
o’
s favor. She passed along the order to Dunham to engage.

             
In his fighter, Frank sent the word electronically, setting a target for each wingman pair
.“
Arm Harpies, stand by to engage
.”
Lights winked along his HUD as the other pilots acknowledged a lock on target. At this range, the Boxti fighters would
n’
t even know what hit them. Still, Dunham could
n’
t shake a strange feeling. His radar had no trouble picking up these targets, but the report from Sol had said Boxti fighters required laser lock on. And the coordination in the security patrol was uncanny, as opposed to the reckless flying seen on the vids from Luna.

             
He pushed his doubt aside, arming a pair of missiles. Whatever the oddities may be, he had an order to eliminate the threat. Nothing his squadron could
n’
t handle in two salvos or less
.“
Weapons free. Fire at will
.
”