When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (19 page)

             
“W
e’
ll need to rally the rest of Tallu
s’
available defenses. Send out an alert to President Newman. He needs Sector Patrol in the air immediately, and any and all pilots to get into fighters to prepare for an attack. Evacuation of civilians is the priority. Once the
y’
ve managed to jump out, we can bring in the rest of Fleet
.”
He paused. Everyone in the room had gone silent and stared at him blankly
.“
What
?
”

             
Walker put a hand on Alexande
r’
s shoulder
.“
Mr. Chancellor. We have
n’
t been able to reach anyone on Tallus in fifteen minutes
.
”

             
That dropped him. Alexander fell into a chair, his legs simply giving out
.“
What do you...how can we have lost contact
?
”

             
This time it was Jerry at his side. He handed the politician a glass of water
.“
About an hour after the report, Tallus went dark. No FTL traffic, no relay responses, nothing. The entire area disappeared from our board. W
e’
ve tried accessing the TSI Observer network, but nothing is showing up. I
t’
s as if the entire planet and everything around it simply vanished
.
”

             
Alexande
r’
s mind raced so fast he became dizzy
.“
Could they have pulled the plug voluntarily
?
”

             
The Admiral shook his head
.“
Tallus, of all places, would never enact the Ronin Protocol
.
”

             
“
I’
m sorry
,”
Arthur said, raising a hand
.“
You ca
n’
t be talking about the invasion plan
.
”

             
Jerry shook his head, gesturing for Arthur to lower his arm
.“
The Ronin Protocol was a failsafe put in during the Emigration War. If the planet was taken, the leaders would cut all ties with the rest of the galaxy, trapping the invaders in a single system. But that assumes the aliens can piggyback our nodes
.
”

             
“Jesus
.”
Arthur looked exasperated
.“
Well, how do we know i
t’
s not that
?
”

             
The Chief of Staff smiled patiently
.“
Arthur, it is
n’
t uncommon to lose communication with another planetary system. The distances involved are staggering, and the technology that keeps the colonies together is as fragile as glass. A solar flare could have knocked out a relay, or just simple human error
.
”

             
Sipping at his water, Alexander scrambled to piece the information together. He turned to the Admiral
.“
Has Fleet been notified
?
”

             
“Yes, sir. Commodore Osaka and CBG Sol is on standby to move out. The
y’
ve dispatched a small scouting group, TFC
Berlin
from Sector with an escort of destroyers and frigates
.
”

             
Alexander sat straight in his seat
.“
Why are you sending the reserves instead of Fleet
?
”

             
“S
P’
s a part of Fleet since the draft
,”
Walker said
.“
They can spare the fighters and ships-of-the-line while Fleet is on high alert around Earth. Any small disturbances are more than in hand. FTL is still linked so they should be arriving within the next eight hours
.
”

             
“And i
t’
ll look like he just put Sol under martial law
,”
Arthur objected
.“
Admiral, w
e’
re in enough trouble with this draft. We have to consider the political ramifications
.
”

             
Walker took a deep breath and turned to face the High Chancellor
.“
Sir, it was a judgment call and I made it. If the pundits need someone to blame, you have me. But three hundred million people just went missing in action, and we need answers more than we need good press
.
”

             
The two men stared each other down, but in the end Alexander knew the Admiral was right. H
e’
d been in a uniform once, though it seemed like a lifetime ago. Priorities needed to be changed if he were going to lead his people through the war. He needed to stop thinking like a politician. If he could.

             
“Then le
t’
s sit down and wait for word from our scouts. If this is just a technical glitch, it could
n’
t have come at a worse time
.
”

             
Admiral Walker seemed poised to say more, but his better judgment stopped the words in his mouth
.“
Roger that, sir
.”
He collected his officers and moved to an adjacent room to continue planning. All that were left were aides and politicians, and none of them had anything useful to add. Secret Service agents relaxed in their hidden corners; it was easier to protect someone in an empty room.

             
“And if i
t’
s something else
?”
Arthur asked.

             
Alexander sighed
.“
Then this will be an interesting day
.
”

-                           
VIII              -

              Bells echoed through the vacant passages of the TFC
Berlin
.  Multicolored lines ran along the walls, guiding the crew to different areas of the carrier. Like all vessels in the Terran Fleet, the interior was a grid of blank halls lined with bulkheads and piping. Years back, a motivated seaman first class had run though the corridors placing historic photos of the ship, the crew and Fleet in action, giving the bland decor some much needed life. Aside from the scattered boxes of supplies and ammunition on their way to one room or another, the halls were uniformly empty. The XO made sure that the crew spent as little time sauntering from place-to-place as possible, instilling a sense of urgency motivated almost entirely by fear and loathing.

             
Standing by the porthole near the stern, Cameron and George played cards while bathed in ghostly blue light. Camero
n’
s stomach could
n’
t stay still. For him, traveling in Blue Space was a constant stress. It disturbed every fiber of his psyche: The strange colors dancing on the wall, the unfathomable speeds and distances; it did
n’
t compute. George, on the other hand, loved the thrill of racing off into the stars.

             
“Got any nines
?”
George asked?

             
Cameron raised an eyebrow
.“
W
e’
re not playing that, George
.
”

             
“Ahh, tha
t’
s why
I’
m losing so badly
.
”

             
“No
,”
Cameron said
.“
Yo
u’
re losing very well
.
”

             
George muttered
,“
grammar Nazi
.”
He dropped his cards on the table, letting out a sigh. Something skipped past the window casting a sudden shadow on the wall. Cameron jerked in his seat
.“
Are you still a nervous flier
?
”

             
The older pilot scowled
.“
I
t’
s not natural
,”
he said
.“
Why is it shaped like a giant tube? Ther
e’
s no curves, no intersections with other points in space. Just a long, blue pipe from one place to another. I
t’
s nonsense
.
”

             
“Better than walking
.”
George grinned
.“
Do
n’
t be so hard on yourself,
I’
m sure there are lots of pilots that have a fear of flying. They hang out with hydrophobic sailors
.
”

             
“Or a claustrophobic chimney sweep
,”
Cameron added.

             
“Chimney what
?
”

             
“Sweep
.”
He shuffled the cards and began to deal
.“
They used to clean chimneys with long brooms, get all the soot out
.
”

             
George shook his head, taking his cards
.“
Nah,
I’
m pretty sure yo
u’
re full of it
.
”

             
“Read a book sometime
.
”

             
“
I’
d rather not
,”
George said. He dropped his cards down on the table
.“
Gin
.”
Satisfied, he folded his arms and leaned back in his chair
.“
How do you like that, son
?
”

             
Cameron read the cards
.“
Well, two things
.”
He looked into his frien
d’
s face
.“
One, w
e’
re not playing Gin. Two, tha
t’
s just a mess of cards and what appears to be the rules of the deck
.
”

             
“So
,”
George began
.“
I
t’
s a draw
?
”

             
Another bell sounded, signaling the end of the watch and alerting the relief crew to their stations. George gathered the cards and stuffed them into his pocket. Cameron grabbed his flight jacket from the back of the chair as he got up, making sure to lock the seat in place with a tie-down strap. Together they walked down the corridor toward the hangar. They took the stairs after seeing a small line forming at the elevator. George made a comment about Cameron needing the exercise, but Cameron did
n’
t take the jab. In truth, he was in better shape as a pilot than h
e’
d been during boot camp. Mostly it came from being too poor to afford a lot of food, but he found it made flying more comfortable if he were
n’
t carrying an extra ten pounds.

             
They arrived at the hangar door and donned their jackets. The air inside was significantly colder than the rest of the ship, mostly out of necessity. Many munitions had to be kept cold so as not to freeze when exposed to the vacuum. That and heating such a large space was expensive. As they entered, Cameron watched a drone launch down the magnetic rail that ran the length of the room. The craft shot out the open end of the hangar into space, passing through a thin field of electrons that separated their environment from the harsh vortex outside. It was standard procedure to launch recon UAVs during a blue jump as TSI wanted to gather as much information on the mysterious space as possible. The buoys almost never lasted long enough to transmit, but the scarce data they reported was invaluable.

             
The hangar hung under the belly of the carrier, a Europe-class design, providing a safe base from which to launch. A battery of anti-aircraft guns stuck out from beneath like pins in a cushion, deterring any attack on the underside of the ship.