When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (67 page)

             
The soldiers talked eagerly amongst one another, imaging the fun they could have flying over a battlefield. Josh wanted more than anything to lose himself in the discussion, but something nagged at the back of his mind. He raised an arm and waited for the Doctor to calm the room.

             
“Yes, Josh
?
”

             
He stood, crossing his arms
.“
Doc, wha
t’
s the story with New Eden? It sounds like they need us out there to help
.”
A few of the candidates nodded and murmured their agreement
.“
Hell, Earth might turn to shit in a few months. How much more training can we really need
?
”

             
Markov shared a look with Sasha
.“
I do
n’
t know why we even bother attempting a media blackout
.”
He smiled at his soldiers
.“
You are all clearly healed enough to enter combat, I agree. And New Eden is degrading in a manner that, sadly, I saw coming weeks ago. This negotiation, when it finally does get off the ground, is going to end poorly. Frankly,
I’
m surprised the powers that be are even entertaining the idea of peace with the Boxti. That said, there is still one more piece of the puzzle left before we deploy
.
”

             
“What
?”
Josh asked
.“
What else could you have up your sleeve
?
”

             
Markov bared his teeth in an expression that was
n’
t entirely warm
.“
Trust me. Yo
u’
ll want to keep this one a surprise
.
”

-                           
VI                            -

              Cameron eased his foot off the brakes and let the Phoenix roll forward onto the track. He felt the lock snap down over the wheel and the entire ship moved toward the rear of the hangar. After a moment he shut off the radio and reveled in the momentary silence. Then he ripped his helmet off and begin sucking in huge gulps of air. His heart beat furiously in his chest and all his muscles spasmed. Sweat dripped down his face, burning his eyes and filling his mouth with salt.

             
Doctor Chong said the the attacks would subside, but they never got any easier. Sometimes Cameron could go a whole week without issue. Other times the shakes came while donning his flight suit. Like always, the panic ebbed after a few seconds. Cameron did a quick look around to make sure no one was watching, then flipped his radio back on.

             
All around him, the Eros Interceptor Wing buzzed with activity. Phoenix III fighters, Sparrows and Seed bombers packed on heavy armaments and launched out to provide a constant display of power to the enemy armada. Griffin bombers, normally considered too large for orbital platforms, occupied the floor below and launched every hour. The sky was filled with pilots aching for a chance to earn payback for New Eden.

             
Primus, the Fleet Deployment Center, shared an orbit with New Eden Nodes. Designed much like Irwin Cove, the funnel-shaped station supported all operations in the system. Even TSI had a few hangars for their scientific expeditions. Living quarters were as bare-bones as possible, saving room and power for the vital functions of the structure. Even more unlike the Colorum station, Primus was built as a defensive platform. Each level housed several gun batteries arrayed in sets of two every hundred feet. The FDC could serve as an area denial platform should the need arise. Most of the full-timers agreed that had the battle been a few hundred kilometers closer, Primus would have stopped the Boxti invasion before it started.

             
Cameron and Kaileen had transferred with the newly pinned pilots of Colorum after the invasion. It had been a bittersweet return to action, though the only real fighting the
y’
d seen happened during a drunken brawl at the statio
n’
s pub. The standoff had reached far beyond mere tension. Every day it was expected that the order to attack would come, and every night the crews bedded down disappointed. The brass had their work cut out trying to maintain order among the wings, and each morning at muster fewer faces remained. The Boxti had taken so much from the humans in under a year, and yet were afforded every opportunity to rest and rebuild. And it was
n’
t just the enemy that earned the Terra
n’
s hatred.

             
At first, there had been a contingent of Nangolani pilots and crew working side-by-side aboard the station. But after several violent attacks and a death, the aliens had withdrawn to their ships and left. No one received any punishment for the outbreaks. There was too much happening, and too few who truly cared about the allied race. As it was, most of the security resources on the platform had been shipped down to the surface to quell the growing riots within the quarantined zones. Those that remained held the stone-colored creatures as only slightly better than pests.

             
The plague weighed heavily on the minds of the pilots. Long after the red bruise had dissolved from the plane
t’
s atmosphere and settled on the ground, the memory of their failure lingered. Had strike force been able to stop the carrie
r’
s descent, none of the lives on the ground would have been lost. It had been a surprise attack, no one could argue, but they had let the enemy get a foothold on a prime colony. It was the lowest point in the history of the Federal Fleet. But from the monumental mistake came resolve, and through that determination the crews of the various ships and shuttles set out to right the terrible wrong.

             
Rescue missions were as standard for the wing as recon and support. Valkyrie shuttles raced down through the atmosphere, engines glowing, and pushed through the clouds of toxic spores to find pockets of life hidden in the relentless pink fog. The military had their front line well established after only a few weeks, fighting back the tide of mutated creatures and scorching the ground after. Civilian population centers had no such infrastructure, and the going was more than tough. The spores had grown unchecked in the cities, thriving in the chaotic aftermath of the invasion. Wherever they took hold in enough numbers, they dispensed a cloud of vapor that clung to the ground as an opaque mist.

             
Inside the haze, twisted creatures roamed in small packs. There seemed to be intelligence in their behavior, as though the spores had a collective mind. The mutated animals and people were
n’
t trying to spread the disease or even feed. They launched coordinated attacks against the flimsy defenses erected by the civilians, slaughtering anyone they came across. During sweeps of the area, the Valkyrie pilots had witnessed entire buildings be massacred without a prayer. It was hard on the crews of the shuttles, having to watch time and again as the same story played out. Often they would arrive to find little left but bits of clothing and rivers of blood.

             
For Cameron and the fighters it was a little easier. Their missions were tied to the fire party, scorching the ground around the cities to make clean-up easier. The scientists had
n’
t figured out a better way of removing the spores, so flamethrowers and napalm became the salves to put on the wounds of the planet. Inside the cities, the fight had to be on the ground and street to street. Governor Myers was
n’
t yet resigned to wipe out decades of growth with a tactical strike, not while there was a chance of gaining control again. It meant hell for the soldiers, but it was the only way to find every surviving citizen.

             
A crew chief grabbed the tow line on Ca
m’
s fighter and connected it to a one-seater. The small truck pulled the Phoenix into its designated place in the hangar, back away from the launch rails. Cameron popped the canopy and waited for the chief to pull the rungs out from the side of the nose. Once he saw the thumbs-up he climbed down to the deck, the cool air chilling his sweaty face.

             
“Another hot one, sir
?”
the chief asked.

             
“Napalm ai
n’
t getting any cooler
.”
He wiped his forehead with his sleeve, making a face
.“
We mopped up another five square kilometers around Basil Ridge. Figure i
t’
ll be another few days to clear the rest of the Metts area. How did the rest of Olympia go
?
”

             
The NCO lit a cigarette and took a long drag. It was beyond against regulations to smoke on the flight deck, but no one dared challenge the twenty-seven-year veteran
.“
Like shit in a handbag. We lost another drone to the those big birds over Rodburry, Chuc
k’
s team broke three Vals trying to haul a goddamn train out, and I just learned w
e’
re losing four of our best pilots to a goddamn press event
.
”

             
Cameron raised his eyebrow at that
.“
Chief, I never knew you cared so much.
I’
m flattered
.
”

             
“He means you break your ships less than the others
,”
Kaileen said, walking back from her bomber
.“
Yo
u’
re still only barely capable
.”
She gave the old crew head a hug and kiss as she walked past, punching Cameron hard on the shoulder
.“
You need a shower
.
”

             
“And a sling. Why do you always hit me
?
”

             
Kaileen stopped and thought for a moment
.“
I do
n’
t know. Yo
u’
re just unbelievably hittable
.
”

             
“
I’
ll never understand the officer courting ritual
,”
chief said
.“
They need you at deck four A in an hour for your briefing, sir
.
”

             
Cameron nodded. He looked at Kaileen
.“
Walk you to the elevator
?
”

             
“If you know the way
.”
She smiled and fell into step beside him. Her hand danced against his, brushing knuckles as they walked toward the far side of the hangar. Sparrows launched off the rails in pairs, roaring as they slipped through the field into space. Dozens of orange-suited crewmembers ran from ship to ship conducting preflight inspections, while those in blue coveralls covered post-operation rundowns. The men in brown clothing drove the fueler in a lazy circle, topping off each craft in turn. Red armorers moved the missiles and ammunition racks through the large room on self-propelled trucks. The ordered chaos ran smoothly thanks to the experienced leadership in each field, all dominated by the Master Chief standing on the platform over the room. Every so often the ancient-looking NCO would shout down an obscenity or bark an order, but mostly he spoke softly into his radio and watched the ballet unfold.

             
Kaileen and Cameron reached the metal-plated elevators along the wall. He pressed the call button and leaned against the door, unzipping his flight jacket further to let out more heat. The deck was maintained at a cool sixty degrees so as to maintain the slush hydrogen used in the fighters, as well as the crystal coils in the Griffins and Sparrows. Still, after gliding low over napalm plumes, it was hard to feel anything other than the radiant heat. And he smelled like a barbecue.

             
“How long are you going to be gone for
?”
Kaileen asked.

             
Cameron shrugged, running a hand through his sweat-slicked hair
.“
They said it was only a few days. A week tops. They need a couple of younger officers to lower the average age of the party. Besides, i
t’
ll be good to see how everyon
e’
s faring over there. Kinda miss the Cove
.
”

             
“I got a message from some of the cadets
,”
she said with a grin
.“
The new flight leader tried to break your speed run again
.
”