When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (94 page)

             
“Boy
,”
Cameron said
.“
When you say it like that, I ca
n’
t imagine how I could think
I’
m in trouble
.
”

             
The Agent took a seat and began arranging the files on the table. It looked chaotic, but the man moved with purpose. Whatever his organization process was, it had a unique flair. By the time he was ready, most of the space between the two men had been filled with data nodes.

             
Cameron turned to look at Ray
.“
Who are you
?”
he asked.

             
“Me
?”
Ray looked around, blushing
.“I’
m just an analyst. I worked on a project for TSI
.
”

             
The pilot turned his attention to Blake
.“
Do
n’
t you feds usually work alone? Did your boss think you needed a babysitter
?
”

             
“Any particular reason yo
u’
re feeling hostile, Captain
?
”

             
Cameron slammed a hand on the table
.“
Maybe because
I’
ve been sitting in this room for over an hour waiting on you. Ther
e’
s no windows, no air conditioning and nothing to eat. I just spent the better part of two days trying to avoid a rather unpleasant death, and
I’
ve come home to find out that the war
I’
d heard was
n’
t going to happen is looking pretty fucking bad.
I’
m tired,
I’
m hungry and no one is giving me shit for information around here
.
”

             
“Yo
u’
ve been back for more than five minutes, so
I’
m sure you know wha
t’
s going on
.”
Blake swiped his hand across the table, bringing up images from the surface of the planet
.“
New Eden is all but lost. The enemy has armor that takes 10 of our tanks for every one of theirs. We lost the air in the opening hour of the fight, so even our support operations are greatly hindered. Most of the combat is taking place in the cities, though the majority of the civilian population was able to evacuate to the capitals of the continents. And, thankfully, a few still remain secure. That may be our one saving grace.

             
“Tarrytown, Liner, Fort Haver, Fort Metts and Canton: all lost to the enemy. And what ground they do
n’
t yet control is infested with the mutated offspring of their biological attack. With most of the military in the galaxy spread around Sol, w
e’
re fighting a losing battle. And now we just lost our political leadership, throwing an incredible monkey wrench into what is already a chaotic affair. Needless to say, Captain, the Federate is not faring well at the moment. Please take that into consideration when you decide whether or not to hold umbrage over a few hours of your time spent in a box
.
”

             
Cameron did
n’
t have an answer. He crossed his arms and scowled, annoyed at having been told off like a child
.“
How can I help
?”
he asked begrudgingly.

             
“Yo
u’
ve been in closer contact with the enemy than anyone
,”
Blake said
.“
I need to know how the attack went down on the
Imperion
so I can figure out what their next move will be. Are they looking for resources? For power? Do they need slaves to build some sort of religious structure on the surface
?
”

             
Ray laughed, but cut it off when he saw the death glare in agent Blak
e’
s eyes
.“
You read the transcript from the Ambassado
r’
s meeting. Apparently they just want to kill us or conquer us. I
t’
s like that guy who climbs a mountain just because i
t’
s there. They commit genocide because it is an option
.
”

             
“There is always a reason
,”
Blake insisted
.“
And once we find it, we will discover their weakness. Then we can truly fight back
.
”

             
Cameron sighed
.“
Will that take long? Because our species does
n’
t have many planets left to use as a buffer
.”
He looked at the TSI scientist quizzically
.“
Why did you say you were here again
?
”

             
Ray shrugged
.“
I got lucky. I was part of the group watching the recordings from first contact. And Tallus. There were some weird discrepancies. After I talked with my director, I was contacted by the FAID and told that I was being relocated. I actually thought they were taking me somewhere to kill me
.”
He laughed nervously, but stopped when no one else joined
.“
I know as much about the Boxti as anyone. I guess they think me hearing your story will shed some more light
.
”

             
Blake leaned forward
.“
Tell us what happened on the High Chancello
r’
s ship
.
”

             
The pilot ran a hand through his hair, stalling
.“
I
t’
s not what you think
.”
He looked around the room, wishing he had more time to come up with an answer. Jerr
y’
s words still followed him around, urging him to head to Earth and complete the dying ma
n’
s request
.“
It was a sneak attack, aimed at getting us to go to war
.
”

             
Blake tapped out notes onto the table
.“
To what end
?
”

             
“I do
n’
t know,
I’
m not the goddamn mastermind
.
”

             
Ray leaned over, smiling sympathetically
.“
What he meant was, what do you think the point would be, drawing us into open conflict
?
”

             
Cameron shrugged
.“
Maybe they needed us distracted while they pull off something on the other side of the galaxy. Maybe the
y’
re just crazy
.
”

             
Blake sat back in his chair, pressing his tie down with his hand reflexively
.“
But they had the means to win the fight already. Why wait for us to launch the opening strike
?
”

             
“Agent, you do
n’
t understand
,”
Cameron said
.“
It was
n’
t the Boxti who attacked
.
”

             
That caught Blake by surprise. His face registered a near-human emotion. Only Ray took the news in stride, though he did appear somewhat queasy.

             
Blake asked
,“
Then who
?
”

             
Before Cameron could speak, Raymond stole his words
.“
It was the Nangolani
,”
Ray said.

             
The room became silent, save the sound of the engines humming throughout the entire station. A muffled voice came over the intercom, announcing a call for Camero
n’
s flight wing. No one moved while the reality sunk in. Blake composed himself, taking notes on his phone and filing them away for review by the FAID.

             
Cameron leaned back in his chair, satisfied to have won the verbal sparring, but not enjoying his victory
.“
I did
n’
t want to believe it either, but i
t’
s the truth. This
,”
he pointed to the video of New Eden
.“
This is the Gray
s’
war, w
e’
re just the ones fighting it
.
”

             
“They killed all those people
.”
Ray leaned against the wall. It was
n’
t the first time h
e’
d had that thought. Ever since his conversation with Mara, the idea of an assassination had floated around in his head, bouncing around like a pinball. It made sense. They needed the humans back in the fight with a fury, and what better way to crystalize an alliance than with another devastating attack? Tallus had been too far away, and New Eden did
n’
t have the right body count. But losing the face of the Terran government? That was just what they needed. Ray bent over, sucking in bellyfuls of air
.“
They killed the High Chancellor
.
”

             
Cameron smirked
.“
Well, there is something you should know about that
.
”

              -                           
IV                            -

              “Fares, tell me what yo
u’
re seeing
.
”

             
The rifleman could
n’
t move. H
e’
d turned the corner minutes before, but had
n’
t taken a step since. If h
e’
d managed to stay unnoticed so far, then he saw no reason to draw attention now.

             
Fares and Pierre had climbed down another level looking for the engine room, and still without enemy contact. What had started as a steady stream of luck had become an unnerving wait for the other shoe to drop. Fares was superstitious by nature, a byproduct of his religious upbringing back on Earth. Strange sounds echoed off the glistening walls. Creatures clicked and growled at one another just out of sight, all while the engines heaved and bellowed many decks below. Room by room they cleared each section, expecting an ambush to be hidden in every shadow. Each empty hall built the tension until Fares wanted to scream.

             
In fact he nearly had when h
e’
d stepped to the side and into a cavernous room near the stairs. There they saw the crew, or what little remained. Only a few dozen creatures worked the dark room, skittering to and from large steaming pools of bubbling liquid. The two soldiers froze in place, weapons clenched tight in their hands, but the aliens paid them no attention. They busied themselves with whatever tasks were required to keep the ominous room in operation. A few held long paddles and stirred the vats like brewmasters. Others held glowing orbs and ran from one tank to another.

             
Fares tried to absorb as much about the room as his brain could take. The walls were the same hybrid of metal and organic matter as the rest of the ship. Vapor coming off the swirling ooze created an artificial atmosphere that hung in the air as a grayish green haze, fogging the glass visor. The insect-like workers resembled man-sized ants, laboring away without a thought or distraction. They wore simple plated clothing that covered what Dax could only imagine were their important parts, though he shuddered to envision what lay underneath.

             
Pierre had stopped at the turn and moved slowly, on his stomach, to a concealed position. He watched through his rifle scope, trying to determine what exactly was happening inside the chamber. It was the only activity they had encountered thus far, and it seemed to have no direct bearing to repairs of the carrier. In fact, as far as they could tell, the Boxti had
n’
t wasted anyone fixing their battered carrier.