When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (17 page)

             
Alexander raised an eyebrow at that thought
.“
Would
n’
t hurt to put a few hundred thousand boots on the ground around the major cities. Maybe impose martial law
.”
He clapped Arthur on the back
.“
Good thinking, Arthur. I may just name this plan after you
.
”

             
“Tha
t’
s not funny, sir
.
”

             
Alexander laughed
.“
I do
n’
t intend on ending my short career at the end of a rope, Arthur. Life shall go on as normal for the growing planets, and eventually the Council will come to understand the need for the military build-up
.”
He turned toward Jerry
.“
There are, what, nine carriers in the Fleet total
?
”

             
“Eight
,”
the Chief of Staff said
.“
They never finished building the C.C
.
”

             
“Wha
t’
s the C.C.
?”
Arthur asked.

             
Jerry rapped the conference table, bringing up the built-in screen, and typed in the phrase
Command Carrier
.“
It was going to be the be-all-end-all for orbital superiority. Packing the most powerful arsenal ever fielded by humanity. Basically a mobile, offensive planetoid
.
”

             
“Jesus
.”
The aide paled at the thought
.“
And they scrapped it
?
”

             
Alexander nodded
.“
Before my time. Part of the Martia
n’
s demands for signing the treaty was that we halt all production on carriers. Made sense at the time
.
”

             
“Who could have known what a decade would bring
?”
Jerry let out a long sigh and stretched
.“
Wish we had a hundred of them now
.
”

             
Alexande
r’
s face lost the playful attitude as he looked out of a nearby porthole
.“
You did
n’
t hear the things Emperor Anduin said, the stories he could tell. Species who were unprepared for this menace did
n’
t survive
.”
He took another sip from his cup
.“
Give it another few weeks and the dogs will find another bone to chew on. Maybe we can start the debate on changing the calendar again
.
”

             
Arthur fumed
.“
This is
n’
t the most appropriate time to be taking a lackadaisical attitude
.
”

             
“I think i
t’
s my head on the chopping block, Arthur.
I’
ll take whatever attitude I need
.
”

             
“Alexander
,”
Jerry said
.“
Le
t’
s get back to this alliance of which yo
u’
re so fond
.
”

             
“Please
,”
the High Chancellor said
.“
Do
n’
t start now
.
”

             
“We have known about these people for less than a month. Are you sure we can take anything they say at face value
?
”

             
Alexander pinched the meat of his left hand, savoring the bite from the chunk of metal inside
.“
Of course not.
I’
m not stupid, Jerry. But we do
n’
t have too many options here. Am I supposed to call upon our vast array of alien intelligence networks to verify Andui
n’
s claims? We do
n’
t have anything on this race. Not a goddamn thing. And I do find it more than a little convenient that they found us right on our own porch. But what can I do? They have so far laid bare their entire fleet for our inspection. The
y’
ve allowed our scientists to comb over their ships. The
y’
ve shared charts, histories and just about everything you can imagine with us. And tha
t’
s in the last twenty days. Only God can imagine what we are going to know tomorrow, and I have to take the big risks while we still have such luxuries. If this threat is as dire at they make it out to be, i
t’
s going to get real ugly and real quick
.
”

             
“Alexander
,”
Jerry began.

             
“No. I do
n’
t need pandering, criticizing or argument right now. I need my cabinet, my generals and another cup of coffee. We can spend the rest of our lives bickering over how we handled the beginning. I want to know how w
e’
re going to wage our war
.
”

-                           
VI                            -

             
Gettysburg
pulled further from the gravity well of Venetian Four, flying further into the center of the Valley. Almost an hour had passed without word from the fighter squadron, and Captain Gregorovich was beginning to doubt his earlier convictions.

             
“Anything on scope
?”
he asked.

             
The radar officer shook his head
.“
Still getting a lot of interference, sir
.
”

             
Gregorovich bit his fingernails. His heart pounded quickly and sweat ran cold down his spine. He squirmed in his seat, eager for any news
.“
Come on, wha
t’
s taking so damn long
?
”

             
“Wait
,”
the radar officer said
.“I’
ve got something
.
”

             
No one on the bridge spoke, and the only sound was the soft click of buttons being pressed. The radar officer aligned the powerful lenses on the carrie
r’
s scope and focused in on the coordinates, bringing the image up on screen. Gregorovich groaned.

             
The battle was clearly over. A Boxti frigate, larger than any seen before, floated amidst a field of debris. Twenty blackened husks were all that remained of Kilo Squadron. The alien fighters patrolled the wreckage, pulling apart the Terran ships with tentacle-like cables.

             
“Sir, what do you want to do
?
”

             
Gregorovich could
n’
t speak. He could hardly breath
.“
Start the feed. We need to record this
.
”

             
The radar officer complied, typing in a few commands before letting the system take over. Using a long-distance laser range finder, the camera focused on the frigate and began recording.

             
“Do you want Delta Squadron prepped for launch
?
”

             
“What
?”
Gregorovich asked
.“
What do you mean
?
”

             
The young lieutenant gestured toward the alien vessel
.“
W
e’
re not exactly hiding, sir. If they look in this direction, the
y’
re going to see us
.
”

             
“And w
e’
ll be more than an hour away. We can jump to Tallus and raise the alarm. I
t’
ll give us the advantage
.
”

             
Before anyone could speak, an alarm sounded. The radar office
r’
s face blanched
.“
Sir, the
y’
ve flashed us.
I’
ve got active scans on every system
.”
He worked furiously, running through his countermeasures and watching each fail
.“
The
y’
re turning this way
.
”

             
“
I’
m getting strange energy signatures from the enemy frigate
,”
the navigation officer said.

             
Gregorovich felt the walls closing in
.“
Prepare us for a jump to Tallus. Plot coordinates and spin up the Blue drive
.
”

             
Then, in a flash of light, the Boxti vanished from the screen. Silence smothered the bridge like a blanket.

             
“Where...where did they go
?”
The captain asked.

             
A new alarm sounded, louder and more insistent. Red strobes flickered to life and pulsed on and off. The radar officer screamed to be heard over the din.

             
“Collision alert! Somethin
g’
s way too close, sir
.
”

             
“Show it to me. Where is it
?”
Gregorovich could
n’
t seem to catch his breath. He gripped the chair with white knuckles
.“
Damnit, what is happening
?
”

             
The screen changed to a different camera and the crew gasped as one. Only a few hundred meters away, the Boxti frigate took aim and fired. Missiles streaked out of every port, arcing toward the human carrier. Immediately the bridge sprang to life, officers and enlisted rushing to activated defenses and counterattack. Captain Gregorovich did
n’
t move, but rather stared at the smaller ship like a deer in headlights.

             
“But tha
t’
s impossible
,”
he whimpered
.“
Impossible
.
”

*              *              *              *              *

              An explosion rocked
Gettysburg
, sending Kaileen sprawling onto the grated floor. Her head smacked into the bench support. Stars danced in front of her eyes and she felt something warm and wet run down her forehead.

             
“Alert! Battle stations.  All crew are to report immediately. Alert
!”
The automated alarm sounded at full blast, mixed in with warbling klaxons and flashing red strobes. From inside the modified escape pod, Kaileen could only watch the throngs of soldiers and crew run past her small window, their voices a cacophony of confusion. Another hit knocked her to the ground again.

             
Finding the intercom, Kaileen contacted the MP outside
.“
What the hell is going on
?
”

             
“W
e’
re under attack
,”
the response came. The M
P’
s voice was pained, and Kaileen could tell h
e’
d been injured
.“
Boxti fighters. They pushed through our defenses.
Cambridge
is gone, and w
e’
re venting
.
”

             
“How many of them
?”
She longed for a window, any way of seeing what was going on outside.

             
A cough
.“
I dunno. Maybe five
.
”