When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (21 page)

             
“W
e’
re showing residual energy from a Stride outside of the debris field. Investigate and report, out
.
”

             
George pulled up alongside, rolling his eyes
.“
And here we were, hoping for a leisurely flight through a graveyard
.
”

             
“Hey
,”
Cameron snapped
.“
Have a little respect, George
.
”

             
George blushed
.“
Did you know anyone here
?
”

             
“Does it matter? W
e’
re all in the same uniform
.
”             

             
The younger pilot closed distance so he could look the other in the eye
.“
Wha
t’
s happened to you, Cam
?
”

             
“What do you mean
?
”

             
“Yo
u’
ve been like this since Luna. Every time we fly. McLane was green, but he was a grown-ass man. We risk it everyday out here
.
”

             
Cameron stared straight ahead, his blood boiling
.“
I should have seen it coming
.
”

             
“
I’
m sick of the moping, Cam. W
e’
re all hurting. Hell,
I’
m beating myself up about him, too. But this is war. Get your shit on straight, there was nothing you could do
.
”

             
“Sure
,”
Cameron said dismissively
.“
Whatever
.
”

             
For a moment all George could do was fume inside his cockpit. Then he angled his wing down and rammed his frien
d’
s ship, sending sparks flying out where metal met metal.

             
Cameron shouted
.“
Christ, what the hell are you doing
?
”

             
“Normally I would slap you, but these damn fighters were in the way
.
”             

             
The older pilot jerked the yoke to the right, his collision light smashing against Georg
e’
s hull with a resounding clang that shook both men in their seats. The diamond-glass cracked from the impact
.“
What is the matter with you
?
”

             
“Yo
u’
ve lost people in a fight before. What makes this different
?
”

             
“He was my responsibility, George
.”
Camero
n’
s eyes were red and moist
.“
Any other battle there was someone else in charge. Another officer making all the calls. Not now.
I’
m the Flight Leader, this is all my fault. Any lives lost are on me
.
”

             
George sighed
.“
Jesus, man. How many ways can I say it? There was nothing you could do. You made the right call to push forward, we all flew tight as directed. This was just bad luck. We did
n’
t get a missile warning until the last second
.”
He guided his fighter close until he could look into his frien
d’
s face
.“
People are going to die, Cam. You saved more lives that day than we lost. You towed hundreds of people to safety
.”
He let out an exasperated breath
.“
You look outside lately? The stars have
n’
t gone out. Life goes on
.
”

             
Cameron was about to respond when his radio squawked
.“
Wolfpack, this is
Berlin
. Is everything all right? W
e’
re seeing collision alerts on the tracker
.
”

             
George shook his head, turning his attention back to the sky around them. Cameron tapped his headset
.“
Just passed a little close to a debris field. W
e’
re fine
.”
He looked over at his wingman
.“I’
m fine, George. But thank you
.”
He cut the line, whispering to himself
.“
Until the stars fade
.”
His left hand found the tiny cross hanging off his flight suit, squeezing it tight.

             
A signal lock shook him from his thoughts. Passive radar systems chimed to life, identifying a small blip on the screen only a few kilometers away. Cameron used his left hand to tap commands into the console, pulling the yoke with his right to guide the ship toward the unknown contact.

             
“
Berlin
, this is Wolf One, traffic in the sky
.
”

             
The radio squelched
.“
Wolf one,
Berlin
. You are cleared to investigate. Report coordinates on approach. Out
.
”

             
“What do you see
?”
George asked from his position at Camero
n’
s four
o’
clock.

             
Cameron squinted, trying to catch a glimpse of the object. Venetian Four hung in the background, an immense green canvas
.“
Got a hit on passive. Shadow me
.”
He put his foot to the floor, sending the Phoenix rocketing forward. The ship rumbled and bucked, hitting a sudden wake of particles
.“
George, ho
w’
s your ride
?
”

             
“Choppy. I need to get new shocks
.”
He checked his computer
.“
Shit, w
e’
re in a blue box
.
”

             
Cameron activated his net again
.“
Berlin
, Wolf one. We have located a recently closed entrance into Blue Space. Sending coordinates now
.”
Given the size of the box, it was more than likely that it was a transmission line. Larger ships left wakes that could be followed to the source, in theory. At the very least, they could shoot a probe into the mess of particles and hope it found its way to the other side. Cameron saw a flash of light from the carrier, followed by a small blue puff as the sensor pod chased after the transmission signal.

             
Something danced in the faint light ahead, a tumbling silver craft. Cameron and George closed distance, their weapons armed and trained on the unknown object. Vapor leaked from various cracks in the surface, and the hull showed signs of plasma burns.

             
“Jesus
,”
George said
.“
I
t’
s an ExoPod
.”
He slowed down, allowing Cameron to take point
.“
Berlin
, Wolf two. We have an escape pod located on our location. Should we wait for rescue
?”
The tow line on the Phoenix was
n’
t designed to drag the larger pod, though it could do in a pinch. Valkyries had the right equipment to bring the ExoPod home safely.

             
“Wolf two,
Berlin
,”
the operator said
.“
Rescue teams are working on the main wreckage. Do you have confirmation of survived crew aboard
?
”

             
George looked out his cockpit toward Cameron, shrugging. He activated his thermal imaging scanner, but the venting gasses from the pod scrambled the signal. White noise flooded the monitor
.“I’
ve got nothing, Cam
.
”

             
On the other side of the ExoPod, Cameron used his control jets to invert the Phoenix over the escape craf
t’
s door. He moved in close, the glass canopy nearly touching the warped metal hull. Inside the pod, lights flickered as power drained. Vapor left droplets of condensation on the glass; a good sign, all things considered.

             
Suddenly, a small hand smacked against the window, smearing the moisture. Cameron nearly leapt back in his seat
.“
George
,”
he said
.“
W
e’
ve got people inside. I just saw a hand
.
”

             
“All stations this net, this is
Berlin
actual
.”
Shandra
s’
voice came over the net
.“
Return to the boat and prepare for immediate action. Tallus is under attack from a large hostile force. The
Arlington
will stay behind to alert Fleet via FTL before joining the fight.
Berlin
out
.
”

             
Camero
n’
s hands felt slick with sweat inside his gloves. A whole planet under siege? How big was this armada? It would
n’
t be the first time intelligence severely screwed the pooch, but this task force was
n’
t up for a prolonged engagement. Hopefully Tallus had managed to get the rest of its forces into the air.

             
“George, cover my six. W
e’
re gonna tow the pod home ourselves
.”
He did
n’
t wait for a response. Placing safeties on all weapons systems, he armed the tow cable and fired. A magnetic bolt shot out from underneath his belly, catching just behind the blast shields on the escape craft. When the line drew tight, Cameron flipped his ship around and started a slow acceleration
.“
Snap a line on the back
.
”

             
“Already on it
,”
George said. He attached his own cable from behind. If Cameron stopped short, the pod would no longer ram into his engines
.“
Ready for hard burn. Pod is clear of blast area
.
”

             
“Punch it
.
”

             
Raw fuel dumped into their exhausts and the two craft raced back to the carrier, the crippled pod in tow. Rescue craft left their positions and hurried along to
Berlin
, flaring their engines as they approached. One by one, the squadrons landed inside the hangar until all were safely aboard. Cameron and George waited for the last Valkyrie to grab the pod before attempting their own landings.
Berlin
extended two long tubes from her flanks: the Strider sleds. They began to glow as the last fighter arrived.

             
The hangar door closed, sealing the area off from the rest of space. Immediately, emergency crews rushed to the escape pod and began pulling apart the hull. The door released with a groan, slamming to the deck with a thud. Medics leapt inside, emerging moments later with a frail form. They laid the injured pilot on the deck and began to resuscitate her. Cameron pushed through the crowd, eager to see if anyone had survived the attack.

             
He wove through the growing group of seamen until he saw the docs kneeling on the ground. A thin woman lay unconscious on the deck, blood running from a gash on her forehead. Her left leg was set in a dirty blue cast and she wore the coveralls of a bomber pilot. She was pale, enough so that Cameron thought he must have arrived too late.

             
One of the medics reached into the woma
n’
s pocket, pulling out her tags. He read the name and tossed the metal disks aside
.“
Lieutenant Nuvarian, can you hear me
?”
His partner continued CPR
.“
Kaileen, come back to us
.”
He rolled up her arm, tapped her skin to find a vein, and injected a glowing blue liquid.