When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (57 page)

             
Hanweh frowned and the feeling reached his fellow officers
.“
Eruk djun Tolan is more than just a competent Domin. He has an innate ability to sense an attack, and the presence of mind to react swiftly and brutally. We promised our new allies that we would offer support and make no move before ordered to do so
.
”

             
Tradeh laughed
.“
How are you so sure that this ship is the same one from Quom
?
”

             
Hanwe
h’
s voice softened
.“
I will never forget watching that planet fall
.
”

             
A female voice said
,“
We should
n’
t make any rash decisions. The humans are wary of the Boxti threat and will act before the danger is too great. Then we will be free to attack and destroy Eruk and his ilk
.”
Domin Lei Talzora punctuated her comment with a hiss.

             
“And what of the other matter, Hanweh
?”
Trade
h’
s voice grated the commande
r’
s nerves.

             
“Leave it
,”
Lei said
.“
Focus on the enemy at our throat, not the one at our feet
.
”

             
Hanweh wanted to argue, but resigned to accept the decision of the whole. He could feel the opinion lean more toward waiting than taking immediate action
.“
Barrenon
will stand by. May Darna Wo shine upon us. And should we fall, let her guide us home to JohGal
.
”

-                           
XII                            -

              Joshua awoke in pain again. His bones pushed and pulled against his skin as he rotated out of the sweat-soaked cot. His evenings had been this way ever since waking from the surgery.  The doctor said his body was still accepting the strange new cells inside, and that with such a change came some growing pains, but it did little to ease his suffering. He had
n’
t slept a full night in weeks.

             
Not that he was alone in that area. All of the candidates were dealing with their recoveries in different ways. Dax was in physical therapy nearly every day, learning how to control his newly enhanced body. Pierre suffered from intense migraines, compounded by his heightened sensitivity to light. Only the girls seemed unaffected. Liane and Alexa spent most of their days racing on the track or goofing off in the barracks.

             
Something buzzed nearby. Josh snatched his phone from the night table moments before it vibrated off the side. He saw the face on the screen and smiled, earning a twinge of pain across his jaw.

             
“Hey there, stranger
.
”

             
Josh suppressed a yawn
.“
Ho
w’
s it going, Cam
?
”

             
“I wanted to see how things were going planetside
?
”

             
It took Josh a minute to remember that Cameron did
n’
t know about Omega. He struggled to recall which lie the doctor had given him for this situation
.“
We do
n’
t get out much
.”
It was true enough
.“
Ho
w’
s the Cove
?
”

             
Cameron shrugged
.“I’
m keeping them in check, though
I’
m pretty sure
I’
m not long for this station
.
”

             
“What happened? You finally get caught for spiking the station commande
r’
s soup
?
”             

             
Cameron laughed
.“
No, the
y’
re still blaming the rats. I figured you woul
d’
ve heard by now, but I guess the
y’
re keeping you in blackout again. You wo
n’
t get in trouble talking to me, will you
?
”

             
“Nah
,”
Josh said, though he was pretty sure this was very much against the rules
.“
Besides,
I’
m a trained killer now. The
y’
re more afraid of me than anything else
.
”

             
“Nice
.”
Cameron looked off to the side, unwilling to speak for a moment
.“
The
y’
re back
.
”

             
Josh made a face. He almost made a joke, but could tell something serious was happening
.“
Who
?
”

             
“The Boxti
.
”

             
“Shit
.”
Josh had been under so long, he had almost hoped the whole alien invasion had been a terrible dream. His stomach turned
.“
Is it at New Eden
?
”

             
Cameron nodded
.“
The
y’
ve already called to let me know
I’
m off the no-fly list. Should be getting an all-clear any day now, and then i
t’
s back to the fight
.”
Concern crossed his face.

             
“You do
n’
t seem all that thrilled
,”
Josh said.

             
Cameron look away from the camera
.“
Doctor Chon
g’
s been helping, but
I’
m still anxious. Shit,
I’
m supposed to be the ace of a squadron, and I can barely keep my damn hands from shaking
.
”

             
“Are you keeping up with the exercises
?
”

             
Cameron grinned
.“
As boring as they are, yes.
I’
m very studious
.”
He held up his hand and mimicked flipping switches
.“
Turn the machine on, turn it off. Over and over
.
”

             
Jose snickered
.“
And is it working
?
”

             
“I guess
.”
The pilot squinted, cocking his head to the side
.“
Are you okay, Josh? You look like crap
.
”

             
“
I’
ll live. Just recovering from some training
.”
Josh looked down at his table, at the battery of pills left to take for the morning
.“
I should probably get back to it
.
”

             
“
I’
m boring you with all this doom and gloom crap
?
”

             
Josh shook his head
.“
No, i
t’
s not that. I
t’
s really good to hear from you. Sucks that yo
u’
ll be back in the shit soon, but I know yo
u’
ll just kick ass and take names
.”
He stretched, cracking his back and neck
.“
You still seeing that girl
?
”

             
“Kaileen
?”
Camero
n’
s grin grew immediately
.“
Yup. Sh
e’
s great. You have to meet her. Get yourself some leave and get up to Eden or Primus.
I’
ll be at one of them soon enough
.
”

             
“I
t’
s a deal, brother
.
”

             
“Glad yo
u’
re doing okay
,”
Cameron said
.“I’
ll let you rest. W
e’
ll talk soon
.”
He signed off and the line went dead.

             
Josh fell back on his cot, letting out a deep breath. He stared up at the bulb over his bunk, watching it flicker. A face appeared suddenly overhead, blocking out the light. It took Josh a moment to recognize Dr. Markov
.“
Are you feeling better, Josh
?
”

             
“Peachy
.”
His heart jumped in his throat. How had Markov snuck up like that?

             
The doctor smiled
.“
A sense of humor is an invaluable trait in this situation. The treatment is nearly done. You should feel much stronger tomorrow
.
”

             
“I feel pretty good once the drugs kick in
.
”

             
“W
e’
d prefer you not need drugs to get going
.”
Markov placed a hand on the bo
y’
s head
.“
All of the soldiers survived the transition. Most of them are back to half strength and recovering quickly. Rest now, lieutenant. More physical training tomorrow
.
”

             
“You know
,”
Josh said weakly
.“
If yo
u’
d told me about this part up front, I might have made a different choice
.
”

             
Markov laughed
.“
And if I knew you were going to be such a baby about it, I would have picked a different soldier to lead this group
.”
He squeezed Jos
h’
s shoulder, feeling the tensile pull of the weave underneath the skin
.“I’
ll see you in the morning
.”
He stood and walked from the room, closing the door behind.

             
Sasha was waiting on the other side, clipboard in hand. His sour expression immediately dampened the docto
r’
s mood.

             
“What is it, Sasha? Another city fall to your old comrade-in-arms
?
”

             
The sergeant took the jab without response
.“
New Eden just went to DefCon 1. Boxti war party spotted on approach
.”
He handed over the transcript pulled from a coded military channel. Being able to spy on any system at will made his job infinitely more interesting. The computer set up at Omega was something out of a fiction novel, or a spy movie
.“
That Admiral sent word that the HC wants to send in the soldiers
.
”

             
Marko
v’
s face contorted to disgust
.“
Well the
y’
re clearly not ready yet. Most can barely run, and Josh is still pulling himself together. We just need more time for the candidates to recover
.
”

             
“Why was the reaction so severe
?”
Sasha asked
.“
Did the little robots really do so much damage
?
”

             
The doctor shook his head. He pulled his friend in close and whispered
.“
The control programs linked last night. All the soldier
s’
control units are talking to one another, giving advice on how to properly maintain a human body. I
t’
s working better than I could have dreamed. If the armor is done in time, w
e’
ll be unstoppable
.
”