When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (82 page)

             
Alexa rocked in place at the front of the line. Josh could feel the excitement bleeding off of her. It was infectious. He squeezed the inside of her elbow, the only place where the suits were thin enough to recognize any outside contact. On his HUD, a small box appeared next to her helmet with a blank space where a Federal ID would usually display; Markov had told them that their military files had been classified. Underneath the box, her call sign floated in glowing orange letters.
Firestarter
.

             
“
I’
ll see you on the ground
,”
Josh said. The light turned green and Alexa shoved him aside, throwing a thumbs up over her shoulder as she slipped out the door and into free fall. The Archangels chased after her, no hesitation as they dropped down into empty air and charged toward the grounded carrier below. Josh was the last to go, sweeping the cabin with his eyes before gripping the outer frame of the exit
.“
This is Shogun. Angels are flying
.”
He took in a deep breath and fell forward into the fight.

-                           
VIII                            -

              Jerry was fading fast, and there was little Cameron could do to help. The medical kit on board lacked any supplies for gunshot wounds, and had rudimentary packs for stopping blood loss. Jerry rested against the passenger seats, paler than any person had a right to be. Cameron ran back and forth between the cockpit and the cabin, making sure the autopilot had maintained course. Several systems were damaged during the attack on
Imperion One
, and Cameron had to scramble to keep things moving.

             
Blue light filtered in through the small round windows along the port and starboard sides, the shadows constantly moving along the walls. Cameron fell into a seat, sweat dripping down his face. H
e’
d shut down most of the automatic programs including the temperature and lighting, trying anything to maintain a steady flow of power to the engines. So far it worked, but the transport had become a sauna.

             
Adeline had long before ripped her jacket into strips for bandages. Sweat made her white blouse cling to her small frame. The shock had started to wear off, and the aide was quickly making herself useful as a medic. While Cameron kept the shuttle flying, she worked at keeping Jerry alive.

             
“Yo
u’
re doing great, kids
,”
Jerry said. His voice came out weak, almost a whisper. He coughed, softly at first then growing into a series of body racking hacks that left him hunched over.

             
Cameron dropped to his knees, wetting the sleeve from his jacket and pressing it against the Chief of Staf
f’
s forehead. He helped the old man lean back, wiping the blood and spit from his chin
.“
Does
n’
t feel like it
.
”

             
“Arthur did
n’
t plan on anyone walking away from that one. W
e’
ll have the element of surprise on our side
.
”

             
Cameron smiled, shaking his head
.“
And what good will that do? The senior members of the Council were all aboard that ship
.”
He lifted a small cup so Jerry could drink some water
.“
Wh
o’
s going to believe us anyways
?
”

             
Jerry nodded appreciatively, liquid spilling from the corner of his mouth and down his blood-stained collar
.“
I
t’
s about saying the right words to the right people
.”
He shifted, making an awful face as pain wrenched his gut
.“I’
m going to tell you something
I’
m sure you already knew. The Council was never the real seat of power in the Universe
.
”

             
“Yeah, the
y’
re just one part of the governing Pillars
.”
Cameron struggled to remember what h
e’
d been taught years ago in high school, but found it hard to focus
.“
The Mayors of each city work with the Governors, who elect the continental Presidents. The Presidents report to the Planetary Ambassador and their local Council
.
”

             
“And all of that is under the Colonial Delegation
,”
Jerry said with a weak smile. It was nice to die knowing there were still educated members of society out there
.“
But all of that is only half the story. Yo
u’
re too young to remember the New Eden Secession, but it was one of a series of fights regarding the unification of mankind under one flag. The rights of many being controlled by the few never sat well with those who called themselves th
e‘
many
.’
Ever since Norton died, i
t’
s been a never-ending struggle. Years of constant, unending conflict take their toll. When I was a younger boy, I had to learn six different anthems to sing at the beginning of each assembly.

             
“It took a long time, but eventually I think the leaders of the free worlds grew tired of looking over their shoulders, waiting for the next shoe to drop. They banded together about a hundred years ago, forming out of necessity a secretive group of men and women with one ultimate goal: To maintain peace and order in the universe. There first member was a man named Calvin McMallen
.
”

             
“Tha
t’
s the guy who started the Division, right
?”
Cameron was happy to have remembered anything useful from his history class
.“
Held in a Legion POW camp for sixty years before starting the rebellion against the Empire
.
”

             
“And he paid for it with his life, but not before starting up a second movement. Most of his recruits were the same people h
e’
d been with for the past half-century. They called themselves the Foundation
.
”

             
Adeline laughed. Her lips were cracked and dry from the warm recycled air, and a sheen of sweat reflected light off her forehead
.“
Jerry,
I’
ve worked with you for over a year. Yo
u’
re telling me yo
u’
re a closet conspiracy theorist
?
”

             
“Let me finish
,”
he snapped
.“
This is
n’
t some group of robe-wearing cultists making sweeping changes in the background. This was a cabal of advisors, scientists and doctors all working together to devise a system in which the human race could survive the great divide of space. They were
n’
t looking to rule the galaxy, just make sure it did
n’
t fall apart on them. And so, at the end of the Empirical War, they put into place a framework for the government you see today. All the wars fought and won by countries and planets around the known universe were all a part of bringing this dream to fruition
.
”

             
Now that he realized Jerry was serious, Cameron began to worry. It was more than just a tough pill to swallow. He shook his head
.“
But not all of those wars went right. The Empirical War may have pushed us along the right path, but what about the Emigration War? Or the Tokyo Revolution? Or Mars
?
”

             
“Mars was
n’
t the first hitch, just the most visible. The first members of the Foundation began to die off, and those who replaced them did
n’
t see the dream with the same eyes. Each person had been carefully selected, but there was always a chance for a wild card. In this case, that card was a man known as Zacharia. He opposed the concept of remaining the hand behind the curtain. Part of being a secret organization meant no recognition for great deeds, and no compensation either. The Foundation was funded by a careful application of personal funds and skimming from government coffers, but it was still in a constant state of financial demise. Zacharia had plans to change that.

             
“First, he began bringing in more and more outsiders. He built relationships with politicians of United Earth. Over the course of a decade, Zacharia orchestrated coups in over a dozen different countries. Kingdoms fell to bring him more and more power, until he had created a nation of his own design. And when he needed a distraction to hide a few trillion credits moving from one bank account to another, that nation rattled its sabers and started a shoving match
.
”

             
A tone sounded from the system alert box. Without looking, Cameron reached over his head and shut off the alarm
.“
How do you know all of this
?
”

             
“My father was a doctor with the Foundation, one of the replacements brought in after a founder had passed
.
”

             
“I ca
n’
t believe this
,”
Adeline said.

             
Jerry sighed, his breath devolving into a fit of coughing
.“
I did
n’
t either, when my father first told me. It seems unreal, but then the pieces fall into place
.
”

             
The aide stood, holding onto the bulkhead for support
.“
So all this time, what were you doing working for Alexander
?
”

             
“Adeline, let him speak
.”
Cameron gestured for her to sit.             

             
“No, this is crazy. Cameron, are you buying this? Seriously
?
”

             
The pilot rolled his eyes and stood. He took Adeline by the arm and drew her into the cockpit
.“
Listen to me. Jerr
y’
s not doing well. Do you see the black stuff on his bandages? Tha
t’
s bile from his liver. If we do
n’
t get him help immediately, h
e’
s going to die
.”
He held her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes
.“
Do you really want to be interrogating him right now
?
”

             
Adeline softened, her lower lip trembling
.“
No
.”
She struggled against a shiver climbing up her spine
.“
I do
n’
t want to die either, Cameron.
I’
m not ready for that
.
”

             
Cameron nodded
.“
Why do
n’
t you stay up here for a bit. Watch the console and let me know if a message comes though. Is that okay
?
”

             
She smiled, slipping into the pilo
t’
s seat
.“
I can do that
.
”

             
Cameron squeezed her hand and walked back to the cabin, sliding down next to Jerry. He took a sip of water from a bottle on the ground, savoring the feeling on his dry throat. The air had become almost painfully arid
.“
Alright, Jerry. Answer me this. If the Foundation had all this power and control, how did Zacharia hide what he was building
?
”

             
Jerry took in a deep breath, releasing it through gritted teeth
.“
He took his nation to Mars. Started a series of unions to keep his actions hidden behind legitimate businesses
.
”

             
“Miners
,”
Cameron said.

             
The Chief of Staff nodded
.“
Miners, steelworkers, pipe-fitters, electricians and every other blue collar on that planet. Zachari
a’
s nation had its own infrastructure, a strong economy and, most importantly, an army to defend it all. Mars became self sufficient almost overnight. Where the Foundation had pushed terraforming for the red planet, Zacharia drove the citizens into underground dormitories that blossomed into the thriving subterranean megapolis existing today. Burto
n’
s project was the fastest success story any of the Foundation members had seen
.
”