When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (87 page)

             
At this Jerry sighed and closed his eyes
.“
It was a loss for Zacharia, not that he lived to see it. Days after turning Mars into the very antithesis of the Foundatio
n’
s manifesto, a sniper gunned him down. His son was in kindergarten at the time, and in his grief he ran away. Fate found him years later inside a mine, working in a union for pocket change. Someone else found him, as well
.
”

             
Cameron checked the monitor. They would break through to civilized space soon enough. He prayed Jerry could hold on that long
.“
Who found him
?
”

             
Jerr
y’
s bloodshot eyes opened
.“
A young revolutionary with a shattered leg and silver tongue. The man who became the face of the failed rebellion
.”
He leaned forward, wheezing
.“
The man now called Jonah Blightman
.
”

*              *              *              *              *

              “Rook takes bishop
.”
Jonah moved the ebony pillar across the board, sliding into place where the white piece once stood. He placed the taken figure on the side of the table next to the others. The field looked evenly matched, with an equal number of colors killed off. Alexander sat in his chair rubbing his stubbled chin. The
y’
d been at it for over an hour, taking their time with each carefully thought out attack.

             
The High Chancellor took a sip from a tumbler of scotch, savoring the smooth spirit
.“
Always so aggressive. Yo
u’
re opening yourself to attack
.”
He leaned forward, sliding an ornate statue of a horse and rider
.“
Check
.
”

             
Jonah smiled
.“
I forgot how much fun this was. Do you remember the old set
?
”

             
“You made it yourself
,”
Alexander said, the memory still bringing a feeling of warmth
.“
And I stole you the pieces
.
”

             
“Paper. You stole paper. You were never very good at playing the bad boy
.”
He relaxed in his chair, planning the next move
.“I’
m going to kill you
.
”

             
“I know.
I’
ve known you would for a while
.”
Alexander sipped from his cup
.“I’
m surprised you have
n’
t taken a shot at me before, but I guess you had your reasons
.”
He sighed
.“
Honestly, I do
n’
t know how much longer I could have gone on anyway
.”
He chuckled
.“
Never was made to be a politician
.
”

             
The rebel nodded, drinking from his own glass
.“
So who blew up your ship
?
”

             
Alexander shrugged
.“
It was the Nangolani. Anduin used it as a way to provoke our action against the Boxti. I imagine i
t’
s working like a charm
.
”

             
“The battle on New Eden is already lost. From what my men tell me, the southern portion of the planet is in the hands of the enemy. General Casey is missing or dead. A pity.
I’
ll have to finish your war after I take over
.
”

             
The High Chancellor scowled
.“
How will you fight them? The Fleet and the Military will follow the Council
.
”

             
“What Council
?”
Jonah asked
.“
The only members not aboard the
Imperion
are too weak to take control. The
y’
ll follow anyone who sounds like an authority figure. And why would they risk taking on another enemy now
?”
He downed his scotch in one gulp
.“
W
e’
ll destroy the relays. Shut down all nodes between here and Eros
.
”             

             
“And condemn billions to death
?
”

             
Jonah slammed his fist on the table
.“
Sacrifices must be made, Alexander. You above all else should understand that. You used to know what it took to be a leader. What it meant to make hard choices for the good of the cause
.
”

             
Alexander shook his head
.“
You sound like my father. What good did all his preaching abou
t‘
the caus
e’
do for him
?”
He ran a hand over his face
.“
Damn it, Jonah. I made my decision because I saw where the rebellion was headed
.
”

             
“The revolution
.
”

             
“No
,”
Alexander said
.“
It was a power play. We wanted rights and we got them. Then we got greedy. People were dying in the streets because our leaders would
n’
t accept that the
y’
d won what we set out for
.”
He folded his arms, staring out the window into the gloomy night
.“
Ten years of bloodshed, and for what? Mars was worse after we were done, not better
.
”

             
Jonah bared his teeth
.“
You never believed in us. You were a coward and jumped at the chance to be the Counci
l’
s pet. They made you a hero, paved your way to the throne so yo
u’
d sell out everything w
e’
d tried to build. You walked over the corpses of your own brothers and sisters because you were too scared to stay the course
.
”

             
“Whose course? Not ours. It was your recklessness. You and that old man you loved so much. So now yo
u’
re going to kill me. Execute the leader of the free worlds so you can prove...what? That the Hammer was right all along? That Mars was about more than just greed and the hunger for power
?”
He crossed his arms
.“
You never learn, Jonah. We were pawns back then. Cannon fodder used to prove a point to the rest of the galaxy. You saw how quickly they dropped their righteous act once the carriers appeared in the skies. Then it was all about who could surrender the fastest
.
”

             
Jonah had no answer. He peered down at the chess set, reaching out and sliding his king forward a space
.“
Your move
.
”

-                           
XV                            -

             
Gehnom
moved slowly through the immense blue tunnel, creeping closer and closer to Eros. Its massive engines churned. Weapon systems sat cold, unused for centuries. Thousands of life forms scurried about the various corridors, working to bring the ship back to operation. Had it belonged to any race other than the Boxti, the juggernaut could have been a symbol of unity. Over two hundred different species and races lived and worked aboard the monstrous craft, each toiling to make the death bringer operational.

             
Inside the command center, a Boxti paced. He wore a simple suit, with golden plates and a fine purple chain-link coverall. A gilded headdress sat on top of his wedge-shaped head. As he walked from one end of the bridge to the other, his thick carapace clicked and clacked. On his back sat a monstrous creature: a Badj-Druuma, the elder Parasite. Save the Clerics and Acolytes, the M
a’
Arak of the Boxti was the highest-ranked member of the Horde. The term mean
t“
Harbinger
,”
as the sight of the high commander was often the beginning of the end.

             
Vanwa the M
a’
Ara
k’
s rise to power had been slow and painful, and the honor of his position bought in blood. Like all those born away from the Homeworld, he had been treated with disdain. In the caste system of the conquering race, natives of Boxt held preference. They could easily join the Acolyte Order or the undefeated Dread Knights, and even request an audience with the Enclave. Those born off-world were considered somehow weaker, and were forced to serve thei
r“
betters
.”
To rise in ranks required great sacrifice, which Vanwa had done eagerly. His ambition had been rewarded by the highest Clerics, and now he was the vessel through which the Great Conquest would be won.

             
He oversaw the grandest ship in the Boxti fleet, an honor which would bring pride to a less devout member of the Horde. His connection to the King was the strongest of any warrior in the armada. Even though he commanded only one vessel, the officer was revered. It did
n’
t hurt that he was an accomplished warrior. Vanw
a’
s exploits against long-dead civilizations were repeated in hushed tones across the galaxy. All twenty-feet of him bore scars from countless battles: pits and cracks and jagged fractures in his dark brown chitin, and an a hole where once had been an eye.

             
Various pillars of swirling particles rose from the floor at each station on the bridge. These control nodes allowed the technicians that ran them to completely interface with the master control system of the ship. In effect, they became an extension of the juggernaut. Operating i
n“
the vapor
,”
the Boxti could react in a fraction of the time of their enemy. Not that the crew needed many advantages.
Gehnom
had been constructed as a weapon of unmatched defense as well as offense. Its armor placed standoff at seven meters in the thinnest joint. Nothing short of a thermonuclear penetrator would even leave a mark.

             
Vanwa took his position at the center of the chamber, sinking into a specially designed pool. The original commander had been a Dlakan, a water-based species with frog-like faces and flabby-skinned bodies. Boxt had little liquid to speak of, and Vanwa found the sensation of submersion deeply relaxing. With the surface just under his mouth, Vanwa meditated and waited for arrival.

             
Their journey was almost complete. As
Gehnom
had been built long before the perfection of Blue technology, it took nearly ten times as long to cross through the void as modern-day ships. In a few hours they would breach real space near the Human planet. Orders from the King Himself ordered the use of the weapon on New Eden as a demonstration of power. It was
n’
t a decision made lightly, but these creatures continued to attack without provocation. That the juggernaut had been roused from the Wastes made it clear to the Horde that this war should not be taken lightly. In its life, the immense ship had been used only once to pacify a particularly invasive species.

             
Like the humans, the monsters attacked one of the vanguards without cause. The bipedal beasts had been quite advanced, and their guerrilla tactics killed thousands upon thousands of Ruall. After years of war and negotiations, the Boxti had been forced to awaken their slumbering giant. Vanwa had never even thought to question the order. With a few simple commands and the aid of his crew,
Gehnom
erased a planet from existence. The commander remembered with some discomfort the violent shaking as the gravitational forces of the planet tore the world asunder. Though he was a true believer in the Grol
l‘
Nhaja, it had still been a heavy burden to bare.

             
He struggled to remember the name of the unfortunate rock. It had been so long ago, and even as a Ruall the Badj-Druuma did not allow him to replenish the damaged cells in his brain. As he reminisced, Kruchat djun Fala approached. The Chtanul was Vanw
a’
s second-in-command, though merely a servant of the Horde and not yet a full member of the race. She did not know, but the honor of Ruall had been selected for her many years before. Vanwa kept delaying the ceremony as he felt the underling still held back feelings for her conquered race.