When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (111 page)

             
Zev stood carefully, waving his arms to keep balance
.“
Sir, w
e’
re not leaving you
.
”

             
“Yes you are
,”
Gabriel said.

             
“W
e’
ll drop a rope from the shuttle
.
”

             
The officer winced as the rooftop buckled under his weight
.“
No time
.
”

             
As Ze
v’
s mind raced, the Loki spun around to his side. It would be a small jump, but he could make it into the bay. The other soldier had already charged forward, leaping into the waiting arms of his friends. Now it was just the platoon sergeant and platoon leader left. The NC
O’
s eyes searched the area for something, anything that could help. They fell on a small box by the broken roof access. Zev ran over, ripping the container open and pulling a length of fire hose loose. He jogged to the edge of the building, throwing one end of the line to Tim and tying the other to his waist. The civilian nodded and looked for a place to tie the tether down.

             
“Sir
,”
Zev shouted
.“
When I say let go, you let go
.
”

             
Gabriel looked down into the swirling tongues of fire
.“
Sure, no problem
.
”

             
Zev  motioned for the transport to lift on and began to count. The coil of fire hose spiraled up into the sky, shortening the line each second. He had to nail his timing, otherwise he could miss the lieutenant entirely, or spill them both into the burning maw below. When his instinct said to jump, Zev launched himself out and away from the roof. The line caught and swung him around toward the quickly dissolving building. He threaded the needle, careening between the two halves of the radio station with a foot to spare. Office furniture and kitchen supplies tumbled from each side into the lava pit. Zev howled.

             
“NOW
!
”

             
Gabriel released his grip and tumbled down toward the fiery lake. He kept his eyes open, gritting his teeth against the coming pain. Something slammed into his stomach and drove his breath away. The heat was incredible, like being in an oven. And then suddenly it was cool. The officer looked up and saw he was flying, held in the arms of his platoon sergeant as the Loki roared away from the destroyed city. As he looked on, the radio station collapsed completely into the lava.

             
The crew of the transport pulled the two men inside amidst cheers and applause. They closed the ramp and told the pilot to punch it. With a jarring burst, the transport soared higher and further away from the chaos below.

             
Gabriel lay against the wall, sweat pouring from his face. Zev stayed on the ground to catch his breath.

             
“I gave you an order
,”
Gabriel said with a grin.

             
Zev smiled back
.“
Yeah,
I’
ve never been good with authority
.
”

-                           
XVIII                            -

              “Cameron, we need some help here
.”
Kaileen blew a strand of hair from her face, clenching her jaw as the Valkyrie dodged another geyser of liquid-rock. The battlefield had dissolved in front of their eyes, bubbling into a magma pit in minutes. Alarms sounded in a deafening chorus with the cracks and groans of the dying planet. The Archangels held on to the walls as each turn threw them to one side or the other.

             
All the other pilots were dead, killed during the intense light show. Now the only thing between the large Y-Fighter and its target was Cameron. In his Phoenix, the pilot wiped at his sweaty face with a shaking hand. The heat was playing havoc with his flight physics, tossing him about and frying his sensors. It was all he could do to keep up. A blast from the alien clipped one of the Valkyri
e’
s engines, and Cameron swore.

             
“Come on, you fucker
!”
He squeezed the trigger, sending more rounds into the heavy shields. They could
n’
t penetrate
.“
Goddammit! Kail, his shields are too strong
.
”

             
“Then use missiles
.
”

             
Cameron tried to slow his breathing, but he was panicked. Most of his wing was dead, this world was dying, and he had only a few rounds left
.“I’
m out. Hit your afterburners and head for the atmosphere
.
”

             
“W
e’
ll be sitting ducks
.”
A volley nearly gutted the shuttle, and Kaileen swore
.“
Cameron, I trust you. I know you can do this
.
”

             
The Boxti Ace closed in, engines thrumming as it matched speed with the damaged Valkyrie. It held fire, waiting until it knew it had the kill shot. Cameron imagined he could see the pilot sitting behind the black glass canopy. He could feel it guide the Y-Fighter into position, hear the lock-on tone from the firing system. It would all be over soon.

             
Fuck me, why is
n’
t this working?
He looked at his console, trying to will it to provide a solution.
This is the same ship from Tallus, and I could knock them out then.
And the thought came. This was the same Ace from Tallus. The one that had killed George and routed the Terran defense. It knew his capabilities.
It changed its shields. Did
n’
t spread the word for the rest of them, just his ship
. Camero
n’
s mind tore the information apart, trying to find something useful inside.
Christ, George. I need some help.

             
The Valkyrie ignited afterburners, tearing through the sky like a bullet with the Ace gaining fast. Kaileen could feel the temperature dip as they neared the atmosphere. Pressure alarms sang constantly; they would be lucky to hold together in the vacuum. The Archangels put on their suits and powered up, each wondering if this was how their strange journey would end.

             
Cameron coaxed more speed from his fighter, shouting at it t
o“
give him more
.”
The metal groaned in protest as the wind pounded against each side. Slowly, inches at a time, the Phoenix slipped up next to the Ace. His heart pounding like a drum, Cameron could
n’
t help but smile. George had given him an idea.
Just give her a little kiss
. With a thundering crunch, he slammed the nose of his fighter into the back of the Boxti Ace. The two ships wobbled mid-air, unable to maintain a course. For a moment, the Y-Fighter began to pull away. Then Cameron opened up with his remaining ammunition. The barrels were inside the alie
n’
s shields and sent each round into the enemy. The Boxti Ace, crippled and burning, slipped off the Phoeni
x’
s front slope and fell down toward the fiery surface.

             
“YES
!”
Cameron shouted. He could hear Kaileen and the soldiers on the shuttle cheering as they broke into the upper atmosphere. His radar showed a relatively clear sky and a straight shot toward friendly lines
.“
Kail, head to
Midway
. I
t’
s the shortest hop
.
”

             
“Yes, sir
,”
she replied.

             
Cameron rested his head back in his seat. It was as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. He could breath again
.“
Midway
, this is Torch one. On approach with friendly wounded. Request landing clearance
.
”

             
The operator aboard the supercruiser sounded distant. Cameron could
n’
t blame him.

             
“Torch, you are cleared for hangar two. Welcome home
.
”

             
They ran full steam until the Terran flagship dominated their view. Even this close, with the pride of Fleet in front of them, the alien juggernaut presented a disturbing background. Cameron closed his eyes, his thoughts drifting back to his fallen friend. He could still remember Georg
e’
s words that first day, as though it had happened only hours ago. This truly was a new beginning. Cameron just prayed it was
n’
t the beginning of the end.

-                           
XIX                            -

              It started slow, but soon the faults spread. Chasms formed across the surface of the planet, dropping cities into the fiery river below. Bubbling hot rock spilled out of every orifice and ran down the sides of mountains. Rivers boiled away and the ground liquefied. Hundreds of Arks launched, trying to save as many lives as possible. Most never made it off the ground.

             
New Berlin collapsed in on itself, burying over three million civilians under piles of concrete and glass. Those who managed to weather the storm had nowhere to run when the fires came. Without a core, the mantle and crust collapsed inward. Magma liquified the layers of dirt, and the surface of New Eden warped and bowed. Sections of earth sank into the bubbling red rock. When the center finally imploded, the force cracked the planet into several pieces and pushed them out into space.

             
Fleet Valkyrie wings braved the fires, flying down to what stable ground remained to pick up survivors. Around the world, hundreds of pilots risked their lives to save anyone they could. There were
n’
t many to find.  The entirety of New Eden seemed to be undoing itself like a colossal origami puzzle. As the atmosphere burned away, the last human presence on the jewel of Eros died. With the damage done,
Gehnom
shut down its weapon and began to make its exit.

             
Through it all, the humans watched. They saw the true power of the Boxti, and for the first time in their history they could contemplate the end of everything. The aliens did
n’
t press the attack. There was no need. The fighting spirit of the Terrans seemed sufficiently crushed. 

-                           
XX                            -

              Alexande
r’
s face was drained of all color. He looked out the window into the driving rain, his breath labored. What did it matter who ran the Terran people? Pretty soon there would
n’
t be any left to govern. Jonah had been right. As much as it pained him to admit, the rebel knew what was coming and what had to be done. If that ship found its way to New Eden, it was only a matter of time before it traced its way back to Earth. And then there would be no hope. Then there would be nothing.

             
Stop thinking like a politician
, he thought.
Think like a surgeon.
To save the body, he would have to lose the limb.

             
He could
n’
t bring himself to say it, so he wrote the letters down on a piece of paper and slid it across the desk. He walked away so he would
n’
t have to hear the words spoken, so he could pretend for just a few moments that he had
n’
t condemned even more to die. Alexander told himself that this was the only way, that humanity had to be secured before it could be preserved. Only a year before, humanity had reached a landmark population. Thirty billion men, women and children populated four systems and over a dozen moons and planets. Now that number had dropped by almost a third. Who could blame Alexander for wanting to save what was left.

             
But no matter how he worded it, he knew the truth. There was no darker hell than the one reserved for Alexander Burton, because he had built it with his own sins.

             
“Thank you
,”
Jonah said after hanging up the phone
.“
That may have been your last good deed as High Chancellor
.”
He snapped his fingers and soldiers appeared from the shadows to remove the prisoner to his cell.