When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (73 page)

             
“Yo
u’
re just mad because you lost to a girl
,”
Liane shot back. She had nearly taken his head off with a perfect cross strike, and it did
n’
t look like she would let that go easily. Fares clapped her on the shoulder and smiled.

             
“You have the rest of the day to practice. There will be no more formal training until PT tomorrow morning
.”
Sasha turned to Josh and grinned
.“
The
y’
re all yours, sir
.”
He saluted and started back toward the facility.

             
Winter was ebbing, or at least tha
t’
s what the members of the scientific team were saying. It was hard to believe as the temperature only wanted to dip lower and lower, below twenty most mornings. The soldiers huddled together for warmth, blowing into their frozen hands to generate the smallest amount of heat. Dax wore his fleece jacket over his training uniform and still shivered, each shaky breath frosting in front of his face. He jogged over to his friend, his face red from the cold.

             
“I
t’
s like you were born with one of those grafted to your arm
.
”

             
Josh laughed
.“
I do
n’
t know, i
t’
s just natural. Maybe I was a ninja in a past life
.”
He twirled the training blade around his wrist
.“
Joshua-san, the Jewish ninja warrior
.
”

             
“You were an idiot in a past life
,”
Alexa said, skipping over to join them
.“
Sir
.
”

             
Dax nudged Jos
h’
s shoulder. He motioned for him to follow and led his former squad members into the hall.

             
“What is it
?”
Josh asked.

             
Dax and Alexa snickered
.“
Trust us
,”
Alexa said
.“
Yo
u’
re going to want to be a part of this
.
”

*              *              *              *              *

              “Well that went well
,”
the Ambassador said. She had led the small parlay party back to a secluded tent in the forward operating base. Once security had been posted, the politician kicked off her shoes and collapsed onto a cot, staring up at the canvas ceiling. Sh
e’
d been silent the entire ride, immersed in her own thoughts.

             
On the other hand, Captain Grahams and General Casey had
n’
t stopped talking since the meeting ended with an ultimatum. They called the rest of the units, mustering in preparation for an attack. Grahams ordered every tank put into fighting pits, while General Casey warned Admiral Walker to prepare Fleet for battle. The pipe dream of ending this war amicably went up in flames, and the mood was sufficiently somber.

             
Zev rested against a support pole, chewing on his lower lip. H
e’
d thought the horrors of the quarantine zones had been bad enough, but nothing could have prepared him for what just happened. The human race was just given an expiration date.

             
“General
,”
Maria said
.“I’
m open to suggestions
.
”

             
General Casey had tried to argue with the alien warlord, but his words fell on deaf ears. After stating their case, the delegation of carnival horrors had left the humans alone in the tent
.“
We need to contact the High Chancellor and the Pillar leaders. Ground forces should prepare for movement within the week. I
t’
s time to wrap up our actions in the infected cities as well
.
”

             
“Sir
,”
Zev started
.“
We should evacuate civilians now, while i
t’
s quiet
.
”

             
General Casey shook his head
.“
When we tried that two weeks ago, the Boxti armada nearly started back up. They react to any movement with force
.
”

             
“We ca
n’
t do nothing, sir
.”
Captain Grahams stepped closer to the general
.“
There are billions of lives at stake here. We can at least prep the Arks for launch, have people warned about wha
t’
s coming
.
”

             
“I do
n’
t want to start a panic
.
”

             
“Trust me
,”
Maria said, sitting up
.“
People are already panicking
.”
She stood, pressing out wrinkles in her skirt
.“
They started when an alien race invaded the Sol System, kept it going while a sovereign colony burned to ashes, and reached a breaking point when the mighty Fleet could
n’
t stop a biological attack on their homes
.”
She stared down each military man in turn
.“
We need to think about the safety of our citizens right now, not their emotions. But I do agree that evacuation is too hasty, especially if it causes the Boxti to attack outright. We need to prepare for the worst, but remain hopeful
.
”

             
Zev turned to his commander
.“
Captain, what about Paradise Point? We were headed in today to pick up survivors
.
”

             
General Casey answered first
.“
The
y’
ll have to wait a little longer, sergeant
.
”

             
“The
y’
ve already been waiting for weeks
.
”

             
“And I sympathize
,”
Casey said
.“
But we have bigger fish right now. Captain, I need you to relay what yo
u’
ve seen with General Kerry on the front. Let him know what the stakes are.
I’
ll have orders out by the afternoon
.
”

             
Captain Grahams lingered a moment
.“
And if the Boxti attack first
?
”

             
“Then hold the line, Captain
.”
General Casey walked toward the exit, a new energy in his step
.“
Hold to the last breath
.
”

              *              *              *              *              *

              They walked through the winding corridors, taking turns seemingly at random until they ended up at a nondescript door in a dead end. No signs or symbols marked the room. The door did
n’
t even have a keycard lock.

             
“What is this
?”
Josh asked.

             
Alexa took his arm and pushed his hand against the door. She rubbed her fingers on the molded metal
.“
Feel it. I
t’
s warm. This is composite duranium polymate. Why the hell would you need CDP in a secret base
?
”

             
“CDP
?”
Josh racked his brain, trying to remember where h
e’
d heard the acronym before.

             
Alexa rolled her eyes
.“
You must have been asleep that class. CDP is the primary alloy used to protect the engine compartments on cruisers. A thin layer is added to the ballistic shielding for added protection
.
”

             
Josh rapped his knuckled against the door
.“
I
t’
s strong
?
”

             
“Nearly indestructible. It takes months to smelt and mold. If you have a thick enough patch, yo
u’
d need a PAC to bust through
.”
She leaned against the door, folding her arms across her chest
.“
Too bad i
t’
s more expensive than the ship it sits in. So I ask again, why use the most valuable metal in the galaxy for an unmarked door on a secret planet
?
”

             
Now Josh was excited
.“
Certainly deserves a little investigation. But we have no way to get access
.
”

             
Dax scoffed
.“
Come on, Josh. Yo
u’
re sounding like a shavetail
.”
He lifted up a plastic card about the size of a quarter
.“
Lifted it off Sergeant Otto during the lesson
.”
Save Markov, no one at the facility could pronounce SGT Otravlyatovic
h’
s name with any ease. Dax tossed the IDA to his lieutenant
.“
We figured you should do the honors
.
”

             
“And take the blame if we get in trouble
,”
Alexa added
.“
I ca
n’
t stress that enough
.
”

             
Josh rolled his eyes, but moved toward the door nonetheless. There was
n’
t a visible panel for the card. It was common to blend the tap pad into the nearby wall to serve as an additional security device, though it was more of a hindrance than a real block. Josh looked around for a raised surface, anything that stood out from the rest of the hall. Nothing seemed to jump out. All three soldiers felt along the panels, searching for a clue. Minutes passed with nothing to show when a cough caused them all to suddenly turn.

             
“Yo
u’
ll never find it like that
,”
a voice said. Dr. Markov stepped out from behind a column, smiling pleasantly. He still wore his white coat, the fabric neatly pressed
.“
I suppose it would
n’
t change your minds if I told you that room was strictly off limits to candidates, and most of the personnel on this planet
.”
He threaded his way through the speechless group, plucking the IDA from Jos
h’
s fingers. Without looking, Markov tapped the card against a random section of wall on the right side of the hall. The door unlocked with a series of metallic clicks and a long hiss. The doctor turned, his boyish grin easing the tension
.“
Well, are you coming
?
”

             
They descended a series of wide staircases, each lit by the barest amount of blue, bioluminescent moss. When the
y’
d first arrived on Omega th
e“
living light
s”
had seemed more gimmicky than amazing, but their usefulness could
n’
t be understated. They gave off no emissions, effectively hiding the electrical signature of secure corridors. After what had to have been at least forty feet below the surface, the group emerged into an immense and bright room.

             
A crew of at least thirty scientists busied themselves at stations around a central spire. Ground vehicles were retrofitted with thick slabs of armor and enormous cannons.  A Valkyrie, stripped down to the chassis, was slowly being rebuilt into some sort of monstrous utility transport. On the far side of the room, separated by walls and thick glass, a team fired a sleek and unknown rifle at a target. Josh could barely take it all in. He grabbed Da
x’
s arm, shaking with excitement.