When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (8 page)

             
At exactly 0550 Lunar Standard Time, something did.

*              *              *              *              *

              “Holy shit, what the hell is that
?
”

             
From the darker armada, a maelstrom of red energ
y—
plasma bolts and missiles from the various ship
s—
launched at the silvery craft. The dam burst, and the two formations exploded into attack. Silver craft roared at their enemies, firing salvos of green energy that blew holes clear through the ebony armor. The carriers and cruisers deployed countermeasures to disrupt the incoming fire, but the heavier slugs passed right through and shattered hulls. From the surface of Earth, the light show was visible even in the daytime sky.

             
“All stations this net, this is
Midway
. Hold fire, I say again, hold fire
.
”

             
Cameron looked down at his hands, surprised to find them shaking. He turned to his wingman but for once George was silent, staring open-mouthed at the spectacle. Cameron could
n’
t help but be drawn in by the surreal beauty of the battle. Silver craft exploded in a dazzling rainbow of colors, and black Y-shaped fighters spiraled and erupted, leaving glowing red nebulas in their wake.

             
“Can you track them? I ca
n’
t get an acquisition lock
.”
The voice came from another pilot in the SP line. Cameron realized he could
n’
t get a lock on signal from his passive radar. The system was designed to pick up on space debris, but seemed dumfounded by the new ships.

             
“What do you think, George
?
”

             
The pilot pulled his attention reluctantly from the battle
.“
Laser lock should work. We could try getting closer, but
I’
d rather not
.
”

             
“Afraid of a little action
,”
Cameron teased.

             
“Nah
,”
George said
.“
Just feeling particularly lazy at the moment. Let someone else draw the suicide detail
.
”

             
Cameron felt around his belt and located his good-luck charm. Regulations prohibited jewelry, but the small silver cross had more than religious value for the pilot and he loathed to be without it. Still, rather than risk strangulation, he had found a better place to stow it than around his neck.

             
“Wolf one,
Valley Forge
.
”

             
Cameron took a quick sip from the line before answering
.“
This is Wolf one, go ahead
.
”

             
The operator on the other end of the line spoke softly, almost anxiously
.“
FRAGO to follow. Standby for
Valley Forge
actual
.”
Camero
n’
s pulse quickened. Seconds passed while the radio transferred to DeHart. Fragmentation orders were usually passed out by communication officers, not commanders.

             
“Wolfpack,
Valley Forge
actual. You are ordered to close with unknown vessels in quadrant 41-32 and scan using active radar. Once a proper signal is acquired, you are to check for radio, laser and beam traffic in order to identify what net these ships are using for communication. You are to hold fire unless fired upon. Do you understand
?
”

             
Cameron could
n’
t answer for a moment
.“
Sir, you want us to paint unknown targets
?
”

             
“That is correct. Ensure all safeties are engaged before moving out
.
”

             
“Captain
,”
Cameron stammered
.“
Could
n’
t that trigger them to attack
?
”

             
DeHart mumbled something away from the mic. Cameron could swear he heard the phrase
dumb shit Sector flyboys
.
“
They have
n’
t so much as sniffed in our direction yet. No reason to suspect that they will now
.
”

             
“Unless we start bouncing target signals off their hulls. Sir
.
”

             
“Long-range sensors ca
n’
t get a strong enough signal. If we ca
n’
t target them, we ca
n’
t hit them. By sending a small squadron to investigate, we hope the
y’
ll realize it is
n’
t an attack
.
”

             
“Hope
?”
George said, incredulous
.“
Did he just say hope
?
”

             
Valley Forge
continued
.“
Your orders are clear. Brief your pilots and move.
Valley Forge
out
.
”

             
Cameron stared out his cockpit at the distant cruiser, absolutely dumfounded. That Fleet could so casually dispatch SP into a violent collision of unknown warships infuriated him. A Sparrow, piloted by a Fleet scout team, could get in and out without risking fire from the enemy. The Phoenix packed a punch, but the older second-series models were far less maneuverable than the new fighters. And given the acrobatics the unknown vessels seemed capable of, Cameron had every right to feel uneasy.

             
“Wolf Squadron, this is Wolf one
.”
Cameron cleared his throat, unhappy with the orders he was about to give out
.“
W
e’
re going to move in on the unidentified ships in quadrant 41. ROE has
n’
t changed, but we are going to paint them with active radar to determine if w
e’
re able to achieve target lock. Once you have acquisition, maintain line-of-sight and try to get some data for the ghosts in the fade
.”
He referred to the Fleet Analysis of Intelligence Division, known in the armed services as FAID, or colloquially as
the Fade
. The mystery of what went on in the myriad of onyx buildings around the galaxy led to many conspiracy theories and cheesy thrillers on the Net.

             
“W
e’
re dividing into Flights, so break into your fighting pairs. Wolf nine, yo
u’
re the odd man out, so yo
u’
re with George and me
.
”

             
“Devi
l’
s threesome
,”
George said
.“I’
m in, but my safe word i
s‘
doily
.
’”

-                           
IV                            -

              Aboard the supercruiser
Valley Forge
, Commander Sam DeHart paced the bridge. The size of a bedroom, the operation center of the half-mile long ship sat dead center and twenty feet below the top hull. When the first battle cruiser sailed from the International Orbital Ship Yard back in 2101, the bridge sat atop the vessel and gave the officers on the deck a magnificent view of the stars and any action that occurred on their plane of the battlefield. That design choice lasted until the first pebble smashed through the diamond windows, killing the command-and-control structure for the entire ship.

             
Subsequent models placed the bridge in a safe position, and numerous cameras fed live images to a wall of monitors all around the room. It made for a more impressive view, and a more dynamic one. At any moment, a direction could be called up and viewed with incredible detail, allowing for full 360-degree situational awareness. And, most important, the chain of command would be maintained unless an attack achieved a catastrophic kill.

             
Captain Fuller, the executive officer, stood near the battlefield projector marking positions on his personal tablet. Though DeHart had a mind for ship-on-ship warfare, Fulle
r’
s specialty remained the big picture. It would
n’
t be long before he commanded a ship of his ow
n—
in fact he could have had any vessel of Destroyer class or under already. Yet the allure and prestige of the Cruiser, the last true warship the Fleet possessed, called to him. DeHart would, in short order, fall into a promotion to Commodore, and he could either take a Carrier or a desk. Not that he felt there was much of a difference between the two.

             
“I
t’
s a dogfight so far
,”
Fuller said. He watched the graphical display more than the monitors around him. The computer used images from the various cameras to create a three-dimensional model of the battlefield. However, without proper tracking signatures, the smaller craft jumped around erratically whenever they moved beyond the camera
s’
line of sight. Fuller had placed a white board up next to the display and was taking notes on each ship type by hand
.“
These two frigates
,”
he pointed to two floating spheres
,“
seem to be air-denial. The
y’
re building a wall of shrapnel around that carrier
.
”

             
DeHart, from his chair above the main tier of the bridge, watched the action on the monitors
.“
Both sides have cruisers, why are
n’
t they engaging
?”
No one answered. DeHart often posed his thoughts aloud as a part of his mental process. It only took new crew members one time under the commande
r’
s withering stare to know when to respond and when to remain quiet
.“
It could be our presence is putting them in a defensive posture. They do
n’
t know which side w
e’
d come in on
.
”

             
“And if a round from a cruiser misses target and hits us, or one of the civilian stations..
.”
Fuller let the thought die in the air
.“
I
t’
s not a bad theory, Commander. It could be this is a new form of martial etiquette
.
”

             
The CO stared blankly at his second-in-command
.“
Are you saying this is a British line formation brought into space
?
”

             
Fuller laughed
.“
If
I’
m the only person thinking it, than lock me up. We do
n’
t have ships that use weapons anywhere near this design.
I’
m not familiar with all of the Cov
e’
s dirty little secrets, but I think
I’
d remember catching a glimpse of one of these being built at Colorum
.”
He pointed to the two unknown battle groups
.“
These are
n’
t humans, Sam. They do
n’
t have to think like we do, nor do they have to behave like w
e’
d want them to
.
”

             
DeHart bit his thumb. He did
n’
t want it said aloud. There was
n’
t any proof either way, but the evidence stood on its own legs at the moment. No ships like these existed anywhere in Terran space; Or, if they did, they were the best-kept secret in human history. But to take that leap, to say the wor
d“
alien
,”
it was too much.

             
“Commander, I recommend we pull SP back. If we get in the middle of their intergalactic barroom brawl, w
e’
re dragging ourselves into uncharted water. And it looks pretty deep from here on the shore
.
”