When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (90 page)

             
“Well look at that
,”
he said to Adeline
.“
They laid out
all
the foam
.
”

-                           
XVII                            -

              Looking up, Josh was amazed he could still see the entrance the
y’
d use hundreds of feet overhead. It seemed liked ages ago that the
y’
d climbed into the mammoth carrier, lugging nothing but a da
y’
s gear and a bomb. His shoulders had ached for a moment, but the nanomachines dispensed some manner of pain reliever almost instantly. That was a blessing, as Josh was sure they had a long way to go.

             
He led the fire team, with Alexa and Cho behind him. Liane, back in an overwatch position, tracked their every move through her scope. Dax served as her security. H
e’
d laid down several mines at key entrances to the small alcove two stories above the ground. If discovered, they would take the long way down rather than fight through the enemy. Fares and Pierre picked their way through the debris field, rifles snapping to every sound. Save the birds flying around the central spire, they had seen no other life inside the hive.

             
“Entrance to lower levels is about two hundred meters to your front
,”
Liane said over the comms
.“
This is your best shot. Make it count
.
”

             
“Appreciated
,”
Josh said. He looked over at Pierre, at the strange box on the ma
n’
s back.

             
Their payload was a suitcase-sized Thermobaric Reducer Device. Another of Marko
v’
s experimental tech, the TR
D—
which Cho had tried to nicknam
e“
the Tur
d
”
—
could shatter the infrastructure of the alien carrier, bringing it crashing down on itself. Josh was sure the bomb would work, he just did
n’
t want to be around when it activated.

             
They reached the hole a moment later. One of the PAC rounds had torn clean through the ship, from bow to stern. Surprisingly, no fires remained lit from the impact. Markov, in his briefing, had warned that they might encounter a raging inferno inside the carrier. Then again, h
e’
d also told them to expect heavy resistance. Josh took in a deep breath, wrinkling his nose at the smell. The helmet filtered the air inside the carrier, but it could do nothing for the stench of burnt metal and chemicals left from the orbital strike. He stepped around a shimmer puddle of bubbling liquid, fighting the urge to gag.

             
Fares hopped down inside, followed by Pierre a second later. They disappeared into the shadows while the rest of the team watched. Jos
h’
s throat tightened, but he forced himself not to call out. He looked up at Dax and Liane in the overwatch position. With his finger, he motioned in a circle over his head.

             
“W
e’
ve got you marked
,”
Dax said.

             
Josh gave a two-finger salute and rejoined his fire team.

             
“LT
,”
Cho said
.“
You got a minute
?
”

             
Josh leaned over the hole, shining his light down inside. It appeared to be a storage area, with long containers stacked against the walls
.“
Just hanging here. Wha
t’
s up
?
”

             
“Do you find it odd that ther
e’
s only animals aboard? Aside from that gull, this place is a ghost town
.
”

             
“And tha
t’
s a bad thing
?”
Josh switched arms, shaking his wrist until the feeling returned
.“
Sasha thought most of the crew would go out to fight
.
”

             
“Leaving no one to start repairs
?
”

             
Josh had to admit, it was more than a little odd. Since entering through the hole in the roof, they had
n’
t seen a single living enemy. There was the odd corpse, usually too mangled and burnt to even recognize, but no living resistance. But the carrier was massive. It would be impossible to maintain it, even without the two giant craters dug down to the core. Terran carriers had staff numbering in the thousands, not counting marines and pilots. The more he thought about it, the more it irked him.              

             
“Fares
?
”

             
“Yes, sir
.
”

             
Josh began to lower himself to the next level, letting out a breath through clenched teeth
.“
Ho
w’
s it look in there
?
”

             
“Dark
.
”

             
He paused at a cross beam, checking up above for his two team members
.“
Think maybe you could speed that whole thing along? We need to find these engines soon
.
”

             
“Not really
.
”

             
Josh had to bite his tongue not to swear
.“
You realize I outrank you, right
?
”

             
The rifleman sounded harried
.“
Can you please get over here
?
”

             
Something in the soldie
r’
s tone put Josh on edge
.“
What is it
?
”

             
“We found the crew
.
”

-                           
XVIII                            -

              Apparently the landing gear had essentially come undone halfway through the flight. Not that it mattered much; they were going way too fast for any safe stop. After the crash, Cameron had to dig his way out of the foam by hand, emerging to a crowd of cheering pilots and mechanics. Holding the door frame, Cameron waved over a medical crew and ushered them inside. H
e’
d covered Jerr
y’
s body with the remains of his dress coat. The
y’
d only shared a day together, but the old ma
n’
s words echoed in Ca
m’
s head. The galaxy was definitely a lesser place without men like that.

             
The young pilot stepped out to resounding applause. A small part of his brain laughed.
Par for the day
. But he did
n’
t feel his usual mirth. All the fun seemed to have been sucked out the room, at least for him. Then a familiar face appeared, gold eyes filled with tears. Cameron stumbled forward as Kaileen ran into his arms, squeezing him until he thought sh
e’
d break a rib. He held her tight, breathing in the scent of her hair, the lilacs mixed with gear exchange fluid. They stood at the center of attention, oblivious to the world around them. After a few minutes Kaileen pulled back, grinning like mad with dried tears down her cheeks.

             
“God, I missed your dumb face
.
”

             
Cameron kissed her, drawing her close. Behind him, paramedics pulled Jerry from the shuttle and placed his body on a gurney. Adeline stayed close to her former boss, her eyes red and puffy. A severe-looking woman in a black suit approached carrying a hand scanner. A badge on her shirt identified her as a Department of the Treasury member. The woman placed the device on the Chief of Staf
f’
s arm, holding it over his wrist until a light flashed.              

             
“Confirmed
,”
she said into a small radio. The medics pushed the body away.

             
Captain Donovan approached, followed by the commander of Primus, Admiral Fawks
.“
Lieutenant Davis
.
”

             
Cameron broke his embrace to salute. He looked a sight, with his stubble, torn and bloody uniform and a fresh lump on his head. At least Admiral Fawks was breaking regs with his beard; it made the young pilot feel less self-conscious
.“
Captain. Admiral. Good to have my feet on the ground
.
”             

             
The Admiral spoke first
.“
The FAID is going to need to debrief you. Anything you can recall from the attacks will be helpful. Then w
e’
ll need you back in a ship
.
”

             
“Yes, sir
.”
Cameron was
n’
t sure how he was going to handle that particular can of worms. H
e’
d been debating the pros and cons of revealing the Nangolani deception, but then Jerry had gone and dropped all sorts of problems on his lap as well. H
e’
d leave that for another panic-riddled moment.

             
Fawks eyed the pilot. The Admiral was a much older man, a veteran of the colonization wars. H
e’
d made his stars during the Martian conflict, assuming command of a station only when it seemed there were no more enemies that needed killing. It had inadvertently put him in prime position to oversee the defense of New Eden. Granted, official control of the offensive went to Commodore Osaka on
Midway
, but rank and regional authority still gave the old man the advantage. And, compared to the supercarrier, he still had more ships to field.             

             
“You have a knack for escaping death, Lieutenant. I wish I had another hundred pilots like you
.
”

             
Cameron smiled
.“
I
t’
d be too demoralizing to the enemy to fight such attractive soldiers, sir
.
”

             
“Pardon
?
”

             
“It was...I mean, I was saying that they would
n’
t want to...It was a joke, sir
.”
Ca
m’
s smirk faded
.“
Sorry, sir
.
”

             
Captain Donovan broke in
.“
Yo
u’
ve arrived at an opportune time, Davis. The Boxti are controlling the tempo planetside. We can hold our own out here,  but they have maneuverability unlike anything we believed physically possible in atmo
.
”

             
“Like what, sir
?
”

             
Admiral Fawks scoffed
.“
The usual UFO nonsense, only now i
t’
s real. Stopping on a dime, rapid acceleration from standstill. The
y’
re making us look like amateurs. We need to hit them hard and fast. Our Sparrows seemed the better match at low altitude, but only when we have numbers on our side
.
”             

             
Captain Donovan put a wrinkled hand on Camero
n’
s shoulder
.“
W
e’
ll be giving you a full flight to run, Torch group. The
y’
re young, but all have experience fighting around the Belt
.”
He meant the Asteroid Belt in Sol. Raiders often attacked mining groups there for a quick buck. Minerals and metals fetched a decent price on the black market. SP usually handled those missions.

             
Cameron did
n’
t know how to process all the information. He held up his hands
.“
Sirs.
I’
m sorry, I just need a minute to catch my breath.
I’
m just a lieutenant.
I’
m fine taking an Ace position, even running a squadron again. Besides,
I’
m attached to
Midway
until given new orders
.”
He shared a look of exhaustion with Kaileen
.“
And a full flight seems a bit over my pay grade. Sirs
.
”