When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (23 page)

             
Admiral Walker had disappeared for ten minutes after receiving an urgent line from Terra Node. His face had been grim, a sign the High Chancellor found unnerving. As the tension finally reached a breaking point, he spoke. No one breathed until he was finished.

             
“
I’
ve just received an FTL signal from the TFF
Arlington
. Tallus strike group engaged a small scouting party of Boxti craft. It was summarily destroyed, with not a single enemy casualty to show
.”
The assembled staff murmured, confused
.“
After the fight, the Boxti launched a counterattack on Tallus.
Arlington
did
n’
t have numbers, but the report from Tallus Node was a little less than two dozen frigates and a carrier. That may seem like better odds than we faced here not three days ago, but somethin
g’
s changed.
Arlington
sent along the black boxes from several craft left over in the Valley of Giants. The news is...troubling.

             
“The Boxti fighters, as well as the frigate, were protected by some sort of shielding system, similar to our own kinetic barriers. It made them significantly harder to hurt. The strike group was able to track the enemy better than we were at Luna, but they did
n’
t achieve a single kill. As for weaponry, the aliens seem to have gotten some upgrades since we fought. Their cannons ripped through our ships rather efficiently
.”
Walker took a moment to wipe his face with his hands
.“
Honestly, High Chancellor,
I’
m without words. I
t’
s almost like w
e’
re facing an entirely different force than we did at Luna. They move differently, work differently, and certainly fight differently. Our pilots did
n’
t stand a chance, and they outnumbered the enemy four to one.

             
“The last word
Arlington
sent was a distress call from Tallus. Enemy frigates had appeared in orbit and started an aerial bombardment of the colony. That was an hour ago. Until we can reestablish communications with
Berlin
and her group,
I’
m recommending we seal Tallus off from the relay network
.
”

             
Alexander stood from his chair
.“
And leave survivors of the attack to die
?
”

             
“Sir, we need to think about the bigger picture. The Boxti were able to disrupt communications, which means they understand our relays. If they figure out how to reverse the transmission coordinates, the
y’
ll follow a buoy back here
.
”

             
“Were
n’
t they already outside
,”
Arthur piped up
.“
If they already have our coordinates, wha
t’
s the harm
?
”

             
Vice Admiral Winger, the New Eden Fleet Commander, stepped in
.“
All we know for sure about the force you engaged a month ago is limited to intel provided by the Nangolani. If their reports are accurate, this was a small group that chased them across the galaxy until they ended up here. I
t’
s entirely possible they do
n’
t have our coordinates, just piggybacked off the Grays
.
”

             
“And w
e’
re to take their word as gospel
?”
Arthur asked
.“
We hardly know anything about these creatures and w
e’
re affording them a lot of weight in our decision making
.
”

             
Alexander pounded the table
.“
Quiet, everyone! W
e’
re done discussing the possibility of abandoning our citizens. Who knows what w
e’
ve already? We have to save as many as we can, or we do
n’
t belong in our positions. As leaders, we must be beholden to our followers
.”
He faced Arthur
.“
As for our new friends, we will discuss this with them shortly. But for now, given the situation, we need to focus on what matters most: saving every person possible from the Boxti threat
.
”

             
Color seemed to have returned to Admiral Walke
r’
s face
.“I’
ll have
Midway
take a team to aid in Tallus. Their node is online again, so we should be able to jump directly to system rather than the Valley relay
.
”

             
“Make it so
,”
Alexander said
.“
And tell them to hurry.
Berlin
ca
n’
t hold a force that size for long
.
”

-                           
XI                            -

              Cameron knew at once that something was wrong. Terribly wrong. Within minutes of closing with the enemy, the Y-fighters demonstrated air superiority with a vengeance. They bobbed and weaved with incredible precision, and their return volleys tore through the Phoeni
x’
s triple-plated armor without stopping. Two of his wingmen fell in the first few seconds of contact, with others losing stabilizers and weapon systems. An escort Destroyer, the TFD
Tripoli
, ate a barrage of missiles and exploded in flames, splitting amidship.

             
The alien craft flew tighter than before, more coordinated within their units. They absorbed the bullets from the Gauss rifles with a reflective shield that shimmered with each hit. After double-teaming a fleeing fighter, Cameron and George managed to wear down its protection enough to land a shot into the engine, knocking the craft out of commission. It took another Harpy to finally destroy it.

             
“Jesus
,”
George said, kicking down his afterburner
.“
When the hell did they get so tough
?
”

             
A glowing red bolt flew past Camero
n’
s canopy, scraping along his starboard wing
.“
I do
n’
t know, George. Shit. The
y’
re everywhere
.”
He rolled hard to the right, barely avoiding a frontal collision with an incoming fighter. Pulling a stomach-churning 180, he joined his friend in pursuit. They alternated fire, sending hundreds of rounds into the Boxt
i’
s shield before the bullets struck home. As the enemy exploded into chunks, Cameron looked out the window at the battlefield. His eyes widened. The fight was only minutes old, and already a quarter of the Terran fighters were lost.

             
The plan had been to distract the enemy while the civilian evacuation continued. With the number of Terrans falling faster each minute, the distraction would
n’
t last long. A Seed bomber, attempting to down an enemy frigate, flew into a field of flak and shattered into pieces. The TFD
Florence
managed to fire a main gun volley into the center of one of the smaller ships. Truck-sized tungsten slugs tore through the enem
y’
s shields, plowing through the hull. Still, the frigate managed to stay aloft, firing a return volley that knocked out Florenc
e’
s engines.

             
“All fighters
,”
Shandra
s’
voice came over the net
.“
Focus on their squadrons. W
e’
ve begun civilian evacuation. Buy as much time as you can
.
”

             
George and Cameron flew in tight spirals, narrowly avoiding enemy fire. Their kinetic shields flared and sputtered with each near-miss. One alien fighter dove in toward the pair, guns spitting bright red bolts at the Phoenixes.

             
“Break
!
”

             
Cameron went left while George went right, and the Boxti craft zipped in between hitting nothing. George pulled his yoke back hard, veering into a collision course. Before Cameron had a chance to warn him, George slammed into the back of the Y-Fighter. For a split-second, the two ships seemed to be locked together. Then the alien began to break away. George squeezed the trigger, sending dozens of metal slugs into the belly of the enemy craft. It broke apart around him, fiery chunks of metal slapping the sides of his canopy.

             
“Holy shit
,”
George said
.“
Tha
t’
s one way to get them
.
”

             
“Are you okay
?”
Cameron asked.

             
George looked out at his friend
.“
Never better. Now do
n’
t you ever let me do that again
.
”

             
“No problem. I think I have a better idea
.
”

             
Cameron launched a cluster missile, a large munition that exploded into a dozen guided warheads upon launch. The smaller projectiles hunted down three Y-fighters. Traveling at a lower rate of speed, the cluster bombs bypassed the shielding, embedding in the alien hull before exploding. In an instant, three vessels left the fight for good.

             
“Fuck yes
!”
Cameron activated his radio
.“
Wolfpack, this is Wolf one. Switch to cluster missiles, their shields miss them
.”
He launched another munition, watching as it chased down another two Boxti fighters. Going off a hunch, Cameron pulled up his Gauss cannon
s’
firing system controller and lowered the velocity to targeting speed
.“
George, give me some cover.
I’
m gonna try something stupid
.
”

             
“Sounds good to me.
I’
m shadowing
.
”

             
Cameron found a lone Boxti bomber looping around for another run at
Berlin
. He squeezed the triggers, watching the tracers chase the enemy ship until finally zeroing in. The rounds bounced off the shield at first, but the next volley slipped inside and chewed up the magazine compartment. Spiraling out, the bomber blew up from the inside in a dazzling display of yellow and red.

             
“Holy shit, Cam
.”
George pulled up into a support position
.“
What did you do
?
”

             
“Switch cannons to target speed
,”
Cameron said
.“
These are kinetic barriers; they respond to speed, not impact. Spread the word. These bastards are ours
.
”

              *              *              *              *              *

              On Tallus, the evacuation was finally showing some success. Three shuttles had managed to escape the atmosphere and reach the node. Another fifteen had begun their launch sequence, and two Arks were preparing to make a run for the relay.

             
In the smoke-filled sky, the Terran fighters fought to buy every second for the fleeing civilians. The fires below raged onward, threatening to consume the entire continent. Firefighting craft from the city failed in their various attempt to extinguish the flames, costing many pilots their lives in the process. It was
n’
t becoming an evacuation so much as abandoning the entire planet.

*              *              *              *              *

             
Berlin
fired its two-meter cannon, perforating a frigate on the far side of the fray. Three missiles came back in answer, tearing a hole in the storage compartments. Frozen food and clothing supplies vented into the upper atmosphere of Tallus, lost forever. The crew raced to seal the exposed section of carrier, managing to keep the damage to a minimum. A young sergeant, unused to the sudden gravitational shifts, lost his footing and nearly fell into the vacuum. As he tumbled toward the gaping maw of the shattered hull, a passing cook caught his coat sleeve and hauled him bodily back inside before the crew closed off the break.