When the Stars Fade (The Gray Wars) (62 page)

             
Josh looked off to the far side of the parade field
.“
The message is a few hours old. I figure h
e’
s out in the middle of the shit right now
.”
He bit his lip, looking over his shoulder at his friend
.“
It does
n’
t sound good. He sends me muster reports. They've emptied the reserves from Kronos. Everyone is on New Eden trying to take back the ground. That bioweapon the aliens used caused some pretty freaky mutations
.
”

             
Dax nodded
.“
The videos Pierre found were horrible. All those people turned into...whatever the hell they were
.
”

             
“Division isn't making a move on those hives yet. Some political bullshit
.”
He turned toward Dax, biting his lip
.“
A lot of the casualties are Black Adders
.
”

             
Dax let out a breath. He closed his eyes, putting a huge mitt on Jos
h’
s back
.“
Lord, we ask that you look after our brothers and sisters in arms. That you welcome them into your warm embrace and grant them peace at last. In Jesu
s’
s name we pray. Amen
.
”

             
“Amen
,”
Josh said softly.

             
The door opened and three more soldiers walked outside. Liane led the group, with Pierre and Cho behind her. Cho rubbed sleep from his eyes with his right hand, as his left arm was still in a sling from the day before. Dax had been a little overzealous during combat training.

             
“Can you two keep it down
?”
Liane asked
.“
Some of us were trying to sleep
.
”

             
Pierre grumbled
.“
Not that w
e’
d get much anyway. The
y’
re slave drivers here
.
”

             
Josh looked at his watch and sighed
.“
I
t’
s only three, guys. Le
t’
s get what little rest is available
.
”

             
“Once
I’
m up, ther
e’
s no going back down
.”
Dax began to stretch his legs
.“
Wha
t’
s on toda
y’
s schedule? More class
?
”

             
“Advanced modular avionics theory
,”
Josh said.

             
Cho laughed
.“
And that means what exactly
?
”

             
“Shit if I know
.”
The lieutenant shrugged
.“
Something boring that we have to know for whatever reason
.
”

             
“Are we going to New Eden yet
?”
Alexa asked, jogging over to join the group
.“I’
m losing my mind with the waiting
.
”

             
Josh shook his head
.“
Doc says we are
n’
t ready to deploy. In our condition, w
e’
d hurt more than help. Another few days,
I’
ll bet
.
”

             
A strange sound caused them to look toward the sky. A spark flared high overhead, followed by a small pop. It took them a moment to realize it was a ship entering the atmosphere. As they watched, the object began to grow in size and conduct  a figure-eight landing pattern. The maneuver burnt off excess speed and allowed the surface engines to take over. Each soldier, without realizing, guessed that this was a fuel hauler on a routine drop-off. The tankers came and went every few days on what appeared to be a randomized schedule, but the candidates had become experts at pattern recognition.

             
Josh figured, based off the angle of descent and the low vibration over the hull, that this was a Type-X227 Linebacker. He almost imagined that if he squinted he could verify his thought. His eyesight had become sharper as of late. It seemed the machines inside had yet to reveal all their secrets.

             
Looking around, the squad leader realized he could
n’
t get these soldiers back in their bunks. It was better they spent their time planning tactics and reading up on their subjects
.“
Uniform is Black and Red today. Get changed and form up by 0345. W
e’
ll work on our drills in the classroom until the instructors show up
.
”

-                           
II                            -

              Alexander hated the makeup. It made his face feel thick and hot, and it smelled like burnt plastic. Arthur insisted he wear it during interviews, and even Jerry admitted it was necessary. Alexander fought back, saying the artists always messed up his skin color. H
e’
d end up looking like coffee with too much cream. It made him feel like a clown. Given the state of things, the High Chancellor was remiss to allow any mistakes.

             
Election season began with a shock, though not terribly unexpected. Brent Kerrigan received the nomination for Attac
hé
of Earth by Counsellor Fogwell. Despite Alexande
r’
s adamant and heated warnings, the rest of the local Council had approved the appointment. Now, if the incumbent Doreen Paylok failed to win her seat again, the ownership of the Human Homeworld would be a heartbeat away from a terrorist agent. And the people of Earth seemed content to let it happen.

             
It did
n’
t help that Doreen had never been a particularly good replacement for the fallen Attac
hé
Rogan. She did
n’
t have the charisma needed for such an important post, nor the political wherewithal to gain and hold her constituency. Alexander had tried, with Jerr
y’
s careful guidance, to build her reputation among the other politicians. But she managed to step on herself every time. It was honestly embarrassing. Ambassador Jordan had separated himself from the spiraling diplomat on various occasions, which only bolstered Red Hamme
r’
s campaign.

             
Staring into the face of some airhead reporter did nothing to ease Alexande
r’
s blood pressure. He felt his fake smile waning, his jaw aching from the effort. The stuffed suit wore his makeup with much more ease and comfort, and his hair was combed to shining perfection. Even his teeth were just right, not too shiny to seem fake but set just in place.
There is an occupying force on one of the colonies, but I still have to play court jester and dance for the crowd. Fucking insufferable.
He took a breath and found his train of thought.

             
“So, Mr. Burton, the nominee for Attac
hé
is a criminal
?
”

             
“Tha
t’
s correct, John
,”
Alexander said. He made sure to make eye contact with the camera
.“
Many citizens are unaware of Brent Kerriga
n’
s ties to the terrorist group Red Hammer. He has been a part of their network for almost five years, working to legitimize them to the rest of the galaxy. He was arrested on Kronos only a few months ago after the bloody attack on the Galactic Media Tower
.
”

             
“Though he was released only hours later
,”
John said quickly
.“
In fact, the military said that the evidence presented to them that led to his arrest had been mostly fabricated. Evidence, it should be said, that seemed to originate from one of your staffers, Mr. Burton
.
”

             
It stung to be calle
d“
Mister
.”
Few reporters liked Alexander, and fewer still used his title when addressing him
.“
Be that as it may, John, it does
n’
t change the fact that Brent Kerrigan is an admitted member of several Martian separatist groups. There are videos of him speaking treason against the Centurial Council. Red Hammer is turning the most important election in the galaxy into a circus, and w
e’
re all lining up to see the show
.
”

             
“That is true, Mr. Burton. The Red Hammer has certainly been promoting this election in an unusual way
.”
The reporter turned to address the camera directly
.“
For those of you just tuning in, we are live with High Chancellor Alexander Burton, as he defends his position on the revolution that is sweeping planet Earth
.
”

             
“Rebellion
,”
Alexander growled
.“
This is a terrorist insurrection
.
”

             
“Please, Mr. Burton. We do
n’
t like to use such invective on this network. W
e’
re trying to see this objectively
.
”

             
The politician was momentarily at a loss for words
.“
How can you be so blind? Jonah and his thugs already took credit for the bombings in New York and Cairo and two dozen other cities. Thousands died because of Red Hamme
r’
s attack. And now, because the
y’
re putting on a nice face and sayin
g‘
democratic elections
,’
yo
u’
re giving them a pass
?”
His face reddened
.“
Kerrigan is at the very least a terrorist sympathizer, and no fit for the highest office on our most important world
.
”

             
The reporter smiled. Alexander was easy to rile up, and those at this level of the media knew the buttons and when to push
.“
Attac
hé
Paylok has
n’
t matched your indignation in condemning her challenger, Mr. Burton. In fact, this may mark the first time she has opted to refrain from making some form of commentary about an election. Perhaps she is finally learning a little tact and restraint in her old age
?
”

             
It was a shameless ploy, but Alexander bit
.“
She is a sitting diplomat, you arrogant little twerp. Have a little respect for the people above you. Politicians ca
n’
t be concerned with making friends or winning congeniality contests. The fate of planets rest in the decisions we make daily. The average citizen would
n’
t last a day under that kind of pressure. Of course the
y’
ll get their foot in their mouth every once in a while. Put a microphone in anyon
e’
s face twenty-four hours a day and yo
u’
ll catch them saying something or other that will annoy the general public. People are so easy to offend these days. You can't fart without starting a goddamn global scandal.

             
“New Eden is under martial law, did you know that? Have you eve reported that? We have a goddamn Boxti invasion force in a stalemate with Fleet, a biological weapon that we ca
n’
t seem to control, and the entire Nangolani navy urging us to blast those bastards off the planet. Do you have a camera crew filming the quarantine at Ciudad Mapache? Have you seen what the alien spores do to one-tenth the population? No. Because an intergalactic war was
last yea
r’
s news
. Yo
u’
ve moved on to something better: the fall of the infant government.

"It's fine for the media to speak their minds and have opinions, but
we're
expected to act like goddamn saints. Hell, Rogan had his share of skeletons in the closet, and he was one of the most beloved Attac
hé
s in history. But since Paylok doesn't subscribe to your particular point of view, she has to be demonized for every flaw and misstep. Kerrigan, on the other hand, says all the right things to keep the drooling masses happy, so they'll ignore the fact that he is a noted terrorist and rebel sympathizer. Christ, it's easy to understand why Norton started an empire rather than continue that farce of a republic."