DusktoDust_Final3 (39 page)

“
We
’
re out of options,
”
Carpenter said. The channel was quiet for a moment. Then he continued.
“
I
’
ve talked it over with Wash. This is what has to happen. Get yourselves out of here.
”

Letsego looked at Gnasher. The man had been privy to the whole conversation. After a pause, he nodded his agreement. This was what had to happen.

“
Thank you, Carpenter,
”
was all Letsego could think to say.

“
It
’
s good to fight for something again,
”
Carpenter said.
“
Now get the hell out of here. I
’
m blowing this place in five.
”
The comm link went dead.

The chaos of the hangar bay shootout continued to rage. Letsego turned to the captain.
“
Sir.
”

“
You better have some good news, staff sergeant.
”

“
Let
’
s get the hell out of here.
”

David held the alien device in his hands, his fingers lingering over the trigger. It was so simple yet so elegant, the ceramic something out of an exquisite artist
’
s portfolio. How could something so simple cause so much devastation? So much death.

He thought about what he was about to do and hesitated. He froze. Not because he feared his own demise, but because of the other implications that detonating the Ferenic devise had. There were hundreds of troopers and miners still inside of the mining facility. These people had lives. Hell, at one point he could have been one of them. He was not a saint. Who was he to play judge, jury and executioner?

But detonating the device could save the planet, possibly all of humanity. It was an impossible choice.

Then, at the back of his mind, Alana
’
s words permeated his thoughts.
“When was the last time you actually felt good about what you are doing with your life?”

For the first time in a long time, David knew exactly what he had to do.

“
Carpenter,
”
Washington said.
“
Are you sure this is going to work?
”

“
It has to.
”
With that, he depressed the trigger and with all his might, heaved the grenade into the open duct. With a clang, it tumbled down the shaft. David heard a pop and a hiss. The last thing he saw was a flash of crimson and red tentacles of mist reaching down towards him.

The sun baked surface of the light side of Prospect rushed by. Letsego
’
s hands gripped his seat restraints tightly for the turbulent ride. Soon, with a stomach churning change in direction, the gunboat rocketed toward open space, leaving facility D6A in the rear viewport.

As the facility grew smaller, Letsego
’
s eyes were drawn to the mountainous terrain. Without warning, a hue of crimson obscured D6A. It was the same color as Rockworm. For a handful of heartbeats it hung over the land like morning fog, and then, as quickly as it had appeared, the mist was gone.

Ten seconds later, the shockwave hit the gunboat.

“
Holy shit!
”
Gnasher yelled beside Letsego as the ship bucked up and down unexpectedly and proximity alarms blared.

Letsego watched through the viewport. As the sky grew darker and the atmosphere thinner, the turbulence began to subside. And then the air and vacuum around the ship was surrounded by wisps of red. The delicate lines of dust streamed down towards the planet from space. Letsego couldn
’
t place it, but for some reason the vacant atmosphere was full of life with the Ferenic in the air.

And then it was over. The Pegasus gunboat was past the mist, and with it the turbulence ceased.

His comm unit crackled to life.
“
ICARUS-two, this is Defiance-Actual.
”

Gnasher keyed his mic.
“
Send it, Defiance.
”

“
The Feds have broken off their attack, it appears their new weapons have ceased to function.
”
There was a hint of elation in the Commodore
’
s voice.
“
What the hell did you do?
”
Letsego cut in.
“
It was Carpenter, ma
’
am.
”

“
Well, whatever he did it worked. Put him on the line.
”

Gnasher and Letsego looked at each other. After a long second, Gnasher spoke.
“
He didn
’
t make it, ma
’
am.
”
The tension hung heavy across the radio waves.
“
He saved us all.
”

His head floated. All around him red consumed him. For what seemed like hours he drifted through nothingness, his consciousness streaming around him. He felt everything and nothing. He tried to close his eyes, but still the color prevailed.

Then the red subsided and she appeared.

“It’s been a long time.”

This must be another memory
, he thought. He searched his mind to place it. To remember where this flashback had taken him. But then he realized it was different. This sensation was not like before. She seemed different.

“Alana,” he said. “Where am I?”

She smiled. “Exactly where you need to be.”

He looked around. The setting was indistinguishable. The color swirled. It wasn’t just red, it was the whole spectrum. Blues, greens, yellows. It was all so tranquil.

He reached out and stroked her cheek. It was real. His fingertips brushed against her soft skin. “You’re… here.”

She smiled and pushed him away playfully. “I’ve been waiting for you. I’m proud of you.”

Her words evoke
d more memories. Real memories. A contract with Windcorp. A perilous journey. A pistol leveled at her head.

“I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“I killed you.”

She placed her hand on his neck. “No, you saved me. You saved us all.”

He looked deep into her eyes. For the first time in a long time he saw hope. He felt hope. And at that moment he knew everything was going to be fine
.

It was like looking into two worlds.

From orbit, Prospect was majestic. Two far away lands divided by a thin gray line. From thousands of miles up in space, the lands appeared no more threatening than a walk through Central Park. But Letsego knew the truth.

He stood alone on the observation deck of the
Defiance
in his dress grays uniform. The ship was in orbit with the rest of the Peacekeeper Fleet- what was left of the Fleet- around the planet. Outside the half meter thick glass separating him from nothing, was the aftermath of a battle long ended. Hulks and wreckage floated through space, lifeless in the vacuum. Debris disrupted the previously unfettered view of the planet.

Letsego
’
s mind drifted. With every capital ship wreckage that passed by, his mind counted the lives that had been snuffed out along with it. There were dozens of ships- thousands of lives. And they had all perished fighting for the desolate rock that now stood as the backdrop.

He gripped the object in his hand. It was an amalgamation of metal and cloth, a gray ribbon with a single blood red stripe running through it and a silver medallion hanging from one end. The Peacekeeper Constellation of Honor. Commodore Long had pinned the award to his chest less than an hour ago, but its weight now hung too heavy for him to bear.

Footsteps approached on the metal passageway. Letsego turned to see Lieutenant Gnasher approaching.

“
I thought I might find you up here.
”

Letsego turned back to face the viewport.
“
I
’
m not much for ceremonies.
”

Gnasher stood next to him in silence. A medal identical to Letsego
’
s adorned his chest. After a few minutes he spoke.
“
I
’
m sorry about Carpenter.
”

Letsego shook his head.
“
I hardly even knew the man. Less than a week ago we were enemies.
”

Gnasher could see the conflict in the intelligence operative’s eyes.
“
There was nothing else you could do. He made the decision to stay.
”

“
It
’
s not that,
”
he said, his conscious tearing at him.
“
The first time I met David Carpenter I judged him as something he wasn
’
t. I keep asking myself if I had seen him for who he really was sooner maybe we could have stopped Windcorp and the Federation before this all happened.
”

Gnasher sighed.
“
Staff Sergeant, I may just be a dumb grunt, but I have learned one thing over the years. You can dwell on the past as much as you want, but you aren
’
t going to change anything. It
’
s better to leave it be and move on.
”

He nodded, half absorbing the wisdom.
“
Thanks, Lieutenant.
”

They stood there a while longer. Letsego appreciated Gnasher
’
s ability to exist in comfortable silence. He didn
’
t want to talk right now, but the presence of the Death Diver was welcomed.

More footsteps approached. Letsego turned to see Commodore Long approaching the observation deck. Both of the junior Peacekeepers
’
Pavlovian instincts kicked in and they snapped to attention.

She waved them down.
“
At ease.
”
She reached into her dress grays blouse and pulled out a matte black flask. Unscrewing the cap, she took a pull and then offered it to Gnasher, who did the same.

Letsego took it from Gnasher. He did not drink often, but today he felt was an appropriate occasion. He tilted the container back and let the warm alcohol spill down his throat. He handed the flask back to Long.
“
Ad Astra Per Aspera,
”
he said.

“
Ad Astra Per Aspera,
”
she responded as she took back the flask and then looked out at the carnage of the Battle of Prospect. A solemn expression eclipsed her face.
“
I returned to Prospect with a fleet numbering forty three ships. Now I have less than twenty.
”

“
I
’
m sorry we didn
’
t act faster, ma
’
am,
”
Gnasher said.

“
You couldn
’
t have known when I would be back. And if you hadn
’
t have acted at all, we wouldn
’
t be standing here. Your team saved the day, gentlemen.
”

“
It wasn
’
t us, ma
’
am,
”
Letsego said.
“
It was Carpenter.
”

Long nodded.
“
I know.
”
She reached into her uniform again, this time pulling out a long leather case.
“
The Admiral nearly threw this in my face when I told him who it was for. He said that this award is for Peacekeepers, and it definitely isn
’
t for a wanted fugitive. Luckily, the command board thought differently.
”
She opened the case. Inside was a teal and yellow medal with a silver star hanging from it. It was the United Nations Medal of Valor, the highest decoration for a member of the Peacekeepers.

The commodore handed the case to Letsego.
“
As far as I know, David Carpenter has no next of kin. You are the one who knew him best.
”

Letsego hesitated.
“
Ma
’
am, I can
’
t.
”

“
Someone needs to know what he did here. I’m sorry to say, but command is never going to let the true story reach the public, that a smuggler was the person who saved Prospect. That truth is too embarrassing to too many people.
”

After a moment
’
s consideration, Letsego took the case.
“
Thank you, ma
’
am.
”

She shook her head.
“
I wish I could do more, but my hands are tied.
”

“
So what
’
s next, ma
’
am?
”
Gnasher asked.

“
We have the Feds on the run. Without their secret weapon, our Fleet has been able to push them out of the Tango Sector. Their command structure is falling apart without Chen. There is talk about even taking the fight all the way to Baoshi.
”

Letsego spoke up.
“
What about the Ferenic?
”

“
UN scientists have locked down the mining facilities with the help of the Peacekeepers. The Federation will never be able to get their hands on it again.
”

This alarmed Letsego.
“
Wait, you have people in Dee-Six-Alpha?
”

“
Of course. If we don
’
t secure the Cdat
’
h Vars technology someone else will gain control of those weapons and history will just continue to repeat itself.
”

“
Ma
’
am, with all due respect, the Peacekeepers have no idea what they are dealing with. Nobody does. My recommendation, pull all personnel out, wipe the data archives of all records of Dee-Six-Alpha, and leave the Ferenic alone.
”

“
Don
’
t worry, staff sergeant. UNEC knows what it
’
s doing. We will conduct thorough tests before we even consider any permanent applications for Ferenic dust.
”

“
The only reason that we were able to stop the Federation was because we
cleared
Dee-Six-Alpha of human life,
”
Gnasher said.
“
We killed everyone in that facility. And now you want to send scientists in there!? Ma
’
am, if you do that you are putting all of humanity at risk. The Ferenic just wants to be left alone. I urge you to do so.
”

Long looked at the Lieutenant skeptically.
“
Gentlemen, I believe you are being overly dramatic. Ferenic dust is only a threat to us if it is weaponized. And I promise you, the Peacekeepers have no plans to do that.

“
Anyway, it
’
s out of my hands. UNEC teams are already on site on Prospect. Trust me, this is the best course of action for the future of UNEC and humanity.
”

Silence overtook the three Peacekeepers. Deep in thought, Letsego stared out at the starscape, his mind drifting between heroic past events and an uncertain future. Beyond the observation deck, Prospect loomed. The deserts of the light side baked under endless sunshine. The tundra of the dark side howled with frigid wind. In the Dusk Zone humanity balanced on the edge of a knife.

And everywhere the dust settled.