Edge of Solace (A Star Too Far) (24 page)

William nodded and poked the tablet on. That was one question he didn’t have to ask. “Is the Lieutenant gone?”

Sergeant Hoffman nodded with eyes that
couldn’t seem to focus. “Yes sir, he was the last man in the umbilical.”

William shifted. He could sense the Sergeant didn’t want to speak more of it. “Prisoner?”

“We have one. Captain it seems, medtechs are still working on her.”

“What of this Major?”

Sergeant Hoffman looked to Gruber.

“Sir, he, well, it seems he was at the Sa’Ami Transfer Station. Captured when they took it. He is also with the medtechs.”

“Once he’s clear, let me know,” William said to Gruber. “We’re moving out of the system. The fleet was engaged and it didn’t go well. We have orders to leave the system and head for a rendezvous.”

William’s tablet pinged. He glanced down
—the nearer Sa’Ami ship was coming in fast. It was a design that the ship’s computer couldn’t place. The mass seemed fairly low compared to what it should be.

The hum of the ship changed slightly.

“There we go,” Huron said. “Vector straightened out I think. EVA is a go. They’ll be cutting the umbilical if they can’t get it to stow.”

“We’ve got a hostile coming in behind us. Fast. The rest of the Sa’Ami fleet is behind them. We’re going to run a tight rotation, I want the ship battle ready in under ten minutes.” William looked to each of the men. “How do we stand?”

The men outlined the remnants of the fight. The Marines were full force, suffering only a few injuries. The soldiers however had suffered not only the loss of the Lieutenant, but more soldiers lost in the fight. Equipment failures plagued the power armor.

William was distracted as his eyes kept snapping to the tablet. They would be passing through a blink shortly.

Something seemed off. He kept waiting for it to blink closer.

How strange, he thought. To want to see it closer. What an odd thing to desire
—to dance with the enemy.

“Captain?” Huron asked.

William snapped out of his thoughts and looked up. “Yes?”

Huron stammered and for a moment William feared that he’d caught the same trait Zinkov had. “He’s outside!”

“What?” William shook his head. “Who?”

“Yamaguchi!”

*

“Hey
, jumbo!” Reed yelled.

Abraham turned from stacking crates and faced the skinny Engineer.

“C’mere!”

Lights cycled on the airlock. Abraham ran forward and stood next Reed. The view plate looking into the airlock was frosted as atmosphere pumped back inside.

“As soon as it opens, you get one side of the armor, we’ll pop him open here, and then get him to the med bay.” Reed’s voice was shaking as he rubbed his hands together before him. “Oh, gloves!”

Reed thrust a pair of gloves into Abraham’s chest. Abraham looked down and forced his fingers into the too-small gloves. “What’s happening?”

Reed rolled his eyes. “We need to get you an implant. They found him!”

Soldiers came racing down the hallway and stood together with eyes white and wide. All eyes watched the airlock indicator pulse to green.

The hatch slid open with a
ka-chunk.
Inside stood two maintenance techs in EVA suits. Between them was a suit of battered power armor locked tight as if dipped in concrete. Clutched in one hand was a strange looking case and the other the end ring of the umbilical.

Abraham rushed past the maintenance techs and gripped the suit of power armor in a bear hug. Muscles strained in his back. He could feel his hips click as he hefted the entire mass upwards.

Immediately he wished he had more than just gloves. A frigid burn conducted onto his chest like a frozen iron bar. The suit was cold as the vacuum outside.

The power armor pivoted slightly in his grasp. He shuffled out backwards until he was clear of the hatch. The case banged loudly against the edge of the door and dropped with a clatter. Abraham squatted slowly and deposited the frigid armor onto the deck.

Before he could step clear soldiers began to dismantle the armor. He stepped further away and stared down at his arms. The yellow gloves were coated in black. His arms and chest were soot-covered. A hard tang in his mouth clung to his teeth.

Reed helped the maintenance techs unsuit. The pair was coated in the same black that made them look like chimney sweeps of old. The helmets came off and the Aramaic began. “Abe! Translate!”

“They uh, they went to furl it back in. Once they got to the end they found him.” Abraham tried to focus on the words but his eyes were locked on the armor that folded away from the man inside.

Yamaguchi was limp inside of the suit. One panel after the next powered down. The body inside looked frail and small as the massive nanite muscles were removed.

A medtech rushed from the passageway and slid onto his knees. He slapped a nanite patch on Yamaguchi’s chest, then dropped a mask over his thin blue lips.

More panels tore away. The soldiers worked in silence. Even the Maronites stopped speaking as everyone strained and listened.

“Prep the table, heat infusion, hypothermic, low O2, possible radiation poisoning,” the medtech mumbled. His hands slid over Yamaguchi as each panel peeled back.

The lower belt was turned aside and the main structural brace removed. Herringbone stood on one shoulder and helped slide the Lieutenant out with teary eyes.

Abraham found himself holding onto a pair of legs and running as fast as he could behind the medtech. The skin felt icy beneath his hands. The face seemed so white and small.

They ran past the main hall with the medtech shouting for space. Captain Grace stood with his arms crossed next to Sergeant Gruber and Sergeant Hoffman.

The medbay was crowded with the wounded from the assault. Drop down bunks contained the worst of the wounded. Navy corpsman stood shoulder to shoulder with the army medics all waiting.

They set on him immediately
, hooking IV patches onto his chest and swinging tubes into the base of the table.

Captain Grace stood in the doorway with his arms across his chest and his legs spread wide. Everyone watched as the medtechs worked.

They spoke in low tones as more patches were attached. Finally they stood back and stared down at tablets. A single corpsman with close cut white hair walked over to the Captain.

“He’s going to make it. Once the nanites take hold
, they’ll get him warmed up,” the corpsman said. “I don’t think there was any oxygen deprivation, but there was some radiation poisoning.”

Captain Grace nodded. Behind him a pack of soldiers grew. He turned to the soldiers, “He’s gonna make it.”

Shouts and hoots erupted from the hall. A smile grew on Abraham’s face.

“Out
, out!” the corpsman shouted.

The soldiers scattered and rushed away from the medbay. Sounds of jubilation grew quieter.

Abraham looked around the room. His smile melted away as the faces of the wounded looked onto the scene. Men and women with vacuum burns, third degree burns, bullet wounds and shrapnel looked on. He’d never seen anything like it before.

Before he knew it he was sitting on the floor. His head was dizzy and he felt like vomit would come up at any moment. He turned his head slowly and came face to face with a woman.

Pure anger and rage glared back at him. Her hands were shackled together and secured to the bunk above her. Her wounds looked severe enough, but she was drunk with hate. Abraham wanted to pull back and move away.

“Come with me
, young man,” Captain Grace said. He placed his hands under Abraham’s arms and helped him up. “You need some fresh air.”

Abraham stumbled out the door and felt the cool air of the hallway.

“Keep me posted, Mr. Castro,” Captain Grace said. He turned to Abraham and motioned down the hallway.

The pair walked slowly down the hall. Captain Grace took slow, deliberate, steps with his hands clasped behind his back. Abraham felt his stomach continue to roll. He wanted to think of something else.

“You’re doing well, Mr. Yoder,” Captain Grace said. His pace was steady and he didn’t turn to look at Abraham.

“Thank you
, sir.”

“You could’ve set me down,” Archie said. He pulled his finger back and released the thin elastic strap. It arced across the room and tumbled across Lieutenant Yamaguchi’s chest.

His a
rm was wrapped tightly in a synthetic weave of breathable materials. Archie liked how light it was, but the itching was nearly unbearable. His arm was warm, downright steamy. The weave wasn’t for his comfort, but to allow a higher nanite density.

Yamaguchi gingerly picked up the strap and flexed it between his hands. “Major, I should have thrown you at the hostile. You were heavy enough to do some damage.” He plucked the strap back and shot it at Archie. He grinned and plopped himself down.

Around them the residents of the medbay leaned out of bunks and craned necks to watch the banter between the two. Even the worst of the wounded smiled as the two poked back and forth.

“Toss me? I’m much too pretty for that
, Lieutenant.” Archie replied reached down and grabbed the plastic strap. “You missed!”

“Missed? I aimed exactly where I wanted, you just weren’t in the right spot
.”.

Archie drew back the strap and aimed it around the room. He squinted one eye tight and saw Captain Grace standing in the door with a face as serious as only a ship’s Captain can wear.

“Major Theodore. Care to join me?” Captain Grace said.

The questions were coming. Archie knew it. A little knot grew in his stomach. What was he nervous for? The nanites in his system. He kept telling himself they were gone, but what if they weren’t? Anger welled up and replaced the fear. The Commandant was going to pay.

“Absolutely.” Archie scooted from out of the bunk and stood slowly. His eyes caught the pale face of Captain Asa.

She looked up with her hands clasped together on her chest.

Captain Grace turned and walked out of the room. Archie hobbled after, turning and snapping the strap back and drilling Yamaguchi on the bridge of the nose. Laughter rose from around the room.

“Y’all don’t let him pick you up!” Archie said. He scooted out of the room before Yamaguchi had a chance to reply, or return fire.

The pair walked slowly through the hallway.

“How long have you had the
Malta,
Captain?” Archie asked.

Captain Grace smiled slightly. “A bit longer than we’ve had you.”

Archie wasn’t sure whether the answer was serious or not.

“Here we are,” Captain Grace said. He stood next to a slim door.

Archie entered the room. Inside stood a Captain with puffy cheeks and slick black hair. His waist swelled just slightly while his legs were almost too small. The Captain squinted.

“Captain,” Archie said cautiously.

“Major Theodore, this is Captain Martinez of the
Scylla.
Can I get you anything?” Captain Grace asked.

“Water
, please,” Archie said. “Good to meetcha Captain.” He stuck out his good hand.

Captain Martinez smiled a slight crease and gave Archie’s hand a single squeeze.

“Major, can you tell us what happened? I read your brief, but I’d like to hear it from you,” Captain Martinez asked.

Captain Grace filled a slender aluminum tumbler and handed it to Archie. He sat at the small edge of the table.

“Well.” Archie took a sip and swished it around. His tongue still felt rough. “I was stationed at the Sa’Ami Transfer Station. We ran the usual routine. One Marine, one Naval Officer, both of us locked up until the Sa’Ami departed.” He set the tumbler down and sighed longingly.

Both of the Captains looked on in silence and waited.

“They brought in a single cargo ship, big one. Or we thought it was a cargo ship. A cargo loader came in, dropped a plate across the bulkhead, and then they came in hard.” Archie sat back and pictured the striders swarming in. “The striders en masse were impressive. The Marines on the cargo deck didn’t last long.”

“Then the courier was launched?” Captain Grace asked.

Archie nodded and took another sip. “Yes, at that point we were afraid they’d take it before we could launch it. We sent what data we had. Shortly after, more Sa’Ami ships blinked in. Commander Luis made his way and got onto a courier. They, well, they shot the courier.” The sound of Luis screaming still echoed in his mind.

Captain Martinez nodded and looked down at a slender tablet. “”I knew the Commander, served with him on
Mars Orbital
. Good man.”

“After that
, I moved to detonate the core. Was met there and taken captive. I was interrogated by a Commandant named Nefoussi, I believe he has command over a significant portion of this operation. They showed him quite a bit of reverence.”

The thought of the nanite burn in his skull
flared back. His hand slid up to his scalp and he itched furiously behind one ear.

Captain Grace squeezed his eyes tight and looked at Archie.

“Dry skin,” Archie explained.

Captain Martinez looked down again. “You said they had
empty racks. Did you know what was in them?”

Archie shook his head. “Negative.”

“Did you see the case?”

“Negative. I never saw anything xeno.”

Captain Martinez slid his fingers along the tablet. “Then this Nefoussi left. Is that when you heard mention of the barrier?”

“I did
, yes, from Captain Asa.”

Captain Martinez
looked to Captain Grace.

“There are two systems away from Canaan. One is a binary star and the other a small blue. The binary, according to my
Engineers, has more energy potential. So that’s where we are transiting.” Captain Grace slid a tablet forward.

Archie leaned over.
It was a generic survey plot with a pair of stars notated and a collection of orbital bodies farther away from the star.

“Doesn’t look like much,” Archie muttered.

“The binaries scattered anything within a few AU, everything is in a far orbit. And,” Captain Grace slid the tablet and made a few taps, “if you go out further, it is the center point of a line across UC and Sa’Ami space.”

“We’re going to enter the system and see what is there, if we can harass it. We will,” Captain Martinez said with a finality in his voice
.

Archie wasn’t sure he liked Captain Martinez
, but he’d changed his mind. The Captain had a set of cojones.

“How long?” Archie asked.

“Well, that depends, Major. We’ve got a single Sa’Ami ship trailing us close with the Sa’Ami fleet behind. If we separate, that ship can pick us apart,” Captain Grace said.

“So far things haven’t gone well. The Sa’Ami have updated their fittings,” Captain Martinez said dryly.

Silence sat in the room as the three looked down at the tablets before them. Archie leaned closer and slid one tablet to the middle. A picture of the case, opened, was laid out. Inside was a lattice of white cradling an object devoid of features. It didn’t look like much, he thought, but neither did a Haydn drive.

“Has Captain Asa said anything?” Archie asked.

Captain Grace shook his head. “No, she’s not the talkative type.”

Captain Martinez snorted and sat back. His dark eyes stared down at the tablets.

“May I?” Archie asked.

Captain Grace shrugged and looked at Captain Martinez.

“As you wish, Major,” Captain Martinez said.

Archie left the meeting with a tablet tucked under his arm and thoughts on his mind. How to get her to talk? She had always maintained control, or at least tried to. The info about the barrier came when she was mad as hell. Time to push some buttons.

The medbay had grown silent after he left. Captain Asa lay in the same position with a Marine standing guard. Archie walked over to Castro.

“Corpsman
.”

“Major,” Castro said softly. His eyes were worn and he looked like he’d been sleeping on a box of gravel.

“I need to speak with Captain Asa.”

Castro raised an eyebrow and glanced down. “Be my guest
, Major.”

“Somewhere else
.”

Darkness spread across the medic’s face. “Interrogation
, Major? She’s fairly fragile right now.”

“I was her guest, it’s time for her to be mine
.”

The slight hum of the grav drive shifted followed by a light bump. Archie glanced around and saw everyone shift and adjust slightly. The
Malta
blinked once again. It felt almost like that magic eleventh hour you just couldn’t put a finger on.

Castro turned and stepped over to the wall. His fingers slid open a screen. He tapped his fingers on the seam of his pants. With a sudden hard smack of the tip of his finger he turned back to Archie. “I’ve noted your visit on her records. I’ll move her into the surgery room.”

Archie nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Castro.”

Castro looked back with tight eyes and a suspicious glance. “I worked hard to save that one
. Don’t fuck it up, Major.”

Archie turned back and saw Captain Asa staring back at him. Eyes locked and he saw a blankness in her that was so strange compared to how she had been. The fierce lioness was now caged, shackled, beaten. His heart almost felt it. Almost.

He entered after Castro and the Marine. Captain Asa was deposited onto the surgical table. Robotic arms and actuators retracted away like a stand of limbless trees. What nanites couldn’t do, scalpel and saw did.

Asa’s eyes opened a bit wider. Looming above her was a scene that trigger
ed thoughts of barbarism. She raised her head up and glanced at Archie.

He flattened out his palms and smiled lightly. The sight of the surgical devices immediately triggered the memory of the nanites in his skull. He hadn’t meant to scare her
. Or had he?

“Torture
, Major?” Asa asked. She lowered herself back onto her pillow. Her eyes followed Castro and the Marine as they walked out. The door closed behind them with a pop.

“No Captain. I’ll leave that to you people.” Archie slid a stool near the Captain and plopped himself down.

She was silent. Her eyes looked straight up into the lights. A slight rasp came from her chest with every breath. A rumple of nanite patches and surgical tape wrinkled her gown.

“What do you want
, Major?” Her voice was low, tired.

Archie sat back slightly and let out a deep, audible, breath. “A vacation to start with, I heard Haven is nice.”

She turned and narrowed her eyes. “Don’t jest with me.”

Archie shrugged. “Have it your way, but this is going to be a long ride. I doubt you find many others to speak with.”

The room was still except for a light air current.

“Where did you grow up
, Captain?”

Her eyes drifted back to
the ceiling. Eyelids fluttered a moment. “Atlas.” The words drifted from her lips and hung, as if part of a prayer.

He didn’t know much of Sa’Ami space. No one did. They had some data, basic charts. Most systems were alphanumeric.

“What is it like?”

She licked her lips and closed her eyes. “Like the sea on a warm spring night. It is always the sea, everywhere. Fish, scallops, crabs. The waters glow, but you normally can’t tell. There’s three moons…”

“Why did you leave?”

She opened her
and sighed. “To see the stars.” She sniffed. A wire thin smile spread across her face.

Archie nodded. He knew the feeling, but he sensed she had changed her mind. “And it wasn’t what you thought?”

“The brighter the lantern, the greater the darkness. As I grew, my world seemed small, then my solar system, then space. Space was big, but you, I mean the UC, are so close.”

He watched and stayed silent.

She continued, “So, we always wake in the shadow of a big brother. A father maybe? And wonder what we would be on our own. As it is we will do nothing but quarrel until one is beat.”

“You can’t hope to win.” Archie knew it was the truth. The industrial output was too much for the Sa’Ami. Even with a technical advantage
, it wouldn’t be enough.

“We don’t have to
, Major. We just have to make it costly enough for you to lose. As I understand it, most people on Earth don’t much care about us.”

Archie wanted to nod but instead kept the same passive look on his face.

“They want to do what they do, and let the loonies in the stars do their own thing.” Asa almost spat out the words.

“So you do a little massacre, a little genocide, hit some military targets and make them wonder why they’re fighting at all
.”

“Yes! And make them wonder why? Why do we fight these people? They’ve done nothing to us.”

“What about when we send the fleet, or a dozen fleets, and teach you a lesson, make you pay for that genocide? Claim our worlds?”