“Are you mental, woman?” Theodore said. “We just saved your life.”

  “You put us in danger in the first place. You stole our only means to travel away from this place, our only chance of finding a new home. You left the people here frightened and struggling to cope. You-“

  “If I do remember correctly, Councilwoman, you were planning on sacrificing half the people in this colony so that you could head out to the stars in hopes of finding your new home. By my count, my way has only cost us approximately seven percent. I know that sounds harsh, but you can’t argue the numbers. Furthermore, we came back. Oh, and if that weren’t good enough for you, we brought you a big fat spaceship that can take every last resident of this here colony to their new home back on Earth as soon as we finish retaking it.”

  Theodore stared at Rouse, who tightened her hands against her chest, sighed, and moved back a few meters to her original position.

  “I’m sorry for every soul we lost,” Theodore said. “And I’m sorry I took Maggie. But it had to be done, Alan. You were wrong.”

  “Maybe I was. It doesn’t matter now. I’m certainly not going to arrest you. What good would that do? You say we’re winning this war? Then I say, what can I do to help?”

  42

  “And that’s how it all happened, in a nutshell,” Gabriel said.

  General Cave leaned back in his chair, a look of focused interest replaced by something more contemplative. Gabriel had spent the last two hours debriefing the General and his immediate staff on the situation back on Earth, and on their pressing need to rally the New Earth Alliance military to join the fight.

  “And you are one of the, what did you call them again, Major? Bek’hai?”

  The question was posed by Major Janet Ames, who had taken over Colonel Choi’s position after she had left with Theodore. She was looking pointedly at It’kek, a hint of disgust mixing with fascination, mixing with anger.

  “That is correct,” It’kek replied. “We are some of the few original bek’hai that remains.”

  “Interesting. What I’m not clear about is why you’re helping us, instead of your own kind?”

  “We are helping our own kind, Major. The Domo’dahm does not understand that his path of resistance to complete genetic splicing with the humans will continue the extinction vector our kind has been on for many generations. He will not accept that the only way we survive as a species is to work with the humans, not fight against them. These bek’hai are not what we once were, or what we have the potential to be. But the keepers and the legri’shah are few in number. We are powerless to stop them, or we would have already.”

  “But you are betraying your people.”

  “Is it a betrayal to sacrifice what you must to save them? For us, it is not about helping the humans defeat the bek’hai. It is about helping the humans and the bek’hai to coexist.”

  “And why would we want to coexist with you?” one of General Cave’s other staffers, Captain Huang asked. “You took our planet. You killed billions.”

  “Because that is the only way either of us ever knows peace. Your kind on Earth have resisted bek’hai rule for fifty of your years. If you depose the Domo’shah, do you suppose there will be immediate peace? Do you think the remaining bek’hai will simply accept the loss of the planet and the death of their kind?”

  “General,” Huang said. “We can’t seriously be considering trying to make peace with the Dread. Especially now, when we have the means to fight back.” He looked at Theodore. “General St. Martin, surely you can’t be in favor of this.”

  Theodore shook his head. “In favor of requesting an audience with the Domo’dahm? It’ll be a cold day in hell. But here’s the rub, Captain. There are thousands and thousands of prisoners living among the rest of the Dread. A lot of them are clones of one kind of another, each with a job that they’re programmed to do. They’re slaves of a fashion, locked into what they have always known, but they have individual personalities as well, and some of them can be influenced. Then there are the keepers like It’kek here. They want to change course for their people, but don’t have the power to do it on their own.” He smiled. “And then we have the un’hai.”

  “Un’hai?” General Cave said. “Oh, right, the clones of Juliet.”

  “We don’t know how many there are, but they’re already embedded deep inside the Dread system. Some of them, when they hear my name, it trips something in their minds, and they get access to Juliet’s memories. They begin to think that they’re her, and they start to act on those beliefs.”

  “Like spies?” Major Ames asked.

  “Better than spies,” Theodore replied. “Juliets. Heh. For all we know, there are drumhr in the Domo’dahm’s circle that are opposed to what he’s doing as well. The un’hai creator, Tuhrik, was one of them. Good old Juliet. She got to them all. She showed them the light of forgiveness and peace. I know it.”

  “That’s all well and good, Teddy,” General Cave said. “How do we use this to our advantage?”

  “We’re gonna have to fight on the ground. We’re gonna have to fight in space. There're no two ways about it. And, even with our crews mixed with the rebels on the ground, we’re still going to be heavily outnumbered and outgunned. But, if we can get through to these other groups behind the scenes? We may just have ourselves a chance.”

  “It seems like quite a longshot,” Captain Huang said. “General Cave, we have other options, and I think we should at least discuss them.”

  “Like?” Gabriel said. He had a feeling he knew what the Captain was going to say.

  “The Dread fortress, the domo’shah, is capable of slipstream travel. It’s also larger than all of our settlements combined and built for longevity. We can take it to the New Earth. We can settle there. Let the bek’hai keep the old Earth. Let them run themselves into the ground. We shouldn’t risk our chance at freedom on a fight whose odds are so against us.”

  Gabriel sighed. It was the same old argument as before, framed and updated to match current events. Nevermind the sacrifices people had made to get them here. Nevermind the people on the ground who were going to die. Earth wasn’t home to billions anymore, but there were still a few million people under the Domo’dahm’s thumb.

  “Alan,” Theodore said calmly. “Would you like to court-martial this coward, or do you want me to do it?” He glanced at Captain Huang. “By the by, you aren’t related to Councilwoman Rouse, are you?”

  Huang opened his mouth to speak. General Cave put up a hand to silence him. “Hold on. Both of you. Teddy, I appreciate your decision to stay relatively calm. It’s not like you. I want to make this clear to everyone gathered here right now, and to the entire colony once we leave this room. Under no circumstances are we abandoning Earth or the people on it. Just like the bek’hai nearly destroyed themselves with their own ignorance, if we run away now we’ll be doing the same thing, and probably to the same result. Maybe we’ll lose. Maybe we’ll die. If we go out there and try to forget about what happened here? It will change who we are for the worse, forever.”

  “With all due respect, sir,” Captain Huang said. “You used to be in favor of leaving Earth behind.”

  “You’re right. I was. And I would have allowed the death of half this colony to make it happen. I’m embarrassed to admit that now. I’m embarrassed to know I never would have been embarrassed if Theodore hadn’t come back and saved my life, and all of our lives. I thought running was the answer and the only option. I hurt a lot of people because of that. I regret those decisions.”

  Captain Huang stood up. He didn’t look happy. “You don’t need to court-martial me, sir. Either one of you. I resign.” He pulled his rank insignia from his chest, dropping it on the table and storming toward the door.

  Theodore cut him off, rolling his chair in front of him.

  “Get out of my way,” Huang said.

  “No I will not get out of your way,” Theodore said. “You listen to me, boy. For starters, you’re in the military. You don’t get to resign. For another, you’re an officer in that same military, which makes you too valuable just to walk away. Third, I’d sooner kill you with my bare hands than let you disrespect me, General Cave, Major St. Martin, or even Mr. It’kek over there. What do you think we’ve been doing these last few weeks, twiddling our thumbs? Or maybe sticking them up our asses? Good men and women have been dying, down there on Earth, on my ship, and right here in our backyard. Those are our people, Captain. Not some other alien race that’s no concern of ours. Now, why don’t you go sit down? Take a minute to think about something other than yourself. We win through unity. We die with division.”

  Captain Huang stood in front of Theodore, glaring down at him. Theodore met his gaze, his expression so condescending that Gabriel expected Huang to punch him.

  Instead, he retreated, taking a few steps back and then returning to his seat.

  “That’s better,” Theodore said. “Alan, I promised the rebels back on Earth that we’d be in Mexico in eight days. That leaves us forty-eight to get as organized as possible. My thinking was to load up all of our troops and consolidate the civvies to Alpha. Once this thing is done, we can come back for them.”

  “I think that can work,” Cave replied. “Although forty-eight hours isn’t a lot of time.”

  “Excuse me,” Captain Huang said.

  Theodore shot a nasty look over at him.

  “Yes, Captain,” General Cave said.

  “If the soldiers all leave and the civilians stay behind, there’s a chance they could get stranded here.”

  “Only if we were to lose,” Gabriel said.

  “That’s beside the point. I think we should give everyone the option to return to Earth. Some will choose to stay behind, but some won’t.”

  Theodore’s face softened. “Well, we do have the space. I don’t see any harm in it.”

  “Neither do I,” General Cave said.

  “Then we’ll do that. Damn. I should have brought Lieutenant O’Dea down to help us with the logistics. I’ll ship her over on the next boat. For now, I think we should start moving troops by company. That way we can get them properly armed and outfitted on their way in. Parallel to that, we can begin moving whatever resources we can spare. I’m sure we can convert them into something we can use. Captain, does your statement mean you’ve reconsidered?”

  Huang had picked his insignia back up and reaffixed it to his uniform. “Yes, General,” he replied.

  “Then don’t worry too much about your little outburst. It won’t leave this room, and I forgive you.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “I want you to be our liaison to the Council. General Cave is going to be too busy helping me organize to deal with Rouse and the others. Tell them what we’re doing, make sure they know that part of it isn’t optional, but coming along for the ride is. Can you do that, son?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good man.”

  “What about me, General?” Major Ames asked.

  “You used to a be a pilot, didn’t you? Before you got the arthritis?”

  “I made three runs past Earth, yes, sir. I’d still be doing it if I could.”

  “Well, the Ishur is a bit of a different animal. I don’t think your disability would affect your ability to serve on the bridge, and I have other plans for Major St. Martin.” Theodore turned to Gabriel. “Would you mind giving Major Ames a few lessons on flying the fortress?”

  “Not at all, sir,” Gabriel replied.

  “Good. Mr. Mokri, I want you to take a shuttle over to Gamma. Help the science teams figure out what they can salvage there, and what we can use. Thank God the bastards only got one shot off.”

  “Yes, sir,” Reza replied.

  “Mr. It’kek, you’re with Alan and me. You and yours have been invaluable so far, but we need to pick your brain a little more to put together a complete plan.”

  “Of course, Dahm St. Martin,” It’kek said.

  “General Cave and I will be reaching out to all of you again over the next two days. If any of you were expecting to sleep, cancel those plans. You can catch up when we go into slipspace.”

  “Yes, sir,” the others said.

  “Alan, is there anything you want to add?”

  General Cave smiled. “No. I think you covered it all.”

  “In that case, you’re all dismissed. Let’s get to work.”

  43

  “I never got a chance to meet Captain Kim,” General Alan Parker said. “I wish I had. I’ve spent a lot of years dreaming of the day when I would meet someone from the space forces. When I would get to sit with them, embrace them, and thank them for never giving up. For never leaving us behind. And while I didn’t know Captain Kim, that’s what he represents to me. Hope. Hope for a better future. A future without the Dread.”

  The assembled rebels clapped as General Parker finished his eulogy, putting his hand on the simple casket that had been made to lay the fallen soldier to rest. It was more than a lot of the dead received, but Donovan understood why the General was placing Soon front and center as a symbol of the war. They had all heard General St. Martin’s message. They all knew the storm was coming. It was right to be afraid. It was natural. Having something to cling to and to rally around could be the difference between victory and defeat.

  It had been two days since the General had arrived, riding into Austin on the shoulder of Donovan’s mech, his American flag waving in the breeze. It was an arrival that had kicked the gears of war into full motion, an arrival that had set the already focused rebels into a greater sense of purpose and motivation.

  Not only because of General Parker, but also because of General St. Martin.

  Donovan could still barely believe the man General Rodriguez had called the Old Gator had managed to survive. It was even harder for him to believe that he had somehow captured one of the enemy fortresses for the rebellion. To think that only a short time earlier they had still believed the Dread to be untouchable. Unbeatable. Now it seemed as if victory, or at least the chance for victory, was imminent.

  He watched the General finish the ceremony, and then joined Ehri and Colonel Knight at the front of the assembly. They lifted Soon’s casket together, carrying it to the corner of the loop station, where a grave had already been dug. They lowered it in, and then General Parker handed Donovan a makeshift shovel.

  “Thank you, sir,” Donovan said. He used the shovel to return a scoop of the earth to its place and then passed it on to Ehri. She did the same, and the process was repeated, the shovel passed along to a line of soldiers that formed behind them. Most of them had never had a chance to get to know Soon, but they respected him for what he had done, and for what he represented.

  After two days, the rebel army was almost ready to move out. Donovan had barely slept the entire time, getting involved with the effort to organize and coordinate the influx of new fighters, and to help Colonel Knight and General Parker put together a plan for when they reached the Dread capital. He and Ehri had the most experience with both the layout and military capabilities of the linked Dread fortresses, and so their input had been essential to the strategy.

  Not that there was anything fancy about their plan. The intent was to use the same tactics that had gotten them this far, only on a larger scale and with a little more firepower behind it. That meant trying to stay out of the Dread’s sensor range, to keep silent and cool as they made their approach. The mechs would hang back, aiming to cover the ground teams as they came under pressure, and to offer a distraction to pull the Dread heavy units away. The goal, they had decided, was to infiltrate the Dread fortresses, to get soldiers inside where they would have better success fighting the enemy army in close quarters. For Donovan, that meant he was going to see the worst of the fighting from within the cockpit of a Dread mech.

  It also meant he was one of the soldiers who was most likely to be killed.

  While the infantry would be sneaking through the streets of Mexico City, he would be looking to intercept both Dread mechanized armors and starfighters as they swept over the field, laying down cover fire and trying to pull the birds from the sky. The mech alone was going to make him a huge target, but that would make him impossible to ignore, and that was the idea.

  He wasn’t afraid of dying. He had seen too many of his friends fall to the Dread to fear being killed in battle. His real fear came from the thought of failure. Of being shot down before he accomplished his mission and gave the infantry enough time to reach the enemy’s gates. He was comforted a little to know that Ehri would be covering his left side, but standing in front of Soon’s grave only reminded him that someone else would be to his right, someone he would have to learn to trust in a hurry.

  He wasn’t sure who would receive the assignment just yet. They had returned with three mechs to add to the two they already controlled, and a salvage team had brought back his damaged armor to try to repair under Orli’s supervision. That meant there were four seats for nearly a dozen people who had made the cut of initial volunteers and who had been training to drive the machines. He knew that Lieutenant Bastion and Corporal Knowles were currently at the top of the leaderboards they had devised to track progress. Would it be one of them?

  Not that it mattered in the end. They were all in this together.

  Donovan began moving away from the grave, clearing space for others to offer their respects. Kroeger was near the front of the line, and the soldier tossed a pile of dirt onto the casket before hurrying to catch up with him.

  “Major,” Kroeger said, keeping pace as they walked. “I hear we’re moving out tonight.”

  “That's right,” Donovan said.

  Kroeger stopped and put out his hand. “Major, if we don’t see one another again, I just wanted to thank you.”

  “Thank me?”

  “I spent years out there in a world where hope was hard to come by, and civilization even harder. It changed me, in good ways and bad, but more in bad, I think. I was trying to do something good with Hell, and I think I did okay at it. But since signing up with you, I feel pride I thought I had lost. A sense of purpose that I thought was long gone. So yeah, thank you for that, Major. Even if we don’t always see eye to eye.” He paused, looking back at Soon’s grave. “Even if you should have listened to me.”