Hidden Empire - Kevin J. Anderson [178]
The only time she'd had trouble was during regimented ground missions, when she'd been forced through nonsensical marches and choreographed infantry drills that reminded her of primitive folk dances. Tasia hadn't functioned well when asked to be a mindless part of a team. After one such assignment, Robb Brindle had joked, "With your attitude and your independence, Tamblyn, you're on your way toward either a court-martial or a general officer's commission."
Now, when all the recruits had settled down in the domed lecture hall, the lights dimmed. Overhead, the dome showed only the night of space and the dazzling pinpoints of Phobos and Deimos racing each other across the sky.
The podium shone under a single spotlight and the EDF liaison, Admiral Stromo, stepped to the center. Tasia's stomach sank even further. The liaison officer would not address them unless this was a matter of grave importance. The recruits muttered themselves into silence, but Tasia felt the tension grow in the crater auditorium.
The jowly admiral spoke without preamble. "We have obtained more images of our alien enemies," Stromo said. "My highest tactical advisers are studying every fragment of these signals, but I want you all to see them. Understand what we are up against."
"If those aliens ever show themselves, we'll kick their butts," muttered one of the recruits near her. His comment was answered by rowdy chuckles from his friends.
"We have learned of three more Roamer skymines destroyed in the past month. Five total. We obtained these transmissions from the last minutes of one such facility on a gas giant called Welyr."
In utter silence, the trainees watched a projection in the middle of the lecture hall. Spiked crystalline spheres rose above Welyr's clouds, ignoring the winds and storm systems and descending upon a skymine.
Admiral Stromo's voice echoed through the hall, adding unnecessary commentary. "The skymine captain—a woman—sounded an immediate evacuation, and numerous scout ships attempted to escape. The captain ejected her cargo of ekti, but the invaders showed no interest in it."
As the recruits watched, the disengaged cargo hold full of stardrive fuel tumbled away from the skymine and plunged into the ocean of colored gases. "The Roamers repeatedly tried to surrender, but the aliens refused to respond. They just...attacked."
Shareen Pasternak—now Tasia remembered the woman's name. The Welyr Chief had met sometimes with Ross. Now they were both victims of the new enemies.
Stromo fell silent again while in the image the habitation dome detached from the skymine. Tasia knew that such an action would have been the Chief's absolute last resort, a decision no Roamer captain would make unless she was convinced all hope was gone.
"Observe. Even when the skymine captain tried to evacuate her crew, the aliens came after her. Intentionally and maliciously."
In the projected images, the predatory crystalline spheres blasted the habitation module into molten shrapnel...and then returned without hurry to chop up the rest of the cloud-harvesting facility, leaving the debris to tumble down into the clouds.
All hands lost. Tasia swallowed hard, driving down the anger and impatience to do something. She hated just sitting here on Mars.
"Several of the Roamer scout ships remained aloft for a week, trying to survive in the upper atmosphere of Welyr," Stromo finally said. "Those vessels recorded the images you just saw, but they did not have sufficient life-support resources or long-range capabilities. When rescue finally arrived, there were no survivors aboard."
Robb Brindle looked at Tasia, knowing the pain she felt. He reached out