John Scalzi - The Ghost Brigades (A Sci Fi Essential Book)

The Ghost Brigades

Old Mans War Book 2

John Scalzi

To Shara Zoll, for friendship and everything else. ToKristine and Athena, for their patience and love.

No one noticed the rock.

And for a very good reason. The rock wasnondescript, one of millions of chunks of rock and ice floating in theparabolic orbit of a long-dead short-period comet, looking just like any chunkof that deceased comet might. The rock was smaller than some, larger thanothers, but on a distribution scale there was nothing to distinguish it one wayor another. On the almost unfathomably small chance that the rock was spottedby a planetary defense grid, a cursory examination would show the rock to becomposed of silicates and some ores. Which is to say: a rock, not nearly largeenough to cause any real damage.

This was an academic matter for the planetcurrently intersecting the path of the rock and several thousand of itsbrethren; it had no planetary defense grid. It did, however, have a gravitywell, into which the rock fell, along with those many brethren. Together theywould form a meteor shower, as so many chunks of ice and rock did each time theplanet intersected the comets orbit, once per planetary revolution. Nointelligent creature stood on the surface of this bitterly cold planet, but ifone had it could have looked up and seen the pretty streaks and smears of theselittle chunks of matter as they burned in the atmosphere, superheated by thefriction of air against rock.

The vast majority of these newly mintedmeteors would vaporize in the atmosphere, their matter transmuted during theirincandescent fall from a discrete and solid clump to a long smudge ofmicroscopic particles. These would remain in the atmosphere indefinitely, untilthey became the nuclei of water droplets, and the sheer mass of the waterdragged them to the ground as rain (or, more likely given the nature of theplanet, snow).

This rock, however, had mass onits side. Chunks flew as the atmospheric pressure tore open hairline cracks inthe rocks structure, the stress of plummeting through the thickening matof gases exposing structural flaws and weaknesses and exploiting themviolently. Fragments sheared off, sparkled brilliantly and momentarily and wereconsumed by the sky. And yet at the end of its journey through the atmosphere,enough remained to impact the planet surface, the flaming bolus smacking hardand fast onto a plain of rock that had been blown clean of ice and snow by highwinds.

The impact vaporized the rock and a modestamount of the plain, excavating an equally modest crater. The rock plain, whichextended for a significant distance on and below the planet surface, rang withthe impact like a bell, harmonics pealing several octaves below the hearingrange of most known intelligent species.

The ground trembled.

And in the distance, beneath the planetsurface, someone finally noticed the rock.

Quake, said Sharan. Shedidnt look up from her monitor.

Several moments later, another tremorfollowed.

Quake, said Sharan.

Cainen looked over to his assistant fromhis own monitor. Are you planning to do this every time? heasked.

I want to keep you informed ofevents as they happen, Sharan said.

I appreciate the sentiment,Cainen said, but you really dont have to mention it every singletime. I am a scientist. I understand that when the ground moveswere experiencing a quake. Your first declaration was useful.By the fifth or sixth time, it gets monotonous.

Another rumble. Quake, saidSharan. Thats number seven. Anyway, youre not atectonicist. This is outside your many fields of expertise. DespiteSharans typical deadpan delivery, the sarcasm was hard to miss.

If Cainen hadnt been sleeping withhis assistant, he might have been irritated. As it was, he allowed himself tobe tolerantly amused. I dont recall you being a mastertectonicist, he said.

Its a hobby, saidSharan.

Cainen opened his mouth to respond andthen the ground suddenly and violently launched itself up to meet him. It tooka moment for Cainen to realize it wasnt the floor that jerked up to meethim, hed been suddenly driven to the floor. He was now haphazardlysprawled on the tiles, along with about half the objects formerly positioned onhis workstation. Cainens work stool lay capsized a body length to theright, still teetering from the upheaval.

He looked over to Sharan, who was nolonger looking at her monitor, in part because it lay shattered on the ground, nearwhere Sharan herself was toppled.

What was that? Cainen asked.

Quake? Sharan suggested,somewhat hopefully, and then screamed as the lab bounced energetically aroundthem again. Lighting and acoustic panels fell from the ceiling; both Cainen andSharan struggled to crawl under workbenches. The world imploded around them fora while as they cowered under their tables.

Presently the shaking stopped. Cainenlooked around in what flickering light still remained and saw the majority ofhis lab on the floor, including much of the ceiling and part of the walls.Usually the lab was filled with workers and Cainens other assistants,but he and Sharan had come in late to finish up some sequencing. Most of hisstaff had been in the base barracks, probably asleep. Well, they were awakenow.

A high, keening noise echoed down the hallleading to the lab.

Do you hear that? Sharanasked.

Cainen gave an affirmative head dip.Its the siren for battle stations.

Were under attack?Sharan asked. I thought this base was shielded.

It is, Cainen said.Or was. Supposed to be, anyway.

Well, a fine job, I mustsay, Sharan said.

Now Cainen was irritated. Nothingis perfect, Sharan, he said.

Sorry, Sharan said, keyingin on her bosss sudden irritation. Cainen grunted and then slid out fromunderneath his workbench and picked his way to a toppled-over storage locker.Come help me with this, he said to Sharan. Between them theymaneuvered the locker to where Cainen could shove open the locker door. Insidewas a small projectile gun and a cartridge of projectiles.

Where did you get this?Sharan asked.

This is a military base,Sharan, Cainen said. They have weapons. I have two of these. Oneis here and one is back in the barracks. I thought they might be useful ifsomething like this happened.

Were not military,Sharan said.

And Im sure that will make ahuge difference to whoever is attacking the base, Cainen said, andoffered the gun to Sharan. Take this.

Dont give that to me,Sharan said. Ive never used one. You take it.

Are you sure? Cainen asked.

Im sure, Sharan said.Id just end up shooting myself in the leg.

All right, Cainen said. Hemounted the ammunition cartridge into the gun and slipped the gun into a coatpocket. We should head to our barracks. Our people are there. Ifanything happens, we should be with them. Sharan mutely gave her assent.Her usual sarcastic persona was now entirely stripped away; she looked drainedand frightened. Cainen gave her a quick squeeze.

Come on, Sharan, he said.Well be all right. Lets just try to get to thebarracks.

The two had begun to weave through therubble in the hall when they heard the sublevel stairwell door slide open.Cainen peered through the dust and low light to make out two large forms comingthrough the door. Cainen began to backtrack toward the lab; Sharan, who had thesame thought rather faster than her boss, had already made it to the labdoorway. The only other way off the floor was the elevator, which lay past thestairwell. They were trapped. Cainen patted his coat pocket as he retreated; hedidnt have all that much more experience with a gun than Sharan and wasnot at all confident that hed be able to hit even one target at adistance, much less two, each presumably a trained soldier.