Crimson Fire (The Kurgan War Book 8)

by Richard Turner

  “Sir, should we survive the battle, you can do whatever you please with my head. Until then, at least let me use it.” Kuhlik turned his back on Kordus and walked away, leaving the general to wallow in his fear. He watched as his soldiers switched out empty magazines for fresh ones. Ammo, this entire battle is going to come down to ammunition. If they ran out of it before the enemy stopped their attack, they were doomed, thought Kuhlik.

  Kuhlik’s radio operator tapped him on the back. “Sir, none of our ships can reach the command post. According to the captain of the frigate, Kuuril, it looks like our TOC has been overrun by savages. He’s asking if we want immediate evac from this battlefield.”

  Kuhlik swore under his breath. He should have thought of that himself. “Tell all our ships to dispatch everything they can to this location before we’re overwhelmed. They need to be heavily armed, and medical personnel should be available to deal with our wounded.”

  “Yes, sir,” replied the young soldier before relaying the message.

  For the first time since the battle began, Kuhlik could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps they didn’t have to all die today.

  Chapter 40

  “I can’t see a thing,” said Katin to Sheridan as she tried to get a better view of what was happening in the smoke-filled valley.

  The sound of gunfire told them that someone was still alive and fighting back in the haze.

  Sheridan leaned forward from his observation post trying to see what was happening. From his vantage point, all he could see was a steady stream of severely wounded warriors limping or crawling out of the smoke toward the jungle. Sheridan turned to speak with Kyrran, but the young chief, with his heart filled with revenge, could not sit idle anymore. He drew his sword, cursed the enemy, and ran out of the jungle accompanied by his personal bodyguards.

  “No, wait!” shouted Sheridan. “You damned, impetuous fool.”

  “What are you going to do?” asked Katin.

  “I can’t help him from here,” replied Sheridan, grabbing his rifle and sprinting after Kyrran.

  “Wait for me,” said Katin.

  Sheridan ran through the burning grass. The smoke made him cough. He pulled his shirt over his mouth so he could breathe. The scene before him was one he would never forget. Hundreds of warriors and Chosen soldiers covered the ground. The earth itself was soaked in blood. Many of the lifeless combatants were still entwined with their enemy. Several of the large dinosaurs lay still with multiple holes blasted through their thick skin. Their riders were covered in blood and hung off the sides of the beasts. The steady crack of gunfire coming from Sheridan’s left oriented him to the ongoing battle.

  “I see him,” said Katin, pointing.

  Sheridan turned and spotted Kyrran rallying some warriors who had lost heart. He faced Katin. “I know you’re a skilled fighter, but you’re also important to your brother and to the throne, so whatever happens next, please keep behind me.”

  Katin grinned. “When the time comes, you may wish to keep behind me, Major Sheridan. Come, let’s help Kyrran win this fight.”

  Sheridan shook his head. He had never met a woman so confident of her fighting prowess in his life. They worked their way through the maze of bad terrain and mounds of dead until they reached Kyrran.

  The whip-like crack of bullets passing overhead made Sheridan bend down until he slid behind a log and took cover. He brought his head up and peered over the log at the remnants of the Chosen battle group formed in a ragged circle around their flag. Most of the native warriors had also gone to ground, unable to advance any further against the sustained firepower of the Chosen soldiers. A rampart made from dead bodies marked the closest point the warriors had gotten to their enemy.

  Kyrran and Katin crawled over and joined Sheridan.

  “What do you think?” asked Katin.

  “It’s a charnel house out there. There’s no way we can close with the enemy while he holds firm where he is.”

  “We attack?” said Kyrran, waving his sword in the air.

  Sheridan grabbed the young warrior by the neck and hauled him down. He looked into Kyrran’s eyes and said firmly, “No. We have to come up with a plan or all you’ll do is die, along with hundreds more of your men.”

  Katin translated.

  Kyrran nodded and rolled over so he could look behind him. When he spotted a boy carrying a bugle, Kyrran waved to him. The youngster dashed over and dove to the ground as a volley of bullets flew his way.

  Sheridan couldn’t hear what Kyrran was saying, but the boy nodded enthusiastically and brought his bugle to his lips. The bugler blew into his horn, and the call was repeated by several more buglers.

  “What’s going on?” asked Sheridan.

  “Last warriors come,” responded Kyrran.

  Sheridan turned and looked toward the jungle. The sound of dozens of horns responding to the call swept through the valley. Moments later, the ground began to shake at Sheridan’s feet. Out of the haze charged a line of mounted warriors riding tall, two-legged beasts. Each warrior had a lance tucked under his arm as he rode toward the wall of Chosen soldiers.

  It didn’t take long for the Chosen to see the new threat and concentrate their fire on the charging warriors. Sheridan grimaced as the front row of riders were swept away. It was like watching a scythe cutting through wheat.

  A second wave of riders burst through the smoke and cried for vengeance. Behind them came hundreds of natives crying out for blood.

  It was a glorious spectacle, but one Sheridan was certain was going to end in abject failure like the others. The Chosen waited until the riders were less than fifty meters away before opening fire. The accurate gunfire brought down the riders and their beasts in a long, bloody line. One of the animals who had lost its rider kept running toward the Chosen. A shot to its chest brought it down. The mount in its death throes collapsed on the line of Chosen soldiers, kicking and thrashing with its clawed feet, slashing deep, bloody grooves in a couple of men. Several soldiers jumped back, forcing the men to break formation.

  “Now!” yelled Sheridan, pointing to the break in the line.

  Kyrran let out a cry, leaped to his feet, and charged the Chosen. Hundreds of his men heard the call and rose from the ground to join in the fight.

  “See you later, Major,” said Katin to Sheridan as she rushed after Kyrran.

  Sheridan got to his feet, swore at Katin, and joined the wave of warriors as they swept toward the break in the line.

  Chapter 41

  “Coming out of our jump in three-two-one,” reported the Ojibway’s navigator.

  The blackness of the jump bubble was replaced by the bright green moon below them.

  “Sir, I have several Kurgan ships on my scanner,” said the ship’s tactical officer.

  “Distance?” asked Killam.

  “Just over three hundred thousand kilometers.”

  “Status?”

  “It looks like they’re preparing to launch shuttlecraft to the surface of the moon.”

  “Warn them off. Let them know that any attempt to dispatch any vessels to the surface will be met by force.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The lights on the bridge switched from white to red as an alarm sounded throughout the ship. “Warning, you are being targeted, I say again, you are being targeted,” said a metallic voice over the vessel’s speakers.

  “Shields up,” ordered Captain Martin, the Ojibway’s captain.

  “Who’s targeting us?” asked Killam.

  “Sir, two Kurgan ships have locked their defensive gun batteries and their ship-to-ship missiles on us,” said the tactical officer.

  “Are they still preparing to launch their shuttles?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Did they acknowledge the message you sent warning them not to?”

  “Sir, it looks like they’re ignoring all my attempts to communicate with them.”

  “Admiral, your orders?” asked Captain Martin.
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br />   Killam stared at the tactical screen while he twisted the ring on his right hand his father had given him after he graduated from the academy.

  “Sir?” prodded Martin.

  “Order the Yantai and Pulaski to lock their missiles on the launch bays of the ships preparing to deploy their shuttles. But not to fire without my expressed orders. That should get their attention.”

  “Sir, it has,” said the tactical officer. “I have multiple incoming missiles.”

  “All gun batteries, open fire,” ordered Martin. “All hands, brace for impact.”

  Killam held his breath and watched as the incoming rockets were blasted to pieces by the combined firepower of his ships. He’d seen enough. “To hell with our rules of engagement. Captain, return fire. I want those Kurgan ships blasted from the stars.”

  The Kurgans, low on ammunition and missiles, must have known their time was up. As the missiles streaked toward them, they activated their jump engines and tried to get away. Only one ship was fast enough. The rest were hit dead center and exploded.

  A cheer swept the bridge as the last ship vanished from the screen.

  “Sir, I have found signs of human life—two—on the surface of the moon,” said the ship’s executive officer.

  “Where?’ asked Killam.

  “Just outside of a primitive city.”

  “Order the Essex to dispatch a platoon of Marines to that location. I want those people found and brought back alive, ASAP.” Killam placed his hands behind his back and stared at the screen. Two was a good start. There were still two humans to be accounted for along with the royal siblings. Killam turned on his heel and began to pace. Now came the worst part: waiting to know who was still alive or dead.

  Chapter 42

  The first wave of warriors to rush the Chosen soldiers fell almost to a man, but several of them managed to dash into the gap and hacked at the soldiers around them, forcing the opening wider.

  Sheridan lost sight of Kyrran, but could still see Katin bobbing and weaving from side to side as she closed in with the enemy. It was time for him to add to the mayhem. Sheridan unslung his rifle and flipped the selector to automatic. He took aim at the Chosen NCOs and officers struggling to close the gap and emptied the magazine. With his rifle empty, Sheridan tossed it to the ground, picked up a sword, and ran to catch up with Katin.

  Katin leaped into the air like a tiger and landed on her shoulder inside the Chosen position. She rolled over and came up on her feet. In her hands were two knives she had picked up off the ground.

  Sheridan was swept along with the onrushing warriors. He burst through the hole in the line and dodged to one side to escape the bloodthirsty horde as it sliced its way through the Chosen soldiers. He spotted Katin as she fought off five attackers. It was more like a dance than a fight. Katin spun on her heels and fought several men at a time, parrying and thrusting against them. She was far more adept at wielding a blade than the soldiers were and cut them down until only one man remained on his feet. The sole survivor hauled back on his bayonet to ram it into Katin’s stomach. She saw the move coming and turned sideways. The soldier’s thrust missed her completely. Katin twirled on her feet and slammed her knife deep into the soldier’s chest. She held the knife tight in the man’s body as he dropped to his knees before tumbling to the ground, dead.

  “That was unbelievable,” said Sheridan.

  “I was attacked by twice that number less than a month before my grandfather had his stroke,” said Katin. “They all died, too.”

  “Have you seen Kyrran?”

  “Yes. He was hit in the shoulder by a bullet and fell to the ground. I think he’s okay, though.”

  Sheridan looked at the shrinking number of Chosen and spotted an officer holding a crimson banner in his hands, exhorting his men to fight harder. Behind him was General Kordus. He nudged Katin with his elbow. “Shall we?”

  Her eyes lit up the instant she saw Kordus.

  Sheridan picked up a discarded rifle, dropped to one knee, and laid the weapon’s sights on the Kurgan officer holding the flag high above his head. He held his breath for a second as he pulled back on the trigger. The shot hit the Kurgan on the side of his skull, blasting a hole out the other side. Sheridan was about to pick a new target when Katin charged the remaining soldiers, intent on sending as many as she could to hell.

  “Damn,” muttered Sheridan, sprinting after Katin to help.

  Kordus stared down at Kuhlik’s lifeless body. His soldiers were losing the fight. Attacked by close to a thousand fresh warriors, the Chosen soldiers had only seconds left before they were overwhelmed.

  “Sir, come with us,” said a bull-necked Chosen sergeant.

  Kordus turned to see his personal protection detail forming up around him.

  The sergeant picked up an automatic weapon, took point, and sprayed the weapon’s bullets in a tight arc, cutting his way through the melee. Friend and foe fell under blistering fusillade. It didn’t matter who the sergeant killed if it provided a way out of the massacre. Up ahead were the two quads they’d left at the edge of the jungle.

  Salvation was at hand.

  No matter how hard he tried, Sheridan couldn’t catch up with Katin. She was just too fast on her feet. She wove her way around the last knot of Chosen soldiers and hurried after Kordus. Sheridan tossed his rifle aside and scooped up a pistol from a dead Kurgan lieutenant’s hand. When they were less than twenty paces from the fleeing soldiers, one of the men turned his head. Before Katin could close the distance, the soldier fired his rifle at her. Struck three times in the leg, she fell to the ground, crying out in pain.

  “No!” hollered Sheridan. He brought up his pistol and fired as he ran. The first couple of shots went wide. The next one hit the soldier in the midsection, doubling him over.

  The pack of soldiers heard the shots, grabbed Kordus by the arms, and started to run, dragging the general with them.

  Sheridan came to a sliding halt next to Katin.

  She gritted her teeth and tried to sit up. Blood covered her leg. “I’m okay, whatever you do, Major, don’t let Kordus get away.”

  “Are you sure? Some of your wounds look pretty bad.”

  Katin pushed Sheridan away. “Kill Kordus.”

  Sheridan knew it would be pointless trying to argue with the princess. She had been trained to face death since she was a child. He got to his feet as Kordus and his bodyguards jumped into the closest ATV and sped off into the jungle. He yanked a couple hand grenades from a dead soldier’s body and ran the last few meters to the last quad. Sheridan slid down into the driver’s seat and started the engine. He quickly looked over the unfamiliar controls, released the handbrake, switched gears, and jammed his foot down on the accelerator. The ATV leaped forward as its wide tires dug into the wet ground.

  The animal trail was barely wide enough for the vehicle as it sped after the other quad. Sheridan placed his pistol on his lap and the grenades in a small ammo pouch on the dash. He kept his foot firmly planted on the accelerator. He spotted the other vehicle making a sharp turn. Sheridan never slowed. He leaned into the turn as he spun the wheel over in his hands. Mud flew into the air behind his vehicle as the tires clawed at the loose dirt for traction. Sheridan grabbed his pistol and fired a couple of shots at the back of the escaping vehicle. One of the soldiers fell backward onto the trail. Sheridan ignored the body, driving straight over it.

  Another soldier heard the shots, looked back, and opened fire on Sheridan. The rounds cracked through the air next to his head. Sheridan ducked down but kept his foot on the accelerator. He waited a few seconds before popping up and firing off what was left in the pistol at the back of the quad. The man who had fired on Sheridan yelped in pain when a bullet tore through his shoulder. Sheridan dropped behind the dash when he saw a light machine gun in the hands of a broad-shouldered soldier pointed at his head. The front end of his ATV flew apart, torn to ribbons by the machine gun. Sheridan felt his vehicle losing speed. He cursed and sat up
just as the Chosen sergeant tossed his empty weapon aside and leaped onto Sheridan’s ATV.

  The soldier landed in the empty passenger’s seat, turned, and smashed his right fist into Sheridan’s face.

  Stars filled Sheridan’s eyes. He shook his head. The sergeant delivered another crushing blow to his skull. Sheridan fought to stay conscious. He turned and faced his attacker as the soldier hauled back his right arm to hit him again. Sheridan wedged the wheel between his legs and shot his right hand into his opponent’s nose, shattering it. Blood shot like a red river down the sergeant’s face.

  Damaged beyond repair, Sheridan’s ATV came to a rolling halt on the muddy trail.

  Sheridan knelt up in his seat, grabbed the stunned sergeant by the collar, and slammed his forehead down on the soldier’s already broken nose. The man howled in pain and reached up to protect his face. Sheridan saw his opening, drew his knife, and thrust it into the soldier’s side. He twisted the blade over before letting go of the bloody hilt. The Chosen sergeant let out a gasp of air before slumping over in his seat.

  Out of breath, Sheridan got out his vehicle and looked down the trail. The other ATV was nowhere in sight. Sheridan swore and smashed his hand down on the hood of his vehicle. The sound of feet hitting the wet ground made him spin around. Sheridan grinned when he saw one of the two-legged beasts the warriors had been riding.

  “Why not,” he said to himself as he took the ammo pouch from the dash and helped himself to the dead soldier’s pistol. Sheridan hadn’t ridden a horse since he was in his early teens. How different could this be? He hauled himself up onto the animal’s saddle, took hold of the reins, and tapped the beast’s sides gently with his boots.

  The animal let out a little cry and began to jog down the dirt path. Its head bobbed back and forth with each step, like an ostrich.

  Sheridan looked down at the tire tracks in the mud. They seemed to be getting deeper. He grinned; the vehicle was having trouble with the wet ground. The beast with its broad feet had no problem running over the muddy terrain. Less than a minute later, Sheridan heard the vehicle’s tires spinning in the mud. He slowed his ride and drew his pistol. Sheridan spotted the ATV stuck in the mud on the far side of a stream. He slid off his animal and tied its reins to a tree. He pocketed a grenade, stepped off the path, and vanished into the jungle.