“Save your thanks until you hear my conditions. You will be given your weapons and body armor back, but not your Kurgan uniforms. You’ll continue to wear your tan coveralls. I don’t want any blue on blue mishaps happening. Also, your men will be under my direct command. They will do as I say.”
“And what if you fall in battle?”
“Then Captain Pheto will assume command and should she be killed or injured, Captain Sullivan will take charge. After that, I doubt there’ll be too many of your people left alive to lead.”
“What about Master Sergeant Cole?”
“He won’t be with us. Now do I have your word that you’ll do as I say?”
Komada bowed his head slightly. “You have it.”
“Good. Now get your people into the transport ship right away. Ready or not, we’re leaving three minutes from now.”
Flying barely twenty meters above the desert floor to avoid detection, Tarina flew her ship straight toward the mesa. A herd of six-legged, shaggy herbivores panicked when the vessel flew right over them, stirring up the sand. With a loud, frightened bellow, they scampered off in all directions.
In the back, Sheridan and Cole studied a holographic picture of the camp. They were desperate to find a suitable landing site for Cole and the MPs to use that wouldn’t be under direct fire or observation by the Kurgans.
“There,” said Cole, pointing at a dried-up riverbed at the base of the mesa. “We could be dropped off there and then make our way to the top without ever being seen. I’m sure I could find a path that would take us up to the back of the camp.”
“It’s a long shot, but I guess it’s all we have,” said Sheridan. He tapped Wendy on the arm before handing her the tablet with the hologram on it. “Can you ask Tarina to put the ship down on those coordinates?”
“Piece of cake,” she replied. “Then what?”
“Once Cole and the MPs have disembarked, I want Tarina to bring us around so we can land behind the two Kurgan ships already on the top of the mesa.”
“Can do,” she replied, inputting the landing coordinates into the navigational computer.
A thought crossed Sheridan’s mind. “Wendy, terrible time to ask, but is this thing armed?”
“Yes. There’s a forty millimeter chain gun on a swivel mount underneath the cockpit for local defense.”
“Okay then, the second we touch down, I want you to perforate the other two ships so they can’t fire on us.”
Wendy nodded. “With pleasure.”
“Two minutes from the initial LZ,” announced Tarina.
Cole looked back at Staff Sergeant Clinton. “Sergeant, get your people on their feet. We’re out the portside door the instant the skids touch down.”
“Yes, Master Sergeant,” replied Clinton.
Sheridan offered his friend his hand. “Good luck, Master Sergeant.”
“You too, sir. See you on the mesa.”
Wendy looked over her shoulder and said, “I’ll contact Aquarius-Six and let him know we’re going to be landing near his post.”
“Good idea,” replied Sheridan. “Make sure he sends someone to help guide Master Sergeant Cole’s people to the camp.”
Sheridan felt his stomach drop as Tarina brought it down over the landing site. Even before the ship had touched down, Cole pushed a button opening the side door. Hot, dusty air rushed into the cabin. The instant the landing skids touched down, Cole led his team out into a cloud of sand kicked up by the ship’s engines. As soon as the last man was out the door, the vessel rose up into the air.
Tarina applied full power to the engines as she brought the ship around the mesa and flew behind the two Kurgan ships, sitting unaware on the rocky surface with their landing ramps down.
Sheridan turned to face Komada. “Okay, get your people up and place them in two lines. I want them ready to sprint outside the moment we touch down. Leave two of your smaller people behind to help guard our ship.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Komada.
Still not sure in his heart that he had made the right call bringing the Kurgan defectors, Sheridan moved to the open side door and changed the arming lever on his assault rifle from safe to armed.
Tarina’s voice came over the ship’s intercom. “Standby, we’re touching down in ten seconds.”
It was too late for doubt to cloud his mind. Sheridan stuck his head out and saw the rocky ground race up toward him.
15
Cole ran as fast as he could until he reached the rocky wall of the mesa. He looked up and spotted a narrow path which led to the top of the plateau. He keyed the comms device built into his helmet. “Aquarius-Six, this is Guardian-One, do you read me, over.”
“Roger that. I hear you loud and clear,” responded Aquarius-Six. “Thank God you’re here. We’re pinned down and desperately need your assistance. Where are you?”
“I’m at the base of the mesa. We’re coming up. Whatever you do, make sure you don’t fire on us.”
“Wilco.”
Cole stood up and pointed at the narrow trail. “Let’s go, people; they ain’t paying us by the hour.”
A wall of dust swept up and over the transport ship.
“Follow me,” yelled Sheridan in Kurgan as he jumped from the open door. He ran to the front of their ship and dropped to one knee as the rebels spread out on either side of him. He had decided to use Kurgan to avoid any linguistic misunderstandings with Komada’s people, and, more importantly, to confuse their enemy.
The sound of the chain gun activating right above his head sent a shiver down Sheridan’s spine. He knew all hell was about to be unleashed and yelled, “Get down!”
He had just hit the ground when Wendy opened up on the two other ships. Forty millimeter shells struck the cockpit of the first vessel, blasting it to pieces. With a flick of her wrist, the deadly gun trained on the second ship. The sound of shells flying through the air reminded Sheridan of a buzzsaw. In less than three seconds, the front end of the transport vessel was sheared off. Everyone trapped inside died in a hail of lead.
Sheridan raised his head slightly and saw a squad of Chosen soldiers, who had been left behind to guard the ships, racing to load a missile launcher. He went to key his mic to warn Wendy when the chain gun spat out one hundred rounds a second into the hapless men, ripping them from limb to limb until only a crimson haze hung in the air. Sheridan turned away and spotted a long wall of rocks less than fifty meters away through the dust. He jumped to his feet and called out, “With me. Let’s go!”
As one, Komada’s men got up on their feet and ran for the safety of the rocks. It didn’t take long for the signs of a desperate battle to emerge. Several severely wounded Chosen soldiers lay on the ground, begging for water and medical help as the men ran by. At the rocky wall, a line of dead Chosen lay slumped over the rocks.
Sheridan took cover and waited a moment before crawling up to take a look around. He brought up his thermal binoculars and surveyed the smoke-filled battlefield. There were four buildings in the distance, three of which were on fire. Sheridan saw the Kurgans had broken down into three groups and were trying to close in on the people trapped in the last building. At least one hundred Chosen soldiers lay motionless on the ground. They’re giving as good as they’re taking, thought Sheridan of the men trapped in the building. He slipped back down and waved for Komada to move to his side.
“Okay, here’s the plan,” explained Sheridan. “There’s about two hundred Chosen still on their feet. We’re going to stay here behind these rocks and fire on them from behind. Hopefully, it will draw some of them back toward us. Do you have any questions?”
Komada shook his head. If he was scared, it didn’t show in his eyes. The man was as cool as a cold winter’s day.
“Pass the word. When I open fire, we open the gates of hell on those people. Remember, they may have been your people up until a few days ago, but they won’t hesitate to kill you and all of your fellow deserters. So treat them likewise.”
&
nbsp; Sheridan watched Komada as he ran down the line. He still didn’t trust the man. Sheridan still had the feeling that he was being used. All he knew was that he didn’t like being manipulated. Sheridan turned around and popped his head above the rocks. Through his thermal sight, Sheridan spotted a Kurgan officer trying to encourage his men to advance. As was Kurgan tradition, the officer was wearing body armor from his feet all the way to his neck. He was waving a banner in the air. Sheridan laid his sights on the officer’s leathery skull and pulled the trigger. The Kurgan staggered back a few paces before dropping the flag and falling face-first to the ground.
The sound of automatic rifles firing drowned out everything else as Komada’s soldiers opened fire. They lacked the marksmanship skill of trained Marines, but with the weight of fire they were bringing down, it only took a few seconds before Chosen soldiers and their Kurgan officers began to fall.
“Okay, let’s go,” said Tarina to Wendy as she climbed out of her chair, reached down, and picked up her assault rifle.
“Are we going to join Mike and the others or take cover nearby?” asked Wendy while she pulled on her body armor.
“There’s no safe place on a battlefield, so I say we help Michael.”
Wendy smiled. “I’d hoped you’d say that. I’m still pissed at how we were treated in that hellhole of a Kurgan prison, and I’d like to work on my marksmanship skills.”
“I hear you. Grab a medkit and couple bottles of water from the ship’s storeroom, and I’ll meet you at the exit.”
Wendy waved and jogged off to grab the supplies.
With her rifle tucked under her right arm, Tarina hurried to the open side door. Although the friendly force indicator was sending out a signal, she knew it was still possible for some nervous pilot to miss the signal and drop a bomb on them. The sooner they were well away from the ship, the safer she would feel. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the bodies of the two men who had been left to guard the ship lying on the ground, dead.
They weren’t alone.
Tarina was about to step back and close the door when through a billowing black cloud of smoke, she saw something moving toward her. She froze when she spotted the Kurgan hunter-killer robot. It stood as tall as a large dog. The drone, with its eight legs, looked like a mechanical spider. Built on the top of its body was a small turret with a machine gun mounted on either side of it.
A red laser dot appeared on the wall beside Tarina’s head. She bit her lip to stifle a scream as the targeting laser moved across her face. Tarina knew she had to remain perfectly still or the motion sensor built into the robot’s turret would detect her, and in the blink of an eye, she would be dead.
The drone edged forward, scanning the interior of the ship.
“Hey there, what’s going on?” asked Wendy as she rounded a corner with her arms loaded with provisions.
The targeting laser swung over at Wendy.
With cat-like reflexes, Tarina jumped back and slammed her palm down on a button, closing the door. Before it fully closed, a burst of gunfire shot inside the transport ship, missing Wendy’s midsection by less than a couple of millimeters. Bullet fragments ricocheted all around the cabin. Wendy cried out in pain as a jagged piece of metal tore through her uniform and cut a deep groove in her left thigh.
Tarina ran to her friend’s side and saw blood seeping from the wound. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m more scared than hurt,” Wendy replied through clenched teeth. She reached over and grabbed the medkit. “Good thing I have this with me. What the hell was that thing?”
“A Kurgan hunter-killer robot. It was probably helping to protect the two ships we destroyed and decided to come after us.”
Wendy gasped as Tarina sprayed disinfectant over her wound. “It’s not going to get in here, is it?”
“No. I doubt it. We’ll be safe in here until Michael or one of his men comes back to deal with it.”
An odd hissing noise seemed to come from outside. Both women stopped what they were doing and looked back at the door. A second later, the control panel used to open and close the door began to glow red.
“The bloody thing’s got a laser on it,” cried Wendy as she rushed to wrap a bandage over the cut in her leg.
Tarina stared in disbelief as the panel melted before her eyes. She glanced down at her rifle and shook her head. It would be useless against the armored drone. They needed something more powerful. Tarina helped her friend to her feet. “Come on, let’s get to the armory and see if we can find something we can use to stop that thing before it finds and kills us.”
The din of battle echoed over the side of the plateau. Cole raised a hand. Behind him, the MPs in a long, narrow line dropped to one knee, brought up their weapons into their shoulders, and covered their arcs. Cole pressed the talk button on his comms device. “Aquarius-Six, this is Guardian-one, we’re near the top. Can you confirm if a guide has been sent to meet us, over?”
All Cole heard was static in his earpiece. He checked that he was still on the right frequency and repeated his message. His gut told him something was wrong. Cole looked over his shoulder at Staff Sergeant Clinton. “Sergeant, it’s game time. We’re going over the top, and we’re not stopping until we’ve rescued those people. Got it?”
“Got it, Master Sergeant,” replied Clinton. His voice quivered with fear.
Cole patted the sergeant on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Sergeant. You’ll do fine. Just keep your men moving and don’t stop until I say so.”
Clinton nodded and passed the word to the platoon.
With a war cry from deep inside his gut, Cole ran up the last couple of meters and charged out onto the rocky plateau. Right away, he saw the thick black smoke covering the destroyed camp. Human and Chosen bodies were strewn everywhere. Cole spotted a Kurgan officer pointing at him and cut him down with a burst from his assault rifle. With his blood up, Cole ran toward the only structure not burning—a large cement bunker. The Kurgans encircling the back of the building hadn’t been expecting an attack from the rear of the mesa and were gunned down where they stood by the assault force as it charged right through their ragged lines. Although the element of surprise was on their side, several MPs died or were wounded before Cole led them inside the back door of the bunker.
Everywhere he looked, Cole saw wounded and dead soldiers lying on the ground. The floor was slick with blood. A man with a hand missing turned and saw Cole standing there. His eyes widened as he struggled to raise his weapon up.
“Whoa. Steady on there, soldier,” said Cole, raising his hands slightly. “We’re here to help. Where’s your CO?”
“He’s dead.”
“Okay, then who is in charge?”
“Uh, Sergeant Roosa is, I think.”
“Where is he?”
“She’s at the front of the building with whoever is still alive.”
Cole faced Clinton. “Leave a squad here to guard the back door and protect the wounded. The rest will follow me.”
Try as he might, Cole found it near impossible not to step on the wounded soldiers strewn about on the floor of the narrow corridor. The sound of automatic gunfire mixed with the crash of grenades striking the outside of the building filled the air.
In the dim light, Cole spotted a soldier giving orders. He called out, “Sergeant Roosa, I presume?”
The sergeant looked over. Cole couldn’t clearly see her face underneath a layer of caked-on blood and sand. “That’s me.” Her accent was Dutch. “Are you Guardian-One?”
“In the flesh. But you can call me Alan. I heard you’re in charge now. Is that correct?”
Roosa reluctantly nodded. She looked and sounded exhausted.
“How many people do you have left who can still fight?”
“Ten maybe. But most of them are wounded. We had forty-eight before the Kurgans attacked us.”
“Well, it’s a good thing we got here when we did.” Cole faced Clinton. “Spread your men out among the firing por
ts and windows and tell them to conserve their ammo. I have no idea how long we’re going to have to hold up in here.”
“Yes, Master Sergeant,” replied Clinton.
Cole smiled at Roosa. “Now let’s see how the other half is doing.”
16
The Kurgans were quick to react to the fire coming from the rocky wall. With casualties mounting by the second, they split into two teams. One led by a grizzled, old Kurgan major continued its assault on the bunker, while the other with a junior officer in command, charged Sheridan’s men.
“Rapid fire,” called out Sheridan when he saw the onrushing Kurgans break down into four-man fire teams. With a fierce determination to close with their enemy, the attacking soldiers pushed on through the hail of bullets flying through the air. The ground was soon covered with their dead and dying.
A voice came over Sheridan’s headset. “Guardian-Six, this is Black Knight, my wingman and I have been cut to assist you. We are still fully loaded. Do you still need support?”
The sound of the fighter-bomber pilot’s voice was music to Sheridan’s ears. “Roger that. I have beaucoup bad guys between my position and the furthest bunker.”
“I have you on my screen. What about that Kurgan transport behind you, do you wish us to engage and destroy it?”
“Negative!” replied Sheridan forcefully. “It’s a friendly call sign.”
“Got it. I can see the FFI now. ETA to your location in six-zero seconds.”
The sound of gunfire increased as the Chosen warriors struggled to reach the wall. As soon as a flag bearer fell, another soldier ran forward and lifted the crimson banner high in the air.
With seconds to go before the fighter-bombers arrived, the inconceivable happened. One of Komada’s men called out, “The Kelshan unbelievers must be destroyed.” With a lusty cheer, half of the soldiers rose up and charged out into the open, firing as they ran.
“No,” hollered Sheridan, trying to grab a man before he jumped over the rocks. “Get back behind the wall. We have fast air inbound.” He saw Komada attempting to stop a couple of men from climbing over the rock wall. Unfortunately, he only managed to get one man to listen to him. The rest were already too far gone.
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