“There’s only one way to find out.”
“Remind me not to volunteer for anything in the future,” declared the pilot to her friend as she took the shuttle down into the raging storm.
Lighting flashes lit up the ship as it dropped deeper into the depths of the planet’s gaseous atmosphere.
Wendy glanced over at the screen and saw the Kurgan fighter closing in on them. Its pilot must have realized what they were attempting to do and was hoping to catch them and use his ship’s cannons to blow them apart.
A loud moaning shriek echoed through the shuttle. Everyone in the back compartment turned their heads up and looked at the roof of the craft as if expecting to see some horrid creature trying to rip its way inside.
“This is not my idea of an escape,” said Cole, hanging onto a strap to prevent him from being thrown about the cabin.
“Mine, neither,” added Sheridan.
In the cockpit, the four women stared intently at the computer monitor as it displayed the pressure building up on the hull. No one had to say it, but they all knew that they were approaching crush depth.
Wendy turned her eyes away and glanced at the targeting monitor and saw that the Kurgan fighter was nearly on them. She didn’t doubt that if he didn’t get them, the pressure soon would. She closed her eyes, reached over, and took Tarina’s hand. If she were going to die, she would be with her best friend and not alone.
A massive crumpling sound of metal being twisted and compressed came over the shuttle’s speakers. Someone in the back cried out in fear.
Wendy opened her eyes and saw that they were still in one piece. She looked for the Kurgan on the screen and saw that he was no longer there. Joy raced through her heart. “He’s gone, the Kurgan is gone. He’s imploded. Get us the hell out of this storm.”
The pilot turned her head and saw that the monitor was blank. In a flash, she pulled back on the shuttle’s controls and brought the ship’s nose up. She applied power and brought them out of the maelstrom and headed back into space.
“I think there’s another vessel in orbit. It’s about forty thousand kilometers away,” said Tarina as she read the information on the screen.
“Friendly?” asked Wendy.
Tarina smiled. “It’s the Algonquin.”
A cheer erupted from the cockpit that raced through the rest of the ship. They had made it. It was time to go home.
In a dark corner not noticed by anyone, Angela looked around at the people in the compartment with her. They weren’t her people. She was alone and for the first time in months, she was afraid.
Chapter 47
Not since he was a young boy, after his sister’s death, did Michael Sheridan feel so helpless. He stared down at the note in his hand. He had already read it over several times, yet he found himself reading it again trying to see if there was something more to the message.
The doors to his quarters slid open. Cole walked in with a grin a mile wide on his face. “Oy, what are you doing here? I thought you’d still be at the officers’ mess. After all, it’s not every day that your father gets promoted to full admiral.”
“I’m not in the mood to celebrate.”
Cole heard the bitterness in his friend’s voice and stepped inside the room. “What’s up, Captain?”
Sheridan handed over the note. “Tarina slipped me this note this afternoon.”
“She can’t be serious?” said Cole after reading the paper.
“She has no reason to make it up.”
“Wow. I never saw that coming. So Angela is a Chosen female? Have you told your dad?”
Sheridan shook his head. “Tarina and a lot of people owe her their lives. I’m not sure how to approach my father about it. I’m worried that the counterintelligence gurus back home will want to convert her and send her back as an agent when all she wants to do is get back to her children.”
“You know there’ll be hell to pay if fleet finds out that Tarina and Wendy are hiding a Kurgan among the other freed prisoners; they’re likely to accuse them of being Kurgan sympathizers.”
“I know. The problem is I can’t speak to Tarina anymore.”
Cole scrunched up his face. “Why not?”
“She and the rest of the prisoners have been moved from the hospital frigate, Nightingale, to a cruiser for the trip back to Earth. Do know where they are going to do their decompression?”
Cole shook his head.
“Camp Gault in Western Canada, that’s where.”
“I did my squad leaders’ course there. It’s in the middle of nowhere. Great spot to house people while you spend weeks debriefing them until they die of boredom.”
“If Angela wasn’t spotted during the preliminary medical and psych screening on the Nightingale, she undoubtedly will be found out at Camp Gault.”
The phone on Sheridan’s nightstand rang. He picked it up and listened to the message before hanging up.
Cole noticed that the look on Sheridan’s face was even more somber. “Something up?”
“It was Captain Killam. My father wants to see both of us in the briefing room right away.”
“Perhaps they want to promote us,” said Cole trying to lighten the mood. “They were handing out promotions and commendations like candy at the mess when I left.”
“I don’t think so. I’ve never heard the Captain sounding so troubled.”
“God, I hope that nothing has happened to the ladies.”
Sheridan stood. He put the note in a jacket pocket before quickly checking that his uniform looked proper. “Come on, Master Sergeant, let’s see what my father wants.”
A couple of minutes later, they entered the briefing room and found it deserted, except for Admiral Sheridan and Captain Killam sitting at the far end of the table.
Michael Sheridan came to attention. “You wanted to see us, sir.”
“Yes, Michael. Please take a seat,” said his father.
Both men took seats directly across the table from the two senior officers.
“Michael, I have never doubted your word and this pains me just to bring this up. However, before Captain Killam shows you why you were asked to come here. I have to know if your report regarding your actions on the ice moon during the retrieval of the Kurgan codes a few months back was one-hundred percent accurate.”
Sheridan sat back. He was somewhat confused by the question. “Sir, I left nothing out. Why, is there a problem that I am not aware of?”
Killam turned in his seat and pressed a remote. On the main briefing screen a picture of the federation president appeared. He was standing outside of Allied Defense Headquarters making an announcement. A second later, the news report began.
Sheridan sat forward in his seat, studying the screen to determine what was troubling his father so much. He did not have to wait long. There was the sound of a rifle firing followed right away by the sounds of panicked and frightened people trying to take cover. The image on the screen got blurry as the cameraman also sought safety.
“Jesus, they didn’t get the president, did they?” Cole asked.
“No,” replied Killam. “Unfortunately, a couple of bodyguards and an innocent bystander were killed in the shootout.”
“Shootout with who?” queried Sheridan.
“Chosen deep operative agents,” said the admiral. “They were all killed by our security forces, but there is something you need to see at the very end of the broadcast.”
Sheridan was still in shock that the president had come so close to being assassinated back home on Earth. His eyes took in each image until the program stopped just as the camera was panning the scared-looking crowd.
Sheridan’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the face of a man who should not be alive.
“Hey, he’s supposed to be dead,” observed Cole.
It couldn’t be. Sheridan was sure that his eyes were playing tricks on him. He stood up and moved over to the screen and studied the face of the man standing there. There could be no doubt it
was Harry Williams, Sheridan’s closest friend who had turned out to be a sleeper agent. Sheridan had been forced to kill him with a knife to the heart, yet he was still alive and loose on Earth.
Sheridan turned to speak to his father. “I don’t get it. I held him in my arms and watched him die.”
“Michael, I have no doubt that you believe that you killed Harry, but it would appear that he somehow survived.”
“Why don’t the police just go and arrest him?” said Cole.
“How do you arrest a dead man?” said Killam. “He’s probably got new fingerprints and is wearing contacts so he can pass through retinal security scanners without being detected.”
“There are security cameras everywhere back home,” pointed out Sheridan. “Surely the facial recognition computer software can spot him.”
“A simple jammer hidden on a person’s body can screw with the cameras for a few seconds, so a person can walk about practically invisible,” explained Killam.
Sheridan took his seat. “Admiral, what does this have to do with Master Sergeant Cole and me?”
“Michael, Admiral Oshiro has ordered the two of you back to Earth. Fleet intelligence knew that you and Harry were close, so they believe that you have a better than average chance of finding him. Admiral Oshiro wants you to arrest Harry. If he resists, you are authorized to use all force necessary up to, and including, deadly force to stop him from committing any further acts of terrorism.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Sheridan. All of the pent-up feelings he had worked hard to suppress after killing his friend came rushing back into his chest. He felt like he was trapped in a vice and was being squeezed until he blacked out. His mouth craved the taste of Scotch. If he could have, he would have fled the room and found comfort in the bottom of a bottle. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself.
“Is there something bothering you, Michael?” asked his father.
“The day can’t get much worse,” said Cole. “Captain, tell the admiral what Captain Pheto passed on to you.”
“Is Tarina okay?” asked the admiral.
“Yes, Dad, she’s fine, but I’m afraid what I know will only make things a lot harder for everyone involved.”
“You have my word, Michael, that whatever you have to tell me will not leave this room.”
Sheridan dug out his note and handed it over to his father who calmly read it over before passing it to Killam.
“Well, it didn’t rain so much as pour on the Sheridan household today,” observed the admiral. “There’s not a lot I can do about this right now. You’ve got a mission to do. Leave this with Captain Killam and me, and I’ll see what we can do for this woman.”
“Thanks, sir,” said Sheridan as he stood up. “I guess Master Sergeant Cole and I had best hop on board a ship heading back home.”
Killam said, “The Sydney is departing in the morning for a scheduled overhaul. I’ll arrange for passage for the two of you.”
Sheridan nodded. He and Cole came to attention, turned, and walked out of the room to pack their kit.
“Jesus, sir, we’ve got to report this,” said Killam to the admiral.
“After an assassination attempt on Earth, do you honestly think this woman will be treated as anything but an enemy agent?”
“Admiral, I sympathize with her plight. But there are a lot of people who would lose their minds if they thought high-ranking officers in the fleet were deliberately hiding information that a Kurgan could be found among the prisoners freed from Klatt.”
“I know. But I believe that we owe this woman some thanks for helping keep some of our people alive, even if she is from a Chosen homeworld.”
“Sir, you know me, I’m not going to go behind your back and report this, but what can we possibly do from here?”
Admiral Sheridan sat back and stared at the wall for a few seconds. He got out of his chair, walked over to a table, and picked up a tablet. He touched the screen and scrolled through a list of his staff officers before stopping over a name. He began to smile. “Commander Roy has been working hard these past few months, hasn’t she?”
“Yes, sir, I do believe so.”
“I think it’s high time for her to take some much-needed shore leave.”
Killam nodded. “Yes, sir. An excellent idea.”
“Please ask the commander to come see me right away.”
Killam nodded and left the room to catch Roy before she went to the gym to burn off the frustrations of the day.
With a resigned sigh, Admiral Sheridan sat down again. While he waited for Roy, he brought out another note, this one from his wife. He shook his head when he read it. It was not unexpected. She had filed for divorce. It was the worst kept secret in the fleet that she had been sleeping with a politician with his eye on the presidency. He regretted not telling his son, but knowing his fractured relationship with his mother, he probably wouldn’t have cared.
The door to the room slid open. “You wanted to see me, sir,” said Roy, dressed in her workout clothes.
Robert Sheridan placed both notes away and stood up. “Commander, I need you to do something very sensitive. What I’m about to tell you is for your ears only.”
Roy stepped inside the room. Behind her the door closed. She saw the grave look on her boss’ face and smiled. “What’s the op, sir?”
Admiral Sheridan pulled out a chair for Roy and took one facing her. He dug out Tarina’s message and handed it to her to read.
“My God,” murmured Roy.
“Now listen very carefully. Here’s what I need you to do . . .”
– THE END –
Trident Fury (The Kurgan War Book 3) Page 25