“Sir, I don’t care. Carry out that order or I’ll have the MP arrest you,” warned Roca.
“You don’t have the authority to arrest me.”
“Try me. I’ll doubt anyone above me will do anything to stop me. Sir, people, are dying out there. Do your job, or I’ll find an officer who can.”
Logo looked as if he had just been threatened within an inch of his life. “Sergeant, let go of Corporal Garcia and order the men to the gun line.”
“Yes, sir,” said the sergeant. He let go of Garcia and ran out of the tent.
Sergeant Major Roca looked at Garcia. “You’re from Alpha Company, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Sergeant Major,” she replied.
“How were things when you left?”
“The enemy had just started his attack.”
Roca pursed his lips. “Corporal, intel says that there’s an enemy division coming our way. Let’s just hope that there’s a battalion to go back to.”
Chapter 11
Sheridan could hear his Marines fighting to the death. The fact that he could not see them enraged him. He cursed the weather. If only the storm would abate, then he could try to coordinate the fight. As it was, his world was him and First Lieutenant York standing back-to-back, firing at any Chosen warrior that came into view.
“Cover me, I’m changing mags,” said Sheridan over his shoulder. He reached down and pulled out a fresh magazine for his pistol. He popped out the empty one and went to insert the full one when he saw something jump down into the trench right beside him. Sheridan turned his head and hurried to load his weapon.
Standing less than a couple of meters from Sheridan was a Kurgan officer with a large sword in his hand. His head was swathed in a scarf to keep out the sand. Before Sheridan could turn his pistol on the Kurgan, he stepped forward and smashed Sheridan in the mouth with the metal guard of his sword. Stars flashed before Sheridan’s eyes. The blow was unlike he had ever taken in his life. He staggered back, tripped over his own feet and tumbled to the ground. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth.
York felt Sheridan get hit. She pivoted on her heel and brought up her rifle to fire. The Kurgan, however, was faster. He hit her in the chest with his sword. If she had not been wearing body armor, she would have been cleaved in two by the mighty blow. Instead, she was thrown against the rocky wall of the trench with several broken ribs.
Sheridan moaned, spat out a tooth and rolled over. He turned his pistol at the Kurgan, only to have it kicked out his hand. Then it happened. Just like his recurring nightmare from when he was a child, the Kurgan bent down, grabbed him by his collar, and pulled him up. His attacker opened his mouth filled with his razor sharp teeth. Panic and self-preservation kicked in. Sheridan smashed his right hand into the Kurgan’s head. It did nothing. He might as well have punched the side of the trench instead. The Kurgan hissed loudly and shot its head forward, aiming for Sheridan’s throat.
A shot pierced the night.
The Kurgan jerked sideways and then fell to the ground with a large chunk of its head missing. Blood and gore spilled out onto the ground.
Sheridan turned his head and saw Cole standing there with his rifle aimed at the dead Kurgan. A second later, a couple squads of Marines ran past Sheridan and joined the fight.
Cole moved over to his friend and helped him up to his feet. “That’s two. You owe me,” said Cole.
Sheridan shook his head and turned so his left ear was facing Cole.
“Jesus, sir, you’re in a bad way,” said Cole when he saw the blood on Sheridan’s head.
“I’m okay.” He looked down at York, who was struggling to get up on her feet. He reached out to help her up. “Get back to the CP and stay there. You’re done.”
York gritted her teeth and nodded. She slowly hobbled away.
“Which way?” asked Cole.
“What?”
“Which way do you want to go? Left or right?”
Sheridan pointed to the left. “Let’s go this way and see if we can help out.”
Cole grabbed Sheridan by the arm. “If you don’t mind, sir, I’ll lead. I doubt you could take much more abuse.”
Garcia had joined Corporal Palmfelt’s gun crew. She did not know a thing about the 120mm mortar, but she knew that she had to do something to help. She joined a woman at the back of the pit and helped her prepare the bombs for firing. As soon as the bombs were ready, Garcia walked over to the mortar and placed them down beside the weapon.
Palmfelt reached over and tapped Garcia on the shoulder. “Do you want to drop the first one down the tube?”
“Sure!” she replied enthusiastically. She picked up a bomb and stopped beside Palmfelt, who was doing his last check of the mortar’s aiming system.
“Have you ever done this before?” asked Palmfelt.
“Sure, with the smaller ones.”
With a loud bang, the mortar next to them fired.
“Game on,” announced Palmfelt.
Garcia reached up and dropped the bomb fin first inside the long steel tube. A split-second later, the projectile flew out of the tube up into the air. Garcia turned her head toward the ridgeline, hoping to see it land. However, the storm still blocked the hill from sight.
Palmfelt said, “Okay, head back and help Private Hulot prep the bombs.”
Garcia nodded and jogged back over to Hulot. For the first time in a long time, she felt that her friends now had a fighting chance to live.
Sheridan carefully stepped over the body of one of his Marines. He bent down and picked up the dead man’s rifle. He checked that it was loaded. The bottom of the trench line was littered with the dead and dying from both sides. The ferocity of the storm had diminished slightly allowing Sheridan to see at least twenty meters in front of himself. He and Cole had joined Staff Sergeant Parsi. His platoon, even with the additional two squads of reinforcements, had been decimated. Barely sixteen Marines were left to fight the seemingly never-ending waves of Chosen soldiers.
Sheridan crept forward and peered over the top of the trench line. Hundreds of Chosen lay in rows, shot down before they could reach the top of the hill. From somewhere in the dark, a rifle fired. The shot glanced off Sheridan’s helmet sending him tumbling to the bottom of the trench.
Cole ran over. “Sir, sir, are you okay?”
Sheridan looked up and saw two Master Sergeant Coles standing over him. Sheridan removed his helmet and looked at the groove cut into the side of it. “Tonight seems to be my lucky night.”
“Come on, sir. Up on your feet,” said Cole as he helped Sheridan rise.
Sheridan brushed off the sand from his uniform and stepped back from the trench wall. He had pushed his luck enough for one night. In a flash, the sky above them was filled with a whistling sound.
“Down!” yelled Cole as he grabbed his friend and pulled him to the bottom of the trench.
Within seconds, the mortar bombs began to rain down on the ridgeline. Most landed on the enemy side of the hill. However, one or two fell short. Luckily, Sheridan’s Marines had taken cover just as the bombardment began. Each mortar bomb was packed with high explosives. The instant they struck the ground they exploded sending hundreds of tiny razor-sharp projectiles through the air. Those Chosen warriors trapped out in the open were cut down.
To Sheridan, the sound of the bombs exploding was the nicest sound he had heard in months. For close to five minutes, the deadly bombardment continued without stopping. Slowly, the shelling crept down the hill sweeping all away with it.
When the last round struck home, an eerie silence fell on the battlefield. Sheridan, his hear racing in his chest, got up on his feet. For as far as the eye could see were bodies. Very few moved or cried out for help. Most had died under the deadly rain of bombs.
Sheridan turned to face Cole. “Master Sergeant, I suspect that we will have a little bit of breathing room before the enemy comes back. Let’s see how bad we’ve been hit and prepare for the next assault.”
&nbs
p; “Right, sir,” said Cole.
Staff Sergeant Parsi said, “Sir, are you sure they’re coming back? My God, we must have killed hundreds, if not thousands, of them.”
“Staff Sergeant, they won’t quit until they, or we, are all dead. Their unwavering devotion to their religion won’t allow them to walk away. Trust me, they’ll be back. Now see to your men.”
Sheridan followed Cole back to the company CP. He found Roberts helping to bandage up York’s wounds. He was sitting on four boxes of ammunition. Tammy gave them a welcoming bark and moved over to Sheridan so he could scratch her nose.
“Is that all you could get?” asked Cole.
“Yes, Master Sergeant,” replied York. “The rest of the battalion was hit just as hard as we were. Trust me, I was lucky to get these four boxes. I was told that the Kurgans have launched a major offensive in our sector. The regiment is facing one if not two full-strength enemy divisions.”
“So much for a little feint,” mumbled Sheridan.
“I’ll redistribute the ammo,” said Cole. “Corporal Roberts, you can come with me.”
“Any word on reinforcements?” Sheridan asked.
Cole shook his head. They were on their own.
Chapter 12
Tarina and Wendy sat in the front row of the chairs spread out in a crescent shape in front of Colonel Wright’s lectern. He picked up a remote and turned on a holographic projector. An image appeared showing Illum Prime’s solar system all the way to the Kurgan border.
“Folks, our next mission is a simple one,” announced Wright. “We need to find the enemy’s fleet in order to bring about its destruction by the Sixth Fleet. How we are going to do this is by deploying a line of satellites all along the Kurgan border. These satellites will be able to see deep into Kurgan space. Our mission orders, however, prevent us from placing anything in Kurgan territory.”
“Sir, why would we be given a restriction like that?” asked Lieutenant-Colonel Tolinski, Wright’s new XO. She was a very slender woman with short black hair and porcelain white skin.
“It comes to us from the Federation Council on Earth. No Terran military units or hardware will cross into Kurgan space without the council’s expressed permission.”
A murmur coursed through the assembled officers and technicians.
Wright raised a hand to quieten his people. “As far as I am concerned, this is not a problem and from this moment forward, neither do you.”
A chuckle ran through the room.
Wright continued. “The satellites we will be deploying are state of the art and capable of transmitting trillions of pieces of information in a burst transmission lasting less than one-thousandth of a second. It is doubtful the enemy will ever know they are out there.”
“Sir, when will the satellites be arriving?” asked Master Chief Petty Officer Sun, the chief technician and most senior non-commissioned officer in the unit.
“In a week’s time, Master Chief,” replied Wright.
“Until then I expect all flight crews to ensure that their ships are good to go and that they conduct two practice flights before we begin our mission eight days from today.”
Tolinski stood up and looked out over the people sitting in their chairs. “Okay, you know what must be done. Get to it.”
The crowd, chatting to one another,began to disperse.
“Tarina, Wendy, can I have a word with you?” called out Wright.
Both women walked over to their commanding officer.
He smiled at them. “I’m glad to see that your promotions came in before I got back.”
“Thanks, sir,” they replied together.
“Earlier today, I saw you two and an officer I’ve never seen before going over a complex flight plan that you had written all over the side of your ship.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Wendy.
“Did he understand the math behind your flight plan?”
“He did. However, he had to be helped out on a couple of bits of the equation.”
Wright shook his head. He could not understand one-tenth of what Wendy wrote. “Is he a good navigator?”
“He’s okay,” replied Wendy.
“He’s better than okay,” said Tarina. “He’s young but has the ability to argue flight calculations with Wendy, even if she won’t admit it.”
“What’s his name?”
“First Lieutenant Daniel Malkovich,” said Tarina.
“Can you please have him report to my office ASAP. I want to take my ship out for a test drive, and I want to see just how good Mister Malkovich really is.”
Tarina and Wendy watched as Wright walked away. Tarina said, “So which one of us gets to tell Daniel that he just got volunteered by us to be the CO’s new navigator?”
“You do,” Wendy said.
“Why me?”
“Because you said that he was good at what he did. I tried downplaying the poor man’s skills and abilities.”
Tarina shook her head. She turned around slowly, trying to spot Malkovich. A couple of seconds later, she spotted him chatting with a technician. She walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and smiled when he saw Tarina standing there.
Tarina cleared her throat and then said, “I doubt you’re going to smile at me, Daniel, when I tell you what you have to do.”
Chapter 13
Michael Sheridan looked at the counter on the side of his assault rifle and saw that he had thirty-three rounds left. Once those were gone, he would be out of ammunition. He did not doubt that everyone around him was in the same predicament. He glanced skyward and saw that the night was slowly giving way to morning. The sandstorm that had hit them for the past eighteen hours was beginning to lose its steam. In the gray light of dawn, Sheridan could see the awful aftermath of the night’s engagement. Chosen soldiers were strewn everywhere. His men had moved as many of the dead and seriously wounded Marines into the deep trenches. For the past hour, Cole had been supervising the surviving Marines in constructing a redoubt using the bodies of their enemies for protection. It was a macabre sight, but with so few uninjured men and women left in the fight, they had to do something.
Sheridan’s throat was parched. He was nearing exhaustion. Sheridan pulled out his canteen and took a swig, emptying what he had left. He tossed his empty water bottle aside and stood atop the redoubt. Sheridan looked down the steep hill, looking for any sign of their adversary. He brought up his binoculars and studied the ground. There was a thick mist shielding the low ground from view. He could not see a single Chosen warrior moving around. His gut told him that they were still down there waiting for the order to attack. It was as if they had become fixated on destroying Sheridan and his small band of Marines. It made no sense, the Kurgans could have easily bypassed the survivors and kept on going. However, through the night, they kept on coming until they could not climb over the bodies of their fallen comrades and retreated back down out of view.
“Sir, for the love of God, will you get down from there,” said Cole.
Sheridan climbed down, removed his helmet, and pulled down his scarf from his face.
Cole shook his head when he saw how bad Sheridan’s injuries were. There was dried blood from his right ear all down his face. His lips were swollen and cut from where the Kurgan officer had struck him. He had a black eye as well but could not recall how he got that during the fight.
“It’s a good thing your girlfriend can’t see you now,” said Cole. “She’d probably give you hell for not keeping your head down.”
Sheridan, feeling the fatigue from the long night weighing him down, looked over and shrugged.
A Marine from the fire control team called out. “Sir, the computers are back up.”
“Thank God,” mumbled Sheridan. “Get on to higher and get us some help before the Kurgans come. Artillery, fast air, a missile cruiser, I’ll take anything right now.”
In the valley, bugles sang out.
“Here they come!” yelled Cole.
Marines ran from everywhere and jumped inside the redoubt.
A weary-looking corporal looked over at Sheridan. “Sir, my men and I have about twenty rounds each. We’ll never stop them.”
Sheridan pulled his bayonet from its scabbard and placed it on the end of his rifle. “Then we’ll make sure that they remember this day.”
Around him, his people fixed their bayonets. Each person was lost in thought. Some prayed, others just hoped for a quick death while some relished the idea of giving cold steel to the enemy.
“Single shots only,” said Cole. “Make each shot count. Aim for the officer and then anyone who goes for the flags.”
The sound of hundreds of voices chanting the Kurgan word for god filled the air as the Chosen warriors raised their crimson banners. A second later, they surged out of the fog and began to climb up the hill at their hated foes. They were as beaten up as the Marines. The Chosen did not run, in fact, it looked as if they were having a hard time even walking up the body-covered hill.
Sheridan rested his weapon on the top of the redoubt and took aim. He pulled the trigger and dropped a Kurgan officer. He waited for a Chosen soldier to run over to the flag and killed him as well. He was numb inside. Killing had become as second nature to him as breathing.
The wave of Chosen rippled as men fell under the withering fire of the Marines. They clawed their way over the mounds of their dead comrades and kept on coming. The ground seemed to shake as the warriors chanted and pushed ever forward.
Sheridan’s band of survivors brought down whole ranks of soldiers, but yet they came on. One by one, the Marines’ rifles went silent. They were out of ammo and out of time.
With a look of steely determination on his face, Sheridan stood up and waited for the first enemy soldier to come at him. He yelled at the Chosen, daring them to come to him.
From above a thunderous noise shook the air.
Sheridan felt a hand grab him from behind and pull him back. He tumbled inside the redoubt and saw Cole screaming at the rest of the Marines to get their heads down. A dark shape flew right over the top of the fortification. Less than a second later, the hillside erupted in flames as fighter-bombers from the fleet dropped napalm bombs down on the enemy. Even at the bottom of the redoubt, Sheridan could feel the blistering heat from the wall of flame as it consumed everything it touched. A dark cloud of smoke crept up into the sky.
Colossus (The Kurgan War Book 2) Page 6