“Before Captain Killam briefs us all, why don’t we grab some food and sit down,” said the admiral.
With plates piled high, Sheridan and Cole took a seat facing Admiral Sheridan’s desk, where Killam had set up his computer.
Killam pressed a button and a holographic image of the star systems in Sixth Fleet’s area of operations came up.
“Gentlemen, using the information contained on the hard drive, I have been able to come up with a plan to lure the enemy fleet in our sector into a confrontation that will result in the elimination of the last two remaining carriers facing us.” Killam reached over and enlarged a star system near the Kurgan border.
“The Mors system is a largely unexplored section of space that years ago was deemed to be of no strategic importance and therefore left unguarded. However, it would appear that the Kurgans have discovered a planet rich in perlinium and have established a covert mining colony to extract the ore.”
Sheridan knew that perlinium was what fueled the fleet’s faster-than-light engines. He was surprised to hear that a source had been missed by the fleet’s exploration vessels. “Captain, how much perlinium are we talking about?”
“Thousands of tons,” replied Killam. “Why it was never detected before, I can’t say. All I do know is that the enemy is mining it from a planet in our space.”
“Which planet are we talking about, Captain?’ asked the admiral.
Killam pointed to a planet and made it larger. “Sir, Mors-4 is where the Kurgans have established their mine. It is the only habitable planet in the star system.”
“Is it like Earth?” asked Sheridan.
“Very much so,” replied Killam. “It is slightly smaller than Earth and is three-quarters covered in water. The mine is situated on the southern continent, which has a climate like South Africa.”
“Sir, how big is the mining operation?” asked Cole.
“There is a Kurgan force of about two thousand Chosen warriors on the planet. The mining personnel number about fifteen hundred people . . . almost all appear to be Chosen civilians.”
Admiral Sheridan could already see where Killam was going to go with his plan. “Captain, I take it you intend to propose seizing this mining colony in order to draw the enemy fleet out into battle.”
Killam nodded. “However, before we do that two things must occur first. Sir, we need a couple of satellites put into orbit above Mors-4 so we can see what is going on. Secondly, we must find and destroy that Kurgan jump fighter ship. Once we move against Mors-4, we’ll have to concentrate the fleet and that will leave us vulnerable to suicide attacks by the Kurgans.”
“Colonel Wright’s people can deploy the satellites. They’re already looking for the Kurgan jump ship. I’m hoping that it’s only a matter of time before they find and destroy that threat.”
Sheridan leaned forward in his chair. “Captain, I may only be a simple infantry officer but in my mind your plan makes a lot of sense. However, you didn’t ask me to be here so I could listen to you brief my father on your concept of operations. Is there something specific that you need me to do?”
“Yes, very much so,” replied Killam. “I spoke with General Denisov’s staff and they want eyes on the ground as soon as possible, and you, Captain, will be those eyes. They want someone with experience to look at the enemy forces’ disposition and to determine their likely courses of action when the invasion force arrives.”
“I told you,” chortled Cole.
“Yeah, well if I’m going, you’re coming with me,” replied Sheridan.
“Captain, if General Denisov is engaged on Illum Prime, where is the invasion force coming from?” Cole asked.
“He is receiving additional forces from Earth in the next forty-eight hours. An incoming brigade combat team has been assigned the task of securing the mining site,” explained Killam.
“Captain, how soon do they want someone on Mors-4?” asked the admiral.
“Sir, I’m still working out the timetable for the coming operation with Denisov’s staff,” said Killam. “However, the sooner he goes, the better. I will leave the details of when he wants to leave and who he takes to Captain Sheridan.”
“If we’re going in alone, the smaller the team, the better,” said Sheridan. “Kurgan speakers would be an asset.”
“Some of the Marines from the last mission can speak Kurgan,” pointed out Cole.
“Round them up and let’s pick a team,” said Sheridan.
Admiral Sheridan stood. “Michael, I won’t keep you and Master Sergeant Cole here just to listen to Captain Killam and I go over the details of his plan. Please come by for dinner and let me know how things are going.”
Sheridan and Cole came to attention. “Yes, sir,” said Sheridan, saluting his father.
In the corridor, Cole shook his head. “I knew it would be something like this.”
“You’d rather be on Illum Prime trying to pry the Kurgans out of their tunnels?” asked Sheridan.
“No, I guess not, Captain, but this is a close second on my list of things I’d rather not do.”
Chapter 41
The second the jump ended, Mors-4 filled the cockpit of Tarina’s fighter. The world with its deep blue oceans below reminded her of home.
“Tarina, there’s only a patrol frigate on the sensors,” said Wendy.
“Has she detected us?” asked Tarina.
“I don’t think so.”
“Okay then, detaching the satellite in three-to-one.” Underneath their ship, the intelligence-gathering satellite floated free.
“I’m picking up the satellite’s signal. She’s fully functional.”
On the other side of the planet, Colonel Wright was deploying another equally powerful satellite. In order not to be detected, both had been configured to make their electronic signature the same as that being emitted by a Kurgan satellite.
“Time to go,” announced Tarina.
“Coordinates for the return trip are loaded into the navigational computer,” said Wendy.
Although the flight drills had long ago turned into a routine that they both knew inside and out, saying them out loud made sure that nothing was missed. “Jumping in three-two-one.”
The world around their fighter turned black.
Tarina glanced over at the timer on her flight console and saw that it would take them ninety minutes to reach home.
“I wonder who came up with the idea to call this star system Mors?” said Wendy.
“Why?”
“In Roman mythology, Mors is the personification of death. It’s not a name I would have come up with were I naming a system.”
A chill ran down Tarina’s spine. “I wish you wouldn’t have told me that. Now I’m going to have the chills every time someone mentions this place.”
“Sorry, I was just trying to make conversation.”
“I know you studied ancient history at the Academy, but from now on let’s avoid the creepier and disturbing aspects of mythology if we can help it.”
“What would you rather talk about? If I bring up the Kurgan jump ship, you get short with me as if our inability to find it is somehow our fault. So what are we left with?”
Tarina bit her lip. She did not realize that she was being so gruff with her best friend. “If I’ve been a little bitchy lately, I apologize. I just want to bag that Kurgan ship before it does any more damage to the fleet.”
“So do I.”
“Do you know if the new crew assignments came out before we left?”
“Yes, and you’ll be happy to know that tomorrow evening we’re taking the lead again, hunting for our favorite Kurgan ship.”
Tarina smiled to herself. She had not become as fixated on the Kurgan ship as Captain Ahab had in Moby Dick, but all she could think of was finding and destroying the vessel. She had watched friends and comrades die right in front of her. Tarina was tired of losing people. She wanted revenge.
Chapter 42
Sheridan eyed the three vol
unteers trying to discern what made them want to come along on a mission that he had given them no information on.
“Tell me about yourselves and why you learned Kurgan?” said Sheridan to the Marines.
“Sir, my name is Corporal Song, and I want to go along because Private Jenner was in my squad. I took Kurgan at school so I could try, one day, to become an officer,” explained Song.
“I won’t hold that against you,” said Cole.
Sheridan blocked out Cole’s remarks and studied the young Marine. He was short with jet black hair and the slender body of a runner. “Very good, Marine, please take a seat.”
“Next,” said Cole gruffly.
A well-tanned Marine stepped forward. He was muscular with a scar that ran across his throat as if someone had once tried to kill him. “Sir, my name is Private Kruger. I didn’t join the Marines to sit on my ass; that is why I volunteered. As for Kurgan, I lied; I can’t speak a word of it,” responded Kruger.
“Unless the good Captain fires you for lying, you’re in as far as I’m concerned,” said Cole.
Sheridan did not say a word. He would have preferred an all-Kurgan speaking team, but right about now, he’d take anyone willing to risk their lives. He looked over at the last Marine standing there. She had pale white skin, with ice-blue eyes and translucent blonde hair.
“And you are?”
“Private Berg, sir. Private Jenner was also my friend. When Master Sergeant Cole called for volunteers, I couldn’t say no.”
“Okay, Private Berg, do you at least speak Kurgan?” asked Sheridan.
“Yes, sir. I’m fluent. I went to the Academy to become an officer but washed out in my third year. I’d always wanted to be a Marine, so I enlisted in the ranks.”
Sheridan leaned forward and looked deep into her eyes. “Why did you washout? And don’t BS me because I can look up your file and get the truth.”
Berg looked uncomfortably at her fellow volunteers. She seemed to be struggling to tell a deep secret that she had tried hard to suppress.
“Private, answer the captain’s question,” pushed Cole.
“Sir, I’m ashamed to admit that I had an affair with one of my instructors,” said Berg. “We were caught together and I was brought up in front of the Academy’s disciplinary committee. I did not deny the allegations and was ordered to cease training that day.”
“We all make mistakes, Private Berg,” said Sheridan. “Welcome to the team.”
Berg’s visage change in a heartbeat from despair to elation. “Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down.”
“Don’t be too hasty, Private,” said Sheridan. “None of you know what you just volunteered for. You may all wish that you had not soon enough.”
“Have any of you done orbital or suborbital insertion training?” asked Cole.
The blank look on the faces of the Marines answered his question. “Well, I guess there goes Plan A for insertion.”
Sheridan said, “Looks like we need to find a flight crew crazy enough to go with Plan B.”
“Why don’t you go and speak with Captain Killam while I get the team outfitted in Kurgan uniforms and equipment,” proposed Cole.
Sheridan glanced at his watch. “Okay, I’ll meet you back here in two hours. That should be plenty of time to round up what we need.”
Killam steered Sheridan to his father’s personal shuttle crew. He had seen, but never actually talked to, the two men who made up the flight team. Captain Parata, the pilot, was a stocky Maori with a thick black mustache. His co-pilot and navigator, First Lieutenant Mercier, with his slender face and glasses perched on his hawk-like nose, looked more like a school teacher than a member of the armed forces.
“So you want us to jump from space into a planet’s atmosphere and land a scout-class ship without being detected by the enemy?” said Parata.
“Yeah, that’s about the gist of it,” replied Sheridan.
“What do you think?” Parata asked his co-pilot.
Mercier gave a bored shrug. “What else are we going to do today?”
Parata stuck out his hand. “Looks like you just borrowed the old man’s flight crew for a few days.”
Sheridan shook Parata’s hand. His muscular grip could have crushed Sheridan’s hand if he wanted to. “Keep this quiet for now. I’ll get back to you later today, but be prepared to deploy tomorrow.”
“Sure, whatever,” said Mercier.
How these two ever ended up as his father’s personal shuttle crew was a mystery to Sheridan. He thought about asking Killam how they had been selected to fly around the commander of the Sixth Fleet but decided that the less he knew, the less he’d have to worry about in the future.
Sheridan linked up with Cole and the rest of his team in a secluded corner of the shuttlecraft hangar. He was about to ask about comms gear, med kits, and night vision headsets but saw that Cole had already thought ahead and had a pile of equipment waiting to be stowed onboard their ride to Mors-4.
“How did it go, sir? Did you find a couple of volunteers?” asked Cole.
“I sure did,” replied Sheridan. “They’re my father’s shuttle crew.”
“I wonder how he’ll like that?”
“Killam told me to use them, so I’ve got top cover if the admiral decides to question the decision.”
Cole handed Sheridan a pack. Inside was his Kurgan uniform and five days’ worth of rations.
“Sir, when do we go?” asked Berg.
“Tomorrow,” replied Sheridan. “Consider the rest of the ship out of bounds. Besides eating your meals, I expect you three to be here at all times, just in case we have to deploy on a moment’s notice.”
“Don’t waste your time in the galley, either,” said Cole. “Grab what you need and then haul your ass back here. And no one goes anywhere by themselves. Aside from the call of nature, you’re to stick together like glue.”
“Master Sergeant, I’m going to confirm our flight arrangements with Captain Killam and then brief my father on our plan. I’ll see you back here sometime around nineteen hundred hours.”
“Okay, sir. You have fun chatting with the ops staff and say hi to the admiral for me,” said Cole sardonically.
“I’ll make sure to give him your love.”
The mood in Admiral Sheridan’s quarters was somber. Neither Michael nor his father ate much. They just sat there poking at their food.
Finally, the admiral broke the awkward silence between them. “Captain Killam told me that you’re going to borrow my flight crew for a few days.”
“Yes, sir. They seemed the best people I could find on such short notice.”
“They’re an odd pair, but a great team who won’t let you down.”
“That’s good to hear.” Sheridan took a sip of water before continuing. “Captain Killam has us transferring from the Colossus onto a corvette in the morning.”
“Yes, he told me. The Horizon is the first of a new class of stealth ships. Built for deep space reconnaissance, these corvettes are designed to be all but invisible to an enemy’s sensor systems.”
“I was told the trip to Mors-4 will take about two days. We’ll use that time to study everything we can about this mining complex.”
Admiral Sheridan sat back in his chair. “Michael, I don’t mind telling you that I wish it wasn’t you going on this mission. I knew that after General Denisov recommend you to Killam that you’d be doing this kind of work until you requested a transfer back to an infantry regiment.”
Michael smiled at his father. “Dad, someone’s got to do it and if it wasn’t me, some other officer would be going, and his family would be just as worried. I have Master Sergeant Cole with me to watch my back. We’ll be okay.”
“I know you will.”
“I don’t want to know the details just in case I get captured, but has Captain Killam finalized his plan?”
Admiral Sheridan nodded. “A colonel from General Denisov’s staff is coming onboard tomorrow to work out the logistical req
uirements for the ground component of the invasion of Mors-4.”
Sheridan took note of the time. “Sir, I really should be getting back to my people.”
He and his father stood and walked to the door. “Take care of yourself, Michael,” said the admiral.
“I will.”
With that, Admiral Sheridan wrapped his arms around his son and hugged him tight for a couple of seconds before letting go.
Michael stepped back. With a lump in his throat, he turned and walked out into the hallway. Why it had taken a war to bring him and his father closer together? This is how it should have been when he was growing up. He shook his head and cleared his mind. There was no time to dwell on the past. He had a mission to lead.
Chapter 43
“Hang on,” announced Parata over the ship’s speaker system. “Coming out of the jump in three-two-one.”
With a bone-jarring impact, the small scout vessel appeared in Mors-4’s atmosphere and began to fall like a rock to the ground. Mercier had calculated to come out of their jump at ten thousand meters. Coming out of a weightless environment into a planet’s gravity was hard on the ship and its occupants.
Sheridan’s chest felt as if he had been hit head-on by a three hundred pound defensive lineman. For the second time in as many months, he was glad to be strapped securely into his seat and wearing his mouth guard. As it was, his jaw ached from the sudden jolt. The ship shook and rocked noisily from side to side as it fell.
Up front, Parata engaged the ship’s sublight engine and felt the craft begin to slow its decent. A couple of seconds later, he applied power to engines and steered at a massive canyon that stretched for thousands of kilometers like a jagged scar on the face of the planet.
Sheridan turned his head and looked out the nearest window. It was dark outside. Clouds covered the night sky, making it hard to see anything below them. He and Cole had selected a landing zone just under thirty kilometers from the mining camp. They did not expect the Kurgans to patrol this far away from the compound. Nor did they think that they would have visual sensors that could reach out to their LZ.
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