Everyone was dressed in the uniform of their enemy. Taken from the dead on Illum Prime, the clothes had been cleaned and the body holes sewn up. To ensure the charade worked, they carried Kurgan weapons, equipment, and rations. If they were spotted, Sheridan hoped to pass them off as a lost detachment of Chosen warriors.
“One minute,” announced Parata.
The light in the back of the ship dimmed.
Cole undid his harness and stood up. “Grab your gear, Marines, and standby to disembark.”
The young Marines quickly did as they were told. If they were scared about what lay ahead, their faces did not show it. A fierce determination to get the job done glinted in their eyes.
Sheridan grabbed a headset off the wall. He keyed the mic and said, “Thanks for the lift. See you later.”
“Stay safe. We’ll monitor the radio. If you need us, we can be at the alternate LZ in a matter of hours,” said Parata.
Sheridan pulled off his headset, unbuckled his harness and joined Cole by the door on the side of the craft. A couple of seconds later, he could feel the ship begin to slow as it came into land. On a monitor above the door, he saw the canyon walls looming above them.
The ship’s landing struts touched ground and the side door slid open. Sheridan jumped down and ran until he came to a row of rocks. He dropped to one knee and looked around. Through his night visions glasses he could see that they were alone. Behind him, the rest of the team spread out.
With a loud whine, the scout vessel’s engines shot the ship back up into the night sky. Within seconds, it was lost from sight in the dark clouds.
Sheridan waited a minute and listened. He wanted to make sure that they were indeed alone. Just because you could not see someone, did not mean that they were not there, hiding somewhere nearby.
Cole edged over to Sheridan’s side. Barely above a whisper, he said, “What do you think?”
“We’re alone. Get the team on their feet. No talking. Fifteen meters between people. First halt won’t be for an hour.”
Cole nodded and moved back to pass on the orders.
Sheridan pulled his pack off his back and pulled out a captured Kurgan tablet. He brought up a picture of the ground and studied it. He was impressed. They had landed within ten meters of the spot he had picked. He put the tablet away and dug out his GPS. It was bigger and bulkier than the ones he was used to using. However, if they were to be believed as Chosen, they had to use their equipment.
He stood up and selected a route that would lead them in the direction of the mine. The sun would not be coming up on the horizon for another eight hours, plenty of time for them to move undetected toward their objective, thought Sheridan as he stepped off.
An hour passed. Sheridan raised his hand, indicating that they were going to halt. He then waved at the ground telling his people to take cover. Quietly, like ghosts in the night, the Marines went to ground.
Cole crawled over to Sheridan’s side. “We’re making good time.”
“It’ll still take us until noon before we’re in sight of the mine,” replied Sheridan.
“Can’t be helped. If we had tried landing any closer, they would have detected us for sure.”
Sheridan reached for his canteen and took a swig of water. “We’re on the go in five.”
Cole sat down and rested his back against a rock. “Say, did you find out anything about this place from the fleet archives?”
Sheridan shook his head. “No one’s bothered to step foot here in over one hundred years. We’re really heading into the unknown.”
“Let’s hope that there aren’t too many nasty critters indigenous to the planet.”
Sheridan’s skin began to crawl. “Thanks for that. Now I’m going to be looking for things that only exist in the darkest recesses of my mind.”
“Glad I could be of help.”
A rain drop hit the sand by their feet. Both men turned their heads to the heavens. Another and then another drop fell. Within seconds, a torrential downfall hit them, soaking them all to the bone.
“Time to go,” said Sheridan.
Cole moved from person to person telling them to get up.
With his rifle in hands, Sheridan began to walk. He looked at the sides of the canyon and saw the water spilling down from above. If the water did not stop soon, he knew that he would have to lead them out of the canyon or risk drowning should a flash flood occur. With the water soon up to his thighs, it did not take long for Sheridan to decide that they had to get up onto higher ground. He selected a nearby steep path and slowly began to climb up the slick rocks. A couple of times, he thought he was going to lose his grip and fall; however, after climbing for ten minutes, Sheridan led his drenched team out onto a wide-open plain. He dropped to one knee and brought up his night vision binoculars to look around. There wasn’t a tree to be seen for kilometers. Shrubs and rocks littered the ground. A small hill line was silhouetted against the horizon.
Cole reached over and patted Sheridan on the shoulder. “We’re all here.”
Sheridan nodded and placed his binoculars away. He turned to look at Cole. “There’s a row of hills about five to six klicks from here. We’re going to head there and then take stock of our situation.”
“Sounds good, sir.”
Sheridan stood up and started walking again. He picked up his pace slightly. The last thing he wanted was to be caught out in the open. It took them ninety minutes of hard marching to reach the hills. Sheridan led to the top of a small hill and waved for everyone to take a break. Cole walked up from the rear and made sure that Kruger stayed alert while everyone else took a break.
Sheridan was thankful that it had stopped raining. He turned the Kurgan tablet in his hands until he could recognize the landmarks on the ground with the map on the screen.
“What did I say about officers and maps?” kidded Cole.
“And I told you that NCOs teach map reading, so if you have a complaint about my navigational abilities, I suggest that you speak to your peers,” retorted Sheridan.
“Ow, that hurt just as bad as the last time.”
Sheridan handed Cole the tablet for him to read. “We’re a good ten klicks from the LZ. We’ll hold up here for ten minutes and then push on. I’d like to make it to the hills on the outskirts of the camp before sunrise.”
“Yeah, so would I.”
As they walked across the plain, the lights from the mining camp began to light up the horizon. After marching a few more hours, they were nearing a small copse of woods when from behind Sheridan a man called out in pain. Sheridan turned about and saw Song trying desperately to pull his left leg from a hole in the ground. Within seconds, his leg, all the way up to his crotch, had been pulled down underground.
Cole ran to Song’s side. He could see that Song was in excruciating pain. He dropped to his knees and tried helping the panicked man extricate his leg.
“Jesus, something’s got my leg,” cried out Song. “It’s wrapped around my leg.”
Sheridan joined Cole, desperate to help Song. Both men pulled with all their strength. Whatever had him was not letting go.
“Help me,” pleaded Song. With a loud snap, like a piece of dried wood snapping in two, his leg shattered.
“God, please help him,” said Berg.
A second later, Song began to convulse.
“Do something!” implored Berg.
Song’s eyes rolled back in his head as foam started to bubble out of his lips. With a horrible gurgling sound, Song let out his last breath. His limp body tumbled backward onto the wet, muddy ground.
Sheridan and Cole fell back. Song’s body came with them. Whatever had killed him had let go. Both men fought to control their ragged breathing. Everyone stared at the hole where Song’s foot had become trapped as if expecting something else to happen.
Cole got up on his knees and pulled Song’s body back a few meters. He grabbed a light and turned it on. Right away, it was apparent that Song had been bitten by someth
ing. A couple of large puncture marks oozed a black liquid from his thigh.
“Oh, God,” muttered Berg at the horrible sight before her.
“Sir, something’s coming up,” warned Kruger as he brought up his rifle to fire.
Sheridan turned just as the head of a snake-like creature emerged from the hole. It looked to him like a King Cobra, only much larger. He reached for his bayonet.
A shot rang out. The snake fell back, dead, with a hole blasted through its head.
Cole grabbed Kruger and pulled him to him. “No one told you to shoot anything. If there’s a patrol out here, they’ll have heard the shot and will be coming to investigate.”
“It was coming out of its hole,” blurted out Kruger.
“I don’t give a damn. No one told you to shoot it.”
Sheridan wearily stood up. “Kruger, Berg, take Song’s body and find a patch of low ground. Cover him with his blanket and then pile rocks on top of him so the scavengers can’t get at his remains. We’ll recover his body when this is all over.”
Berg and Kruger stood immobile looking down at the body of their friend.
“Don’t piss me off, you two,” snapped Cole. “Do as Captain Sheridan ordered. You have ten minutes and not one second more, or I’ll make you both regret the day you met me.”
Silently, Berg and Kruger dragged Song’s body away.
“What the hell was that thing?” Cole asked.
“I don’t know,” replied Sheridan. “All I know is that I hope to never come across one ever again.”
“Amen to that.”
“Without Song, Berg’s the only one left who can speak Kurgan. We need her.”
“Well, we had all best keep our eyes peeled from now on. I doubt that snake is the only thing that can kill a man on this planet.”
Sheridan dug out his binoculars and looked all around them. He was relieved to see that they were still the only people for kilometers.
With the horror of Song’s death hanging over them, they moved quickly across the savanna. The only sign of life they saw were a pack of wild dogs with red eyes that seemed to blaze in the dark. They yelped and growled at the Marines but kept their distance. As the gray light of dawn crept up on the horizon, the hills near the mining camp came into view. Sheridan signaled for a halt under a small copse of trees.
“Berg, keep watch,” ordered Cole.
“We’ll take a thirty-minute break for breakfast before continuing,” said Sheridan. He sat down and rummaged through his pack until he found a granola bar to eat.
Cole joined him and pulled out a bland oatmeal cookie to eat. “I really do hate Kurgan rations,” said Cole. “They all taste like chalk.”
“Better than nothing.”
Cole placed his food down and looked over at Sheridan. “I really wish we would have had more time to pick our team. These two are more than a little green. I just hope that when push comes to shove, they don’t screw up and get one of us killed.”
Sheridan let out a weary sigh. “I agree, but we’ve got them with us, so there’s not a lot we can do except keep a close eye on them.”
“Sir, something’s coming,” said Berg.
Sheridan and Cole dropped their food and picked up their rifles. “What can you see?” Sheridan asked.
“About a kilometer away, there’s a vehicle moving in our direction,” replied Berg, pointing toward a plume of dust.
Sheridan grabbed his binoculars and focused them on the dust cloud. A couple of seconds later, an eight-wheeled vehicle with three passengers came into view. It did not take long to see that the people in the vehicle were armed. “Kurgan patrol,” said Sheridan.
“Take cover,” said Cole, dropping to his stomach on the ground.
All four Marines hugged the ground as the Kurgan patrol drove closer.
“No one fires at the Kurgans without my permission,” warned Sheridan. A firefight was sure to draw more Kurgans out looking for them.
At the last second, the vehicle turned away from the copse of trees they were hiding under and headed out into the savanna.
Sheridan slowly raised his head up and watched the patrol drive away. As soon as they were gone from sight, he was up on his feet. “Time to go.”
As one, the Marines threw their packs on their backs and made ready to leave.
Sheridan turned his head and said, “Single file. Twenty meters between people.” He wanted to be off the open plain as soon as possible. He slowly began to jog and did not stop until they covered the last few kilometers to the hills ringing the mining camp.
Before long, the sun rose high above the savanna, baking the dirt and sand beneath it. With it, the temperature soared well above forty degrees Celsius.
With sweat pouring down his face, Sheridan led his team up a narrow path until they were near the top of a tall hill that had a few dead trees on its summit. He motioned for everyone to go to ground while he crept forward and took a look around. On his hands and knees, Sheridan moved under the shade of the long dried-out tree and was happy see that the ground dipped down making it an excellent spot for their patrol base. He crawled forward and looked out over the mining complex.
From where he was, he could see the entire camp. There were at least one hundred prefabricated shelters in neat rows on the far side of the complex, which Sheridan took as the living quarters for the workers. The mine itself was a large open pit dug into the ground. A steady stream of vehicles were moving in and out of the mine. He took out his binoculars and studied the layout of the Kurgan forces. Most were situated near a landing strip. He spotted a half dozen air defense emplacements surrounded by several rows of trenches. Three small craft sat on the landing strip. Sheridan could see a handful of Chosen warriors keeping watch over the vessels.
“Everything all right?” asked Cole as he slid down beside Sheridan.
“Yeah. This spot will make a great observation post,” said Sheridan.
“You were gone for a while, so I thought I’d see what was going on.”
Sheridan handed Cole his binoculars. “Doesn’t look like they’re expecting company anytime soon.”
“I see what you mean. There’re no ditches or obstacles of any sort to slow and canalize an attacking force. I guess they don’t realize that we know they’re here.”
“Let’s keep it that way. Have Berg and Kruger join us. We’ll rest here until sundown. Have Berg set up the surveillance camera, so we can send a live feed up to the satellites in orbit.”
“On it,” replied Cole as he slipped back to round up the rest of the team.
Chapter 44
Sheridan shot straight up. His heart was racing. Perspiration covered his body. He fumbled for his rifle.
“Easy does it, sir,” said Cole, his tone was calm and soothing.
Sheridan looked around and saw that it was dark out. He brought his watch up He was surprised to see that he had been asleep for nearly six hours.
“Before you say anything, I took your shift,” said Cole. “I couldn’t sleep and I thought you could use a couple more hours of rest.”
“My God, my heart feels like it’s going to jump out of my chest.”
“Were you having a nightmare?”
Sheridan shook his head. “I don’t think so . . . I mean, I don’t remember I was or not.”
Cole handed Sheridan his night vision binoculars. “Well, if you weren’t having bad dreams before, trust me, this will give you some.”
“What is it?”
“Look over at the pre-fab quarters and tell me what you see.”
Sheridan moved to the edge of their position. He did not need the binoculars to see what was going on below them. Hovering in the sky above the shelters was a large dirigible. Projected on the side of the balloon was the image of a young family walking together through a field. They were smiling and laughing as they walked toward a cottage nestled against a picturesque lake. On a pole outside of the cabin was the crimson flag of the Kurgan Empire. Sheridan brought up the
glasses and focused them on the ground near the shelters. He swore under his breath when he saw hundreds of men in neat rows standing there looking at the images being displayed on the dirigible.
“If you listen carefully, you can hear a voice carried over the wind,” whispered Cole.
Sheridan strained to hear the voice. A couple of seconds later, he heard it. He had expected it to be in Kurgan; however, it was not, it was in English.
“People, you have been abandoned by your government back on Earth. They do not value you as happy and productive citizens. We in the Kurgan Empire know that it was not easy for you to leave your homes and come with us to be part of the greater good. When we are done here, you will be reunited with your families on a peaceful Kurgan world to begin your new lives as full citizens of the Empire. Remember, hard work will set you free.”
“Fleet intel got it wrong,” said Cole. “Those ain’t Chosen civilians, at least not yet anyway. I bet we’d find people from Illum Prime, Derra-5, and a half dozen other places down there.”
“Did you notice that the workers are all men?”
“Yeah. The women and children are probably already somewhere in the Kurgan Empire being indoctrinated.”
“They’re probably being told to be good and obedient citizens if they ever wish to see their loved ones ever again.” Sheridan slipped back down out of sight. “You have to give it to the Kurgs, they are masters at propaganda and brainwashing.”
“Those poor bastards. Worked all day and now this crap. I bet it’s been going on night after night for months.”
The images on the side of the dirigible switched off. The workers quietly broke ranks and shuffled back to their quarters.
“Wake up the other two. It’s time we got to work,” said Sheridan.
Five minutes later, Sheridan and Berg slipped out of their hiding place and crept down the side of the hill. They kept to the shadows and were soon on the ground. Cole and Kruger had been left behind to guard the patrol base because neither of them spoke Kurgan.
Colossus (The Kurgan War Book 2) Page 19