“I wish I could be as chipper as you but that Kurg missile did a number on us. The friendly force tracker was damaged in the attack. We’re no longer transmitting a signal to let people know where we are, and to add insult to injury, I’m fairly certain that the deep-space transmitter was shot too. In short, we’re just another piece of floating space junk with no means to let anyone know where we are.”
Tarina took the bad news in and then sat back in her chair. “We may be a piece of space junk as you say. However, I don’t believe our friends will ever give up looking for us. They’ll be back. I know it.”
“Until then?”
“Until then, we just sit here and conserve our oxygen.” With that, Tarina sat back in her chair and looked out her cockpit window. In the distance, a comet streaked across the heavens trailing a long white tail of icy particles and dust. Tarina took comfort from it and saw it as a good omen. No matter what happened, she resolved not to give in to despair. If you allowed yourself to believe that you were going to die, then you were already most of the way there, and she did not intend to die in the middle of nowhere.
Chapter 52
Everywhere Sheridan looked flames licked the night sky. It was a hellish sight. Anything of military value was on fire. Wounded and stunned Chosen warriors staggered back from the inferno raging around the landing strip. Kurgan officers berated and cajoled the soldiers to return to their trenches. Some did, but most ignored their officers and collapsed to the ground. He blocked the images of severely burned Chosen lying on the ground begging for help from his mind. He stood there with his rifle tight in his hands watching a group of Kurgans argue among themselves as to what they should do next. The one he wanted was not with them. Sheridan turned and looked back toward the ore processing plants. Both structures stood there silent and undamaged, illuminated by the fires consuming the camp.
A Kurgan lieutenant with his sword drawn walked straight at Sheridan. “You, Corporal, get back to your squad right away.”
Sheridan decided to try something. “Sir, have you seen Captain Kingen? I was told to report to him.”
The lieutenant looked back at the processing plants. “He’s gone over there, somewhere.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Sheridan. He began to walk. Overhead he heard the distinct rumbling sound of landing craft speeding through the air. He turned and saw at least ten company-sized ships drop out of the clouds and land on the outskirts of the camp. To clear the way, a couple of fighter-bombers dropped a carpet of napalm on the Chosen trenches facing the landing zone. With a loud whoosh, the jellied explosives went up, incinerating everything it touched. He knew that the camp would soon be overrun by the ground forces. Driven by hate, Sheridan wanted to find Captain Kingen and Dalton before they did.
He began to jog. Each footfall sent sharp, shooting pains through his chest. Sheridan gritted his teeth and did his best to ignore the discomfort. It was not long before he heard the sound of automatic small arms fire coming from behind him. The Marines were in contact with the Chosen. He looked toward the hills and hoped that Cole and Berg had made it to safety.
At the first processing plant, Sheridan found a couple of civilians hiding behind some of the machinery. He told them to head for the hills and to give themselves up when the fighting was over. It did not take long to discover that there was not a single Chosen or Kurgan warrior in the structure. He jogged over to the second building and popped his head inside. It was dark and quiet. It did not look like there was anyone inside. Sheridan was about to head for the mine when he thought he saw something move. He stepped inside and let the door close behind him.
With his back against the wall, he warily crept forward trying to spot the person he had seen. “Who’s there?” called out a Kurgan.
Sheridan replied, “It’s Private Kader.”
A shot rang out. The bullet struck a piece of machinery near Sheridan and ricocheted away.
Sheridan dove to the ground and fired off a three round burst in retaliation. He crawled forward and got up on one knee behind a forklift. Silence once more fell inside the building. His opponents had taken cover. Sheridan picked up a wrench and threw it out onto the floor. It hit the ground and clattered along until it came to a stop by a storage tank.
Another shot was fired.
This time Sheridan was ready. He took aim and fired off a burst. A second later, he saw a dark shape tumble over backward. Got you, you bastard, thought Sheridan. He stood up and ran over to the body. In the dim light coming in from the building’s windows, he could easily see that it was Captain Kingen lying on the floor. He had a hole blasted through his right eye. “Got yah,” muttered Sheridan to himself.
“Better him than me,” said Dalton as he jammed his pistol into Sheridan’s back.
“I should have known that a traitor like you would have someone else do your fighting,” said Sheridan as he turned his head and looked over at his adversary.
“Place your weapon on the ground and stand up nice and slow,” ordered Dalton.
Sheridan shook his head at his own stupidity. He had been in too much of a hurry to check if he had killed Kingen that he failed to notice Dalton hiding in the shadows. With a heavy sigh, he placed his rifle down beside the dead Kurgan and stood up.
“Captain Sheridan, you are my prisoner. There is a Kurgan shuttle hidden in the woods behind this plant. I intend to use it to escape.”
“Don’t let me stop you,” said Sheridan.
“You and I both know that I’ll never make it past the blockade. However, if I have the son of an admiral with me. I’m sure they would let me pass.”
Sheridan chuckled. “You’re wrong. They’ll blast you from the stars with or without me on board your ship.”
“I guess I’ll have to take that chance. Now move,” ordered Dalton, pointing his pistol at the back of the building.
Sheridan began to walk slowly. “You know, you’re making a huge mistake. The Kurgans will use you to further their goals. They don’t give a crap about people like you,” said Sheridan. “Do the right thing and turn yourself over to the ground forces. Perhaps you can help us out and atone for your sins.”
Dalton jammed his pistol hard into Sheridan’s back. His injured ribs erupted in fire. “Shut your mouth. You know nothing about me and what I’ve had to do to keep my family alive.”
“Look, Dalton, all I’m saying is that it doesn’t have to end this way.”
“Yes, it does. Now walk!”
In the distance, Sheridan could see the back door. Once they were outside, he doubted that he could stop Dalton from trying to escape. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the wrench he had thrown earlier. He waited until they were less than a meter from it before pretending to trip over his own feet and falling-face first to the ground.
“Get up, you clumsy idiot!” snarled Dalton.
Sheridan grabbed the wrench in his right hand and hid it under his body as he struggled to get back up onto his feet.
“Walk,” said Dalton, pointing with his pistol.
Realizing that he would never get a second chance, Sheridan turned on his feet, brought the wrench around and smashed it as hard as he could onto Kingen’s outstretched arm. With a loud snap, Sheridan broke his opponent’s wrist.
With a loud cry of pain, Dalton dropped his pistol and reached for his shattered wrist with his good hand. The gun fell to the floor and slid under the tall storage tank.
Sheridan stepped back and brought the wrench up for another strike. His opponent may have been hurt, but he was far from being done. Dalton swung his good arm at Sheridan’s head, sending him flying backward onto the cold cement floor. He hit his head hard on the ground and nearly blacked out.
Dalton pulled a long knife from behind his back and walked toward his injured prey. “I may not be a soldier like you, but that does not mean I don’t know how to fight.”
Sheridan moaned in agony as he rolled over and tried to crawl away to safety.
“You’re o
nly delaying the inevitable, Captain,” taunted Dalton.
“I thought you needed me to past the fleet,” said Sheridan as he stopped crawling and got up onto his knees.
“I’ve decided that I don’t need you.” Dalton stopped walking and raised his knife over his head. “Time to die.”
“After you,” said Sheridan as he pulled the bayonet Cole had given him from his belt and thrust it into Dalton’s stomach. The knife went deep. Sheridan twisted the blade around, cutting up the man’s innards. Hot, wet blood poured from the wound. After a couple more turns of the bayonet, Sheridan let go of the knife and looked up at his opponent.
Dalton stared at Sheridan with disbelief in his eyes. With a pained moan, he fell to his knees. A second later, the knife fell from his hand. Sheridan scooped up the dropped blade and stood up.
“This is for Thomas and all the other men you and your Kurgan friends killed,” said Sheridan as he thrust the knife deep into Dalton’s neck. Blood shot like a fountain from the wound. Dalton’s eyes rolled up into the back of his head. His lifeless body fell to one side.
Sheridan staggered back. He was out of breath. There was not a spot on his body that did not ache. All of a sudden the room began to spin. He tumbled to the ground. The last thing he remembered before passing out was the out of place sound of bagpipes swirling through the camp as the Marines advanced to take possession of the mine.
Chapter 53
“What do you mean they haven’t returned?” said Wright to his XO.
“Every ship but theirs has checked in,” replied Tolkinski.
Wright handed his helmet to a technician. He was tense and began to pace in front of his fighter. “I had them on my screen. They were being tracked by a Kurgan missile, but they made their jump. They weren’t destroyed. They have to be somewhere.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I want every fighter refueled and made ready to leave right away. Plot their course from TD-13309 all the way back here. We’ll jump in pairs and scour the route they would have taken. I’ll jump the furthest to the outer reaches of the Tanaka Deshi system. Go with the worst-case scenario that they are damaged and are unable to communicate. If they were still good to go, we’d know about it. Have Robins and Sanchez warned off that they’re coming with me.”
“Right, sir. Anything else you need me to do?”
Wright stopped his pacing for a minute. “Yeah, get a hold of Fleet Ops and see if the Horizon is available for a rescue mission.”
Tolkinski nodded. “Sir, the Sixth Fleet is probably at general quarters right now. I doubt they’ll be too receptive about pulling a ship out of the line.”
“Get me Captain Killam on the comms monitor, and I’ll speak to him myself. They have to listen. We got their bloody phantom jump ship for them. The least they can do is help us now.”
Tolinski lowered her voice so the other crews would not hear. “Sir, I know what you saw on your monitor but you have to accept that they may be dead.”
Wright shook his head. “Until I see their bodies, I’m going with the assumption that they are alive and waiting to be rescued.”
Tolkinski came to attention. “Colonel, I’ll get the search underway as soon as the technicians have refueled and serviced the fighters. If I can’t reach Killam, I’ll get someone from ops who can authorize the rescue mission.”
“Thanks,” replied Wright. He stepped aside to let his flight crew check out his ship.
Lieutenant Real Perron, Wright’s new navigator, waited until Tolinski was gone before walking over. “Sir, I overheard your conversation with the XO. I don’t believe they are dead either. I’ll start the computations for a jump back to the TD system right away.”
“Real, make sure that you get a bite to eat while you do your work. I’m not sure when we’ll get a chance to eat again.”
“Sir, I’ll swing by the galley and pick us both up a couple of sandwiches.”
Wright had chosen Perron because, like Wendy, he did not trust the onboard navigation computer and insisted on doing the work himself. Now he could see that the young navigator genuinely cared about his fellow teammates and that was the characteristic that Wright prized above all else. He took a seat on a cart loaded with supplies and rested his tired frame. He glanced down at his watch and grimaced. Each minute they spent getting themselves ready to deploy was one less minute for Tarina and Wendy. He had lost people to enemy action. Like everyone else, he was prepared to lose people that way, but to die all alone in space was something he was not going to allow to happen. Colonel Wright was going to bring all of his people home, and he was prepared to move heaven and Earth to do so.
Chapter 54
“Task force status?” asked Admiral Sheridan.
“Sir, their casualties were incredibly light,” replied Killam. “Only three fighters were lost in the action. Two of the crews, however, were rescued; the other died when their ship was hit. The ground force commander, Brigadier General Wohl, has reported that the mine has been captured intact and that the Kurgan forces there were completely destroyed. His casualties are still being tallied but are also expected to be light.”
“Were any of the task force’s ships damaged in the fight?”
“No, sir. Surprise was complete. The Kurgans were unable to react to the overwhelming firepower brought against them. Every Kurgan ship in orbit was destroyed before they could jump to safety.”
“God, I wish every engagement went this smoothly.”
“So do I, sir.”
The admiral looked over at the tactical display. “Any word on Colonel Wright’s efforts to find and destroy the Kurgan jump ship?”
Commander Roy said, “Sir, we have just received word that they have destroyed the enemy vessel. Unfortunately, they lost a fighter in the action and are currently spooling up a rescue mission to find the missing flight crew. Colonel Wright has asked for our help.”
“Give him what assistance we can. But make him understand that I need every ship I have here for the next engagement. If there is a ship in orbit above Illum Prime that can help, cut it to him. Otherwise, he will have to wait for help.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Roy.
Admiral Sheridan picked up a tablet and read the latest intel reports coming in from the line of covert satellites strung out along the border. It was quiet, much too quiet for the admiral’s liking. “Captain Killam, I find it odd that the Kurgans haven’t so much as said a word since we attacked Mors-4. Is there anything happening in the other fleets’ sectors?”
Killam checked his monitor. “Sir, it’s all quiet all along the border. The Kurgans may have realized by now that we have their codes. They’re not dumb. They could be running on comms silence.”
“That would explain a lot.”
“Sir, the screen,” said Roy.
On the tactical display dozens of Kurgan ships appeared near Mors-4. Admiral Sheridan grinned; the enemy had taken the bait.
“Send the signal to attack,” said Admiral Sheridan to Killam.
“Aye, aye, sir.”
With the fleet already at general quarters, it took mere seconds for the ships of the Sixth Fleet to respond.
The lights on the Colossus’ bridge changed from normal to red as the vessel prepared to make its jump.
“Sir, we have a problem,” announced Killam. “The Kiev’s faster-than-light engine has just failed. They are trying to repair it. Until they discover why failed, they will be out of action and unable to support the fleet.”
With a stone-like visage, the admiral said, “Tell them to engage their sublight engine and follow us to Mors-4. All of her other ships, less the missile cruiser Orion for close protection, will still come with us.”
Killam hurried to pass the orders.
With only the Constellation battle-ready, the odds were one to one for fighter carriers. That, however, did not bother the admiral in the slightest. With all of the ships combined, he would still have the advantage in numbers. He walked over to the tactical di
splay and studied the Kurgan Fleet deployment. After a couple of seconds, he called Killam to his side. “Captain, I want the fleet to end its jump at these coordinates,” said Admiral Sheridan, pointing to a spot on the screen.
“Sir, that’s almost right on top of the Kurgans,” pointed out Killam.
“I know. Also, order the Constellation to launch her fighters against the supporting capital ships. We’ll deal with the carriers the old-fashioned way.”
Killam nodded. He knew precisely what the admiral wanted. The fleet was going to engage the enemy not only with its missiles but with its guns. It was going to be a close and bloody fight.
Commander Roy looked over at Admiral Sheridan. “Sir, shall I advise Captain Rayat that he will be taking the Colossus in dangerously close to the enemy.”
“Yes,” replied the admiral. His command flag and operations center may have been on the Colossus, but it was still Captain Rayat’s ship to command, and every ship was going to be needed in the coming battle.
On the tactical display, the Ark Royal was under heavy attack by two enemy carrier groups. Knowing that she would be on her own for a short period of time, Admiral Sheridan had ensured that additional missile cruisers had been assigned to the task force to help protect the carrier from the swarm of enemy missiles and fighters that would soon be upon her. With its numerous missile defense and gun batteries, the Ark Royal was capable of producing a wall of depleted uranium rounds that would destroy anything trying to fly through it. However, eventually it would run low on ammunition and become vulnerable to attack. It was for that reason that the three extra missiles cruisers had been assigned to protect her.
“Any word from the Kiev?” asked the admiral.
“She’s following at sublight speed,” replied Killam. “They are still trying to get their jump engine back online.”
Colossus (The Kurgan War Book 2) Page 23