“Ganbattar, accompany Captain Kyn,” ordered Cole.
“Will do, sir,” replied the Marine.
Cole looked out the corner of his eye at the corpses. A chill went down his spine. If they knew they were losing oxygen, why didn’t they try to put on their survival suits or at the very least access their breathing apparatus?
“Major Sheridan, I think I’ve found something,” called out Barnes.
Sheridan walked to the staff sergeant’s side. “What did you find?”
“Sir, take a look at this airlock door,” said Barnes, pointing at several deep gashes on the side of the steel door. “It looks to me like someone used a crowbar to force his way inside here.”
The hair on the back of Sheridan’s neck went up. “It sure looks that way. Unfortunately, there’s no way of determining when this happened.”
“Staff Sergeant Barnes,” called out one of the Marines. “Come here, quick.”
The two men ran as best they could. A Marine stood next to another door. “Sir, looks to me like someone used a portable blowtorch and cut their way in here.”
Sheridan ran his hand over the burn marks on the lock.
“I wonder what’s in there?” said Barnes.
Sheridan looked over and read the sign on the wall. “It’s the armory, Sergeant.” He held his breath as he pulled the door open. Sheridan shone his light inside the darkened room. His eyes widened when he saw an explosive charge was missing from an opened crate.
He had seen enough. “Cole, this is Sheridan, do you read me, over?”
“I read you loud and clear,” replied Cole. “We have found the bridge and are currently attempting to access the ship’s mainframe.”
“There’s no time for that anymore. Drop whatever you are doing and head back to the shuttle immediately.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Someone else has been here before us and took some explosives from the armory. I want you and all your people off the ship right away.”
“Roger that, we’re on the move.”
Sheridan grabbed Barnes by the arm. “Time to go, Sergeant.”
Cole turned about and hurried off the bridge. In the hallway, he looked to his right and saw Ganbattar standing next to Kyn as he inserted a manual key to open the door to the ship’s mainframe. A horrible thought flashed through Cole’s mind. “No. Don’t open that door!”
A bright flash filled Cole’s vision. In the blink of an eye, a large portion of the Kurgan vessel vanished in a massive explosion. Cole barely had time to raise his hands to protect his face. Struck in the legs by a piece of debris, Cole’s gravity boots failed. His world became a jumble of images as he flew down the corridor tumbling end over end.
Sheridan felt the ship shudder. He didn’t have to be told what had happened. “Cole, this is Sheridan, report your status.”
When his friend didn’t respond, Sheridan knew he had to be in trouble. “Shuttle, this is Sierra-Six, report. What the hell just happened?”
“Sir, it looks like the forward third of the Kurgan ship is gone,” replied the pilot. “We have suffered minor damage but are still able to fly.”
“What is the status of all personnel on the Kurgan ship?”
The pilot checked the team’s bio-readouts on his computer display. “Sir, Kyn and Ganbattar’s vital signs are absent.”
“Christ,” said Sheridan through gritted teeth. “Where are the others?”
“Valencia and Henry have just re-entered the ship and are heading toward Captain Cole’s transponder signal.”
Sheridan picked up his pace. “Keep an eye on things. If it gets too dangerous, I want you to disengage from the ship.”
“What about you and the rest of the people, sir?”
“We’ll worry about that when we have to, Sheridan out.”
Cole struggled to grab ahold of something to stop his uncontrolled flight down the hallway. His fingers touched a handrail. However, before he could clench his fist his body tumbled over, and he kept on going, helpless to stop himself.
Out of the corner of his helmet, Cole saw a gloved hand reach out and clamp down tight on his legs. A second later, another set of hands grabbed him by his shoulders. Cole came to an abrupt halt.
“Are you okay, sir?” asked Corporal Valencia.
“I am now,” replied Cole, trying to reactivate his grav-boots.
“Sir, have you seen Ganbattar or the Kurgan?” asked Private Henry.
“No. But I wouldn’t put much hope in finding them alive. The mainframe’s door was booby-trapped.”
“Sir, we’ve been ordered to abandon ship,” said Valencia.
“My boots aren’t working. So, I’ll have to hold onto you two.”
Sheridan was the first to arrive at the airlock. He smiled when he saw Cole’s face though his glass faceplate. He gripped his friend’s arm. “What happened?”
“The mainframe was rigged to blow. Kyn and Ganbattar are gone,” replied Cole, still holding onto Henry for support.
“I know.”
“Major, where’s the shuttle?” asked Cole, looking through the window on the airlock.
“Yeah. That’s our next problem.”
Chapter 5
“Why the hell did they detach from the ship?” Cole asked Sheridan.
“Lieutenant James saw a massive piece of what used to be part of the ship’s hull coming his way, so he unhooked the shuttle and flew to a safe distance from the debris field surrounding the ship,” explained Sheridan.
“Sir, how are we going to get to her?” said Barnes. “None of us are wearing a maneuver unit.”
“I’m not sure.”
“Where on this ship did the Kurgans keep their survival gear?” said Cole.
Sheridan checked his mini-computer. “It’s down the corridor. Why?”
“Sergeant Barnes has the right idea. We’ll just have to see if the Kurgs have any maneuver units on this ship, and we’d better hope they’re still operational, or we could be stuck here for an awfully long time.”
The door to the survival equipment had to be pried open.
Cole pushed off Henry and floated into the room. He moved his light around trying to find anything that resembled a backpack. On the wall were a dozen packs with manual thruster controls. “Found ‘em,” announced Cole.
A quick check of the packs showed only two were still working. The other units’ compressed gasses, used to steer the backpack, had leaked out.
“Okay, here’s what I propose we do,” said Sheridan. “Captain Cole and Staff Sergeant Barnes will wear the two packs while the rest of us will be tethered to them.”
“What about the debris field, sir?” asked Corporal Valencia. “Even the smallest piece of jagged metal could easily penetrate our suits.”
“That’s why we’re going to time this down to the last second with the shuttle,” said Sheridan. “We won’t push off until the denser portions of the debris have moved past whichever airlock we’re going to use to exit the ship.”
“Don’t stand around waiting for the major to come up with a plan,” said Cole to the Marines. “Unscrew as many metal floor plates as you can. We can use them for protection as we make our way to safety.”
Sheridan had to suppress a chuckle. He made a mental note to try and wean his friend from his old mannerisms.
Fifteen minutes later, at a portside airlock, Sheridan stood behind Cole. He, along with Valencia and Henry, were tethered to Cole. Barnes and his detachment stood next to them. Each person held a one-meter square metal plate in their hands like a knight’s shield.
“Okay, everyone, this is it. Disengage your grav-boots,” ordered Sheridan. “Prepare to open the airlock door on my command.”
“Major Sheridan, we are in position,” reported the shuttle pilot. “The debris hasn’t dispersed as much as we had hoped. In fact, there seems to be some sort of gravitational anomaly located near your ship which is moving the wreckage of the Kurgan vessel around in a tight orbit.”
“There’s nothing we can do about that now.”
“Yes, sir. Standby to open your door in five-four-three-two-one.”
“Now!” said Sheridan.
The doors were yanked open. A twisted piece of metal flew right past the opening. A smaller cluster of debris shot past a second later.
“Move now,” said the pilot.
Barnes and Cole activated their maneuver units and flew out of the airlock, pulling along their fellow Marines. Both men pressed the forward button on their packs’ control arm as far as it would go. Compressed gasses shot out of holes on the back of the packs. The two groups picked up speed as they left the Kurgan ship behind them.
Sheridan could see their shuttle waiting for them with its cargo doors wide open. At twenty meters per second, it was going to take them almost a minute to reach the safety of the shuttle.
“Gents, can you pick up your speed?” asked the pilot.
“I’m afraid this is it,” said Cole. “Why?”
“Some of the debris collided on the last go around, and is heading your way.”
Sheridan turned his head and looked back at the ship. He couldn’t see anything until the light from a distant star glimmered off a swarm of razor-sharp pieces of metal coming their way. Sheridan could see the debris was going to hit them just before they reached their shuttle.
“Before you ask, sir, we don’t have enough gas left in the packs to slow down and avoid the wreckage,” said Cole.
“Let’s hope these shields work,” said Sheridan, bringing his up to protect his upper body.
In the open cargo doors of the shuttle, the navigator and the co-pilot stood ready to assist the Marines the instant they flew into the crew compartment. The pilot fired his thrusters to match speed with the Marines hurtling toward his ship. Instead of flying in and crashing against the far wall, they would be able to step inside as if they were stepping off an escalator.
“Here it comes,” said Sheridan as the cloud of debris shot toward the men trapped out in the open. He clenched his jaw tight and said a silent prayer. Sheridan was never a fan of spacewalks as they always made him feel vulnerable. Now with a wall of wreckage about to hit, he closed his eyes and vowed never to take another spacewalk in his life.
Sheridan felt the first piece of debris hit his shield. It was a small metal fragment that embedded itself in the metal. A second later, the bulk of the swirling wreckage hit. He could hear the metal striking the shields sounding like hail on a tin roof. Several larger chunks of debris sailed right through Sheridan’s shield and kept on going.
A man cried out in pain, followed closely by another.
Sheridan looked over and saw Henry holding a hand to his suit. The man had a pained look on his face. Sheridan cranked his head to the left and cursed when he spotted blood splatter inside Corporal Valencia’s helmet. Air and blood vented out into space from a hole in the side of the corporal’s helmet.
“Almost there,” announced Cole.
Sheridan glanced at the shuttle. It was less than fifty meters away. He keyed his helmet mic. “Hang in there, Valencia.”
The Marines flew inside the cargo bay. The two crew members reached out to help them stop. The moment the last one was inside, the co-pilot closed the outer doors, activated the artificial gravity, and pressed a button on the wall to pressurize the cabin.
Sheridan dropped his battered shield and rushed to Valencia’s side. The corporal was lying on the floor.
The light switched from red to green above the cargo doors.
Sheridan rushed to unbuckle Valencia’s helmet so he could see how bad the injury was. The second he lifted the helmet, Sheridan knew the corporal was dead. A jagged piece of metal had penetrated the helmet and shot into the side of Valencia’s head, killing him.
Cole yanked off his helmet. “Who else is hurt?”
“I am,” said Henry. “A chunk of metal shot right through my shield and came out the other side of my arm.”
“Okay, sit down and let me take a look at you. The rest of you Marines, get out of your suits and help me take care of your comrades.”
Sheridan set Valencia’s helmet down and sat beside the body. He slowly reached up and undid the clasps on his helmet before removing it. He felt tired and guilt-ridden for the loss of three people under his command. The fact that someone had been there before them wasn’t sitting well with Sheridan. If he had been set up, he wanted to know why and who was responsible. Sheridan vowed someone was going to pay for the lives of the people he had just lost.
Chapter 6
Captain Killam turned off his computer, ran a hand over his smooth-shaven head, and stood up. He checked the time and saw he had worked an hour longer than expected. It was late. His eyes were sore from staring at his computer screen for hours. All he could think about was a hot shower followed by a nice rest before getting up in four hours to get the daily brief ready for his boss, Admiral Sheridan.
There was a buzz at his door.
Killam wasn’t expecting anyone. However, it wasn’t unusual for duty personnel to see him at odd hours to get his permission to do something that couldn’t wait. He walked to the door and pressed the open button. Before his mind could even register who was standing in the hallway, a fist struck him in the jaw, sending him tumbling to the floor.
A man stormed into the room and closed the door behind him.
Killam rubbed his aching jaw. He looked up and saw it was Colonel Wright standing above him. “What the hell was that for?”
“That’s for not telling me you have two of my people in quarantine,” snarled Wright as he pulled back his right arm and balled up his fist.
Killam raised his hands. “Wait a second! I’m confused. Who is it that you believe I have in quarantine?”
“Majors Pheto-Sheridan and Williams, that’s who. They were on a routine ceasefire verification patrol and should have reported back to me twenty-four hours ago. When they didn’t return on schedule, I activated their transponder signal. And to my surprise, I found out that their ship was in the belly of a supply ship. When I contacted the ship’s captain, she told me my people were being held in quarantine. When I asked if I could come over and see them, the captain said that under no circumstances would I be allowed to step foot on her ship without your permission. So, I ask you again, Captain, why are two of my people being held?”
Killam’s head was spinning. “I haven’t the slightest clue what you’re talking about. I never gave such an order. Who were you talking to?”
Wright lowered his fist and helped Killam to his feet. “I was talking to Captain Olivier. She’s the captain of the supply ship Danube.”
Killam opened his laptop and checked his files. “According to my records, the Danube is under the command of Captain North. I’ve never heard of this Olivier person.”
“Well, that’s the name of the individual I was talking with.”
Killam’s fatigue evaporated. Something odd was going on. A meticulous staff officer, Killam didn’t like it when he didn’t know what was happening onboard any of the ships under Admiral Sheridan’s command. He keyed his comms device. “Bridge, this is Captain Killam, connect me with the captain of the supply ship Danube.”
“Roger, sir. Please wait one,” replied a young comms officer.
On Killam’s wall, a screen turned on. “Yes, who is this?” said a sleepy voice in a darkened room.
“This is Captain Killam, Admiral Sheridan’s Chief of Staff. Am I speaking with Captain Olivier?”
The screen went black.
“What the hell,” muttered Killam. “Bridge, why were we cut off from the Danube?”
“Sir, it wasn’t us,” reported the comms officer. “They terminated the call from their end.”
Wright stepped close. “Captain, send a platoon of Marines to seize that ship before it jumps away with my people on it.”
Killam hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Bridge, I want the fleet immediately to go to yellow alert.
Under no circumstances can the Danube be allowed to break formation.”
“Yes, sir,” said the bridge officer.
“Also, alert Colonel Saad to send a full-strength platoon to the Danube. I want them to seize control of her bridge until I can get to the bottom of what’s going on around here.”
“Sir, we may be too late.”
“Why’s that?”
“The Danube has activated her jump engines.”
“God damn it. Track her.”
“You can fire on her and disable her engines,” suggested Wright.
Killam bit his lip. He was in a quandary. To fire on another friendly vessel was highly irregular. With dozens of Kurgan vessels all around them, it had the potential to become messy quickly. He shook his head. “We won’t fire on them.”
“God damn it,” growled Wright. “I want my people back.”
“Sir, the Danube has jumped away,” reported the officer on the bridge. “We’re tracking her flight path.”
Killam switched comms channels. “Admiral Sheridan, this is Captain Killam, please report.”
“Sheridan here,” said the admiral. “What’s up?”
“Sir, I need to see you right away. We have a developing situation on our hands that I believe will require you to speak with Admiral Oshiro back on Earth.”
“Understood. Please meet me in my briefing room ASAP.”
“Sir, Colonel Wright is with me. Can I bring him along?”
“Yes. By all means.”
“Very good, sir. Killam, out.”
Wright moved in front of Killam, blocking his way out of the room. “What aren’t you telling me, Captain?”
Killam knew the information would come out soon enough. “Colonel, the Danube is a special intelligence ship. If the Kurgans knew we were collecting information on them during the ceasefire talks, they would be within their rights to abandon the peace process and blame us for any setbacks which would occur.”
Renegade (The Kurgan War Book 7) Page 4
