Ghost Company

by Richard Turner

  “A couple of weeks of R and R would be nice, sir,” said Cole.

  “Done. Anything else?”

  “Wendy and I would like to get back to our squadron,” said Tarina. “It seems like we’ve been away from them for years.”

  “Captain Killam is working on that as we speak,” replied the admiral. “By tomorrow evening, you’ll be back with your friends.”

  “Thanks, sir.”

  “What about me?” asked Michael.

  Tarina raised a hand. “I’ll answer that if you don’t mind, Admiral?”

  Robert Sheridan sat back with a grin on his face. “Please, carry on. This ought to be good.”

  “Michael Sheridan, you are going to do precisely what your doctors told you to do. You’re going to get some much-needed rest and only after being cleared for duty will you even think about your next assignment. Got it?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” said Michael. He knew the conversation was over. He had pressed his luck far too many times while looking for Harry. Michael was lucky to be alive.

  “Sir, how has the war been going?” asked Cole. “It feels like ages since I read an intel report.”

  Robert Sheridan looked into the eyes of his guests. “Ever since Harry Williams’ stunt back home on Earth, the Kurgans have been unusually quiet. Sure, there have been skirmishes along the frontier and the occasional ship-to-ship engagement, but aside from that, it’s as if we have entered into a stalemate with the Kurgan Empire. Fleet intelligence believes the Kurgans, like ourselves, are re-arming and re-equipping for the next phase of the war.”

  “What will that be, sir?’ Wendy asked.

  “Neither side is going to knock the other out of the war, so both sides will soon begin the rush to acquire as many star systems as they can for the inevitable peace negotiations. The more you have, the better your bargaining position will be.”

  “Sir, I take it that means the fleet is preparing to go over onto the offensive?” asked Michael.

  His father nodded. “I have learned to trust you all, but what I am about to tell you cannot leave this room. The final plans for a major offensive operation are being presented to the federation president back home on Earth sometime in the next week to ten days. We can expect our orders to follow shortly after that. I have no idea what our part in this forthcoming offensive will be, but we will all be ready.”

  There was a knock on Admiral Sheridan’s door.

  “This doesn’t want to be another report that can wait until later,” said the admiral under his breath as he stood up. “Come in.”

  One of the Marines keeping guard outside of the admiral’s quarters opened the door. Captain Killam walked in holding a tablet in his right hand. “Sorry to intrude, sir.”

  “What’s up, Captain?”

  Killam waited for the door to close behind him. “Sir, I was just in contact with Colonel Wright of the First Special Warfare Squadron. He and his navigator were on a routine mission to deploy a surveillance satellite along the disputed zone when something most peculiar happened.”

  Tarina stood. Her eyes were filled with concern. “Are they both all right, sir?”

  “Yes. They’re both fine. Just before they made their jump back to Illum Prime, another ship appeared less than one kilometer from their location.”

  “What kind of ship?” asked Admiral Sheridan.

  “Sir, it’s a Kurgan troop transport.”

  “Is it damaged?”

  “No, sir. As far as Colonel Wright can tell, the ship appears to be in good working order.”

  “The ship’s navigational computer must have failed,” said Wendy “Why else would it suddenly appear in our space?”

  Killam shook his head. “No. Whoever is controlling that ship knows exactly what they are doing.”

  “Why would you say that?” said the admiral.

  “Because they’ve asked to speak with Captain Pheto.”

  “Me?” said Tarina with a surprised look on her face.

  “Yes. They’re defecting and only want to talk to you.”

  “Just a minute, sir. This could all be some kind of elaborate ruse,” said Michael. “This is unprecedented. Kurgans don’t surrender, let alone defect.”

  “Normally, I would agree with you, Captain; however, they claim they want to come over to our side. They said Miss Pheto would know who someone called Kitan was.”

  “Angela,” said Wendy as she reached over and took Tarina by the hand. “My God, she must have gotten home safely.”

  “Are you two talking about the Chosen woman you helped return back to her family after the incident on Dorset Island?” asked Cole.

  “Yes,” replied Tarina.

  Admiral Sheridan looked his operations officer in the eyes. “Who else knows about this defection?”

  “Just the people in this room,” replied Killam. “Colonel Wright contacted me on a secure channel to prevent this news from becoming known throughout the fleet. He’s worried that Chosen agents or sympathizers might get a hold of this information and try to do something about it.”

  “He’s right to be concerned. I also want to keep this defection secret for now. The fewer people who know about this, the better.”

  “What about Fleet Headquarters? They’re going to have to be informed.”

  “I’ll send Lieutenant Commander James, my new executive assistant, back to Earth to privately brief Admiral Oshiro.”

  “Very good, sir.”

  Admiral Sheridan turned and looked at Tarina. “How long will it take for you to get yourself ready to go out there?”

  “An hour, maybe less,” responded Tarina. “My ship is docked on the portside of the Intrepid. She has been refueled and restocked with supplies. The only thing that will take time will be Wendy’s calculations.”

  Admiral Sheridan scrunched up his face. A ship’s navigational computer could do the calculations in less than three nanoseconds.

  Tarina smiled. “Wendy does all of her calculations by hand. I’ve learned to trust her and not some navigational computer that could make an error and have us come out of our jump inside the middle of an asteroid field or something equally unpleasant.”

  “The coordinates for the Kurgan transport are on this tablet,” said Killam as he gave the device to Wendy to read.

  Michael stood. “If Tarina’s going, so am I.”

  “Master Sergeant Cole can go with them,” said the admiral. “Michael, you need to rest.”

  “Sir, with all due respect, you’ll have to lock me in the brig if you send Tarina out there to meet with these alleged defectors. I smell a trap.”

  “Admiral, I’ll make sure he keeps behind me at all times,” said Cole, trying to help his friend. “It’s that or we have to bring a squad of Marines with us for close protection, and there goes your secrecy.”

  The elder Sheridan shook his head. He didn’t want his son going out before he was ready, but Cole had made a good point. If there was a man in the fleet who would make sure Michael came home alive, it was Alan Cole. “All right, Michael, but promise me to let Master Sergeant Cole handle the rough stuff, should any occur.”

  “Dad, you know I can’t do that,” replied his son. “I will, however, promise to use Master Sergeant Cole as a human shield if need be.”

  “Oy, that’s not nice,” objected Cole.

  “Just be careful,” said the admiral, “This could be the beginning of something momentous.”

  “Or it could be a ploy,” countered Michael.

  “You could be right, Michael, but whatever is going on, we need to find out what it is and fast.”

  6

  “Gents, we’ll be coming out of our jump in less than one minute’s time,” said Wendy over the ship’s speaker system.

  Sheridan and Cole got out of their seats and placed their helmets on their survival suits. A million things could go wrong during the docking procedure with an enemy vessel. Although the suits limited a person’s mobility, it was better to be safe than sorry. Bo
th men forewent carrying an assault rifle. Instead, they were armed with short-barreled machine pistols.

  Sheridan heard the jump engine switch off. He turned his head and looked over at the display screen on the wall beside him. Tarina had come out of her jump just over a kilometer away from the Kurgan transport. Colonel Wright’s ship was visible, floating just off the stern of the Kurgan vessel.

  Wright’s voice came over the ship’s speakers. “Good morning, Captain Pheto. I take it Miss Sullivan is with you.”

  “Where else would I be, sir?” responded Wendy, cheerfully.

  Wright chuckled. “Ladies, I’m not sure what to make of this alleged defection. All I can say for sure is the person talking to me claims to know something about Tarina.”

  Sheridan cut in. “Sir, this is Captain Michael Sheridan, have they asked for anything other than to speak with Miss Pheto?”

  “No. The only other thing they have said is their desire to defect to our side. Look, I don’t want to rush things, but we’re dangerously close to the Kurgan border. If they haven’t already detected us, they soon will. We need to wrap this up one way or the other before the Kurgans arrive.”

  In the cockpit, Tarina scanned the interior of the transport vessel. She shook her head when she saw there were eighty-five life signs onboard. All of them were Chosen warriors. Not a single pure Kurgan soldier was to be found. She pressed the button for the ship-to-ship communications. “Kurgan vessel, this is Captain Tarina Pheto, please state your intentions.”

  A voice speaking Kurgan responded.

  Although Tarina was able to understand Kurgan, Michael Sheridan translated the message for everyone. “Hello, Tarina. My name is Komada. Kitan, the woman you so unselfishly helped, is my cousin. I, along with all of my fellow warriors, wish to fight at your side against the radical heretics who have twisted and perverted the word of our lord.”

  Cole switched to an internal comms channel. “Who the hell are these heretics? I thought we were the unbelievers.”

  Sheridan shook his head. “I have no idea who or what he is going on about.”

  Komada continued. “Please dock on our portside. There is an airlock which should be able to mate with your ship. I look forward to meeting you there.”

  “It’s your call, Captain Pheto,” said Colonel Wright. “I’m not going to order you to risk your life on the word of an enemy soldier, but this could be genuine.”

  “I agree,” replied Tarina. “I’m going to dock and speak with Komada face-to-face.”

  “Good luck. I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”

  Tarina applied power to her ship’s thrusters and brought it alongside the transport vessel. With a flick of her wrist, she brought her craft directly in line with the Kurgan docking port. She looked over at Wendy. “Extend the docking arm.”

  “Aye. Extending the docking arm,” replied Wendy, pressing a button on her console.

  In the crew compartment, Sheridan and Cole watched the docking arm on the viewscreen as it reached out and touched the hull of the other vessel. Powerful magnets locked the docking arm firmly in place. A couple of seconds later, they heard the sound of the walkway between the two ships pressurizing.

  “Game on,” said Cole, turning his machine pistol from safe to armed.

  Sheridan followed suit. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Tarina walk toward them, wearing her survival suit. He saw the fear in her eyes. Sheridan reached out and touched her arm. “Remember this could be a trap. Please keep behind Master Sergeant Cole and me until we’re sure it’s safe.”

  “I guess we’ll know in the next few seconds if I made the right choice or not,” replied Tarina.

  “There’s no point in dragging this out any longer than we have to,” said Cole. He turned and opened the airlock door. With his weapon at the ready, he entered the short docking passageway and walked to the airlock door on the Kurgan ship. Sheridan and Tarina followed close behind him.

  The door to the Kurgan ship slid open.

  Cole brought up his weapon as an unarmed Chosen warrior appeared. The warrior saw the pistol and raised his hands. The man was in his late twenties with a handsome, tanned face. He had short black hair and stood about two meters tall with an athletic build. His eyes were dark blue.

  “Are you Komada?” asked Sheridan in Kurgan.

  “Yes,” responded Komada in English. “There’s no need for you to keep wearing your helmets, the air on my ship is quite safe to breathe.”

  “Your ship?”

  “Yes, I am the master of this vessel.”

  Sheridan was stunned. By the way he spoke, it was clear the man was highly educated. “Where did you learn to speak English so well?”

  “We all learned the language of our enemy during our training. It’s a long story and one we can discuss later. Right now, I’d like for you to grant us protection.”

  “Before we do anything, I’d like to know what happened to your Kurgan officers.”

  “I offered them the chance to come with us. They refused, so I ejected them and several other crewmembers out into space.”

  “That’s cold, even for a Chosen,” said Cole, shaking his head.

  “They were heretics and got what they deserved,” replied Komada curtly. He looked past the two men and locked his eyes on Tarina. Komada smiled, took a step forward and offered his hand.

  Sheridan blocked Komada’s hand. “As you said . . . there’ll be time for that later.”

  Komada lowered his hand. “Of course. Is there a tug coming to take us in tow?”

  “No,” said Tarina. “My mission was to come out here and see if you were actually planning to defect. And to be honest, you have yet to convince me of your sincerity.”

  “I knew this would be difficult. Please come inside and let me show you I mean what I say.”

  Sheridan looked into Tarina’s eyes. “My gut instincts tell me not to trust him, but it’s your call.”

  “We’ve come this far; we might as well hear what he’s got to say,” said Tarina.

  Sheridan and his comrades removed their helmets. He looked into Komada’s blue eyes. “If you make one false move, I’ll blast your brains out.”

  Komada nodded “Of that, I have no doubt . . . Mister?”

  “My name is Captain Michael Sheridan. The man with me is Master Sergeant Alan Cole, and you already seem to know Captain Tarina Pheto.”

  “I am honored to meet you all.” Komada stepped back and motioned for them to follow him.

  With Cole leading, they stepped inside the Kurgan ship and followed Komada down a long corridor until they came out in the hangar bay. Formed up as if awaiting an inspection were the rest of the mutineers. They looked like a company of soldiers. All of them were dressed in Terran uniforms. There were men and women from all across Earth present in the ranks. Not one looked over thirty years of age.

  Komada stopped in front of the company. A Chosen soldier walked over and handed him a tablet. Komada faced Tarina and bowed his head. “Captain Pheto, once again I ask on behalf of my men for your protection and guidance. As a sign of good faith, I present to you the latest top secret Kurgan communication codes along with our mission orders.”

  Tarina was lost for words. She had no idea why they thought she was so important to them.

  “What if she were to give you what you’re after?” asked Sheridan, “Then what?”

  “Captain Sheridan, isn’t it obvious? My men and I want to fight on your side during this holy war.”

  Sheridan’s head was spinning. What holy war was Komada going on about?

  Wendy’s voice came in loud over Tarina’s earpiece. “I’ve got something on the long-range scanners.”

  “What is it?” asked Tarina.

  “I’m not sure. It’s on the Kurgan side of the border and closing fast. We’ve got five or six minutes before whatever it is can bring its weapons to bear on us.”

  Tarina felt her pulse quicken. She gripped Sheridan’s arm. “I think the Kurgans have foun
d us.”

  “Give Komada the coordinates for a moon or dwarf planet in the Illum star system and then let’s get the hell out of here,” said Sheridan.

  “That won’t help,” said Komada.

  “Why not?”

  “Because the flight crew was among the people I ejected out the airlock.”

  “Jesus,” muttered Cole. “You should have thought of that before disposing of them.”

  “What can we do?” asked Sheridan.

  “Do you still have your engineering personnel with you?” Tarina asked Komada.

  “Yes,” he replied.

  “Good. Get your jump engine online ASAP. Now where is the bridge located?”

  “I can take you there.”

  “Tarina, you’re not thinking of doing what I think you are,” said Sheridan.

  “There’s no other choice,” replied Tarina. “Either we all go together or we abandon these men to their deaths.”

  “Can you make a jump with two ships joined together?”

  “Sure. All we need to do is increase the size of the gravity bubble to accommodate both vessels and we should be fine.”

  “I’ll have to trust on that.”

  Tarina spoke into her mic. “Wendy, move your butt over here. I need you.”

  “I’ll meet her at the airlock,” said Cole.

  Komada dismissed his men and led Tarina to the bridge. She took a quick glance around and saw the flight controls weren’t as she had expected. Nothing looked familiar. “Uh, Komada, where is the navigational computer and the pilot’s control panel?”

  “The nav computer is here,” he replied, pointing at an empty workstation. “And you’re standing in front of the pilot’s chair.”

  Tarina slid down into the chair and examined the controls. A sliver of doubt slipped into her mind. She had no idea how to pilot the Kurgan ship. Perhaps she had made the wrong call.

  “What did I miss?’ asked Wendy as she ran onto the bridge.

  “Your navigational computer is there,” said Tarina, guiding her friend to the workstation.

  Wendy’s eyes roamed over the unfamiliar equipment. “Whoa, this isn’t going to be easy. I speak Kurgan better than I read it.”