Sheridan turned his head to ask Komada what was troubling him when a warning alarm blared, startling him.
“Warning, an unidentified vessel has appeared off the portside,” reported the ship’s computer.
13
Robert Sheridan strode into the operations room and took a seat. All around him, senior duty staff rushed to take their duty stations. He looked over at his operations officer and in a calm voice said, “Status report.”
“Sir, fifty enemy fighters of a type I have never seen before have jumped between us and our support vessels,” replied Killam.
On the tactical screen, the enemy ships started to disappear as the Intrepid’s automated anti-ship missile launchers and gun batteries engaged the fighters. None of them got more than one hundred meters before being blown out of the stars.
Admiral Sheridan ran a hand over his chin. “That was a bit too easy. Any sign of additional enemy vessels in our area of operation?”
“None, sir.”
Robert Sheridan looked over at his intelligence officer. “Can you identify the ships that just attacked us?”
“Sir, they look like drone fighters,” replied Commander Chan. “Fleet intelligence was aware that the Kurgans had them in their inventory but had yet to use them in combat.”
“Well, I guess they have now.” The admiral turned to face Killam. “Have any of the other fleets reported enemy activity?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Which ones?”
Killam looked up from his console. “All of them, sir. They’re reporting the exact same thing: a probe by dozens of enemy ships that was destroyed within seconds.”
“That’s really odd. Why would they throw away hundreds of fighters for no gain whatsoever?”
Before Killam could answer, a single metallic ball the size of a large meteorite appeared on the screen. An anti-ship missile locked onto the new target and fired. In the two seconds it took for the warhead to hit the Kurgan vessel, a super-charged electromagnetic pulse burst from the ball, striking every ship in a three thousand kilometer radius. Designed to resist an electromagnetic attack, the fleet’s computers and weapons weathered the attack by automatically switching off until the wave had passed. It would take only a few seconds from the time of impact until everything was up and running again. Nevertheless, Admiral Sheridan knew it was time his ships didn’t have. The Kurgans had planned their attack perfectly. A half second later, the tactical screen filled with more enemy fighters. Without anything to stop them, hundreds of enemy missiles streaked toward their targets.
“Time to impact?” asked the admiral.
“Three seconds,” responded Killam.
All over the Intrepid, the carrier’s weapons’ systems came back online. A wall of depleted uranium shells along with anti-missile fire combined to destroy many of the Kurgan warheads. A counter on the side of the screen counted down the number of enemy targets still active. The firepower of the Intrepid dwarfed that of his old ship, Colossus, but Robert Sheridan knew it was going to be close.
“Brace for impact,” warned Killam. Everyone in the operations room took grabbed on to something sturdy and gritted their teeth for the inevitable explosion. High-value targets like the bridge and operations center were always targeted for destruction.
Of the hundreds of warheads launched, only three missiles made it through. Instead of going after the ship’s command and control centers, they smashed into the carrier’s two flight decks, blasting them to pieces.
Admiral Sheridan looked over at Killam and saw a perplexed look on his face. Neither man could understand why they were still alive. “Fleet status?” asked the admiral.
“Sir, we have sustained heavy damage to both of our flight decks,” reported the Intrepid’s captain over the intercom. “We will need at least forty-eight hours in a spacedock to make the necessary repairs. Until it’s deemed operational, none of our fighters can take off or land safely.”
“My God,” gasped Killam, looking down at his computer console.
“What is it?” asked the admiral.
“Sir, the support ships, Berlin, Victoria, and Nanchang have been destroyed. The Amur, our only spacedock in this star system, is also gone. The attack on us was a diversion.”
Robert Sheridan shook his head. In mere seconds, his Task Force had been crippled. “What about the rest of our ships?”
“Admiral, the fighting vessels in all of our carrier groups seem to have come through this with only minor damage. It would appear the Kurgans deliberately went after our logistical support ships.”
“Sir, the Illum Prime’s planetary defense grid just went active,” reported a Marine major.
“On screen,” ordered the admiral.
An image of Illum Prime came up. On it were dozens of enemy transport vessels which had just jumped into Illum’s atmosphere to minimize their exposure to enemy missiles and gunfire. Four Kurgan missile cruisers appeared in orbit on the far side of the planet above New Illum, the capital of the burgeoning colony, and unleashed a barrage of missiles toward the surface.
Admiral Sheridan’s blood was up. “Target those ships and destroy them,”
“Aye, sir,” replied the Intrepid’s primary weapons officer. A squadron of fighters which had been flying a combat patrol when the Kurgans struck was recalled and sent to attack the missile cruisers. Two of the Kurgan vessels managed to fire off all their warheads before jumping away. The other two, struck by missiles from one of Intrepid’s destroyers, were easy prey for the fighters who mercilessly blew them to pieces.
“Follow those landing ships down and plot their potential landing zones,” ordered Killam.
A few seconds later, the screen displayed nine possible targets.
Robert Sheridan shook his head. “It looks like our ammunition depots, communications stations, and logistical hubs on the planet’s surface are all about to be attacked by Kurgan ground forces.”
“This isn’t about destroying us,” said Killam, studying the image. “It’s about keeping us out of the fight.”
Admiral Sheridan had to concur. He looked over at the Marine major and said, “Contact General Castanos and give him the coordinates for the Kurgan landing sites.”
“Sir, New Illum is not responding,” replied the Major.
“Admiral, they’ve undoubtedly taken out General Castanos’ command and control facilities,” pointed out Romano as he walked into the ops center. “It’s what I would have done to them.”
“What can we do to re-establish comms with Castanos?” asked the admiral.
“There is a portable command center on board the Marine landing ship, Biscayne. We can fly it to Castanos’ headquarters location in the capital. If he is still alive, we can be up and running in under an hour.”
“Do it!” said Robert Sheridan. “See to this personally. If General Castanos and his command team are dead or incapacitated, I want you to take charge down there. Those vital points cannot fall into Kurgan hands.”
“Yes, sir.” Romano turned and rushed out the door.
“Major, contact all of those locations and warn them to expect company,” said Killam.
“Aye, sir.”
Killam moved over to the admiral’s side and lowered his voice. “Sir, with our flight decks trashed, we won’t be able to launch any close air support. The forces on Illum Prime are on their own until Romano can devise an effective defense.”
“How far away is the nearest Marine or Army maneuver unit?” asked Admiral Sheridan.
“There is an Army brigade group already loaded up on transports that can be here in about eight hours’ time.”
“Give the orders.”
Killam nodded. “Sir, we need to be reinforced just in case the Kurgans decide to mount another offensive. We have a light carrier group led by the Izumo conducting maneuvers in the Tiranus system. They can be here by tomorrow morning.”
Robert Sheridan nodded. With his eyes fixed on the tactical monitor, Admiral Sheridan pr
ayed that the forces on Illum Prime were sufficient enough to repel the impending Kurgan attack. He thought of a quote from Earth’s history and knew whatever was about to happen. It was going to be a near-run thing.
14
“I sure hope I know what I’m doing,” said Tarina to herself as she turned her joystick hard over and dove through the swarm of Kurgan drone fighters.
Through a small window, Sheridan watched as their ship barely missed colliding with the wing of a Kurgan fighter. He grimaced as Tarina bobbed and weaved her way through a group of enemy vessels. When the desert planet of Illum Prime filled the window and the fighters were behind them, Sheridan let out his breath. He unbuckled himself from his seat and pulled himself through the weightless cabin until he reached the cockpit.
“Great bit of flying back there,” he said to Tarina.
Tarina wiped the sweat from her brow. “Thanks. It’s a good thing they didn’t seem interested in us or we would be dead by now. It looks like they went after the Intrepid.”
An image of his father popped up in his mind and Sheridan prayed that he was okay. He knew he’d have to wait until the battle was over before he could learn his father’s fate. “How long until we reach our camp?”
“If the Kurgans continue to ignore us, we’ll be back home in exactly twenty-three minutes from now.”
“Sounds good. I’m going to go back and check on our two passengers.” Sheridan reached over and squeezed Tarina’s right shoulder before pushing himself back out of the cockpit. He grasped a handhold and spun around. Sheridan was surprised to see Innis out of his harness. The Marine was floating near the weapons locker.
“What are you doing?” asked Sheridan.
“This,” replied Innis as he spun around. In his hand was a pistol.
Sheridan broke out in a cold sweat. A hit or miss inside the ship could prove deadly. Any puncture to the outer hull of their ship would result in rapid decompression or catastrophic hull failure. “What are you doing, Innis? Put the gun away.”
“Assassin,” screamed Komada, pointing at the Marine.
Innis smiled. In Kurgan, he said, “I see you remember me. You should never have gone over to the infidels’ side, Komada. For that, you’re going to have to die.” He turned the pistol toward Komada.
Sheridan saw his opening. With a sharp tug on the handhold, he flew at the assassin.
Only at the last second did Innis realize his mistake and pivoted in the air. He tried to bring his weapon up to fire.
Sheridan grasped Innis’ outstretched hand and dug his fingers into the man’s flesh.
Innis let out a cry of pain and let go of the pistol which tumbled through the air away from both men. As there was no gravity to hold both men in place, because of Sheridan’s velocity, they flew to the back of the cabin and smashed into the wall.
From his zero-gravity combat lessons, Sheridan was aware that unless something was holding onto your opponent, like the force of gravity, any punch thrown would be pointless. Instead, he pulled Innis toward him, wrapped his right arm around Innis’ neck and squeezed tightly. The imposter flailed his arms and legs in a vain attempt to break the crushing hold on his windpipe. They floated past a shocked Komada, engaged in a deadly struggle to the death.
Before long, Sheridan could feel his opponent beginning to lose the fight. His arms let go of Sheridan’s arm and hung in the air by his side. Sheridan wasn’t about to lessen his grip on the man’s throat until he either passed out or died in his arms.
With his last gasp of breath, Innis crunched down on a molar in the back of his mouth, releasing the poison. In less than a second, his body began to convulse, so much so that Sheridan let go of him and let him drift way.
“Son of a bitch,” muttered Sheridan as he watched the assassin die.
“He must have had a capsule just like I once did,” said Komada.
Sheridan pulled himself along until he was near Komada. “Did you know this man?”
“I wasn’t sure until he said he recognized me.”
“Well, that can only mean that the fleet has been infiltrated—again.” Sheridan took his seat just as the shuttle began to shake as it commenced re-entry through the planet’s atmosphere. The moment they were through the outer layers of the atmosphere, Sheridan knew he would have to contact Captain Killam and warn him to increase security until the saboteurs could be found.
Less than a minute later, Tarina’s calm voice came over the intercom. “Michael, I’ve got a message coming in from Captain Killam for you. I’ll put it up on the monitor back there.”
That’s timely, thought Sheridan. “As soon as you can, please let fleet know that Private Innis turned out to be a Kurgan agent, and that their security protocols have been breached.”
“Say it isn’t so!”
“He’s floating around back here if you’d like to come take a look at his dead body.”
“No thanks. I’ll take your word for it.”
Sheridan looked up at the screen. On it was a comms facility built on top of a large rocky mesa. Odd, he thought when he couldn’t see a name or unit indicator listed beside the camp. Sheridan shook his head. It could only mean one thing: it was a special operations facility.
“Captain, I’m not sure what we are looking at,” said Komada, “but it looks like two Kurgan troop transport ships are going to land nearby. It must be important if they’re going to attack it. Upwards of three hundred Kurgan soldiers are soon going to be attacking that small camp. Take my word for it, the warriors who disembark from those ships aren’t expecting to get back on them. They intend to die here after destroying that base and killing as many Terran soldiers as they can.”
Killam’s voice came through the speaker. “Captain Sheridan, thank God you made it through that cloud of Kurgan attack ships. I want you to head back to your camp right away. I need you to help the forces trapped on Mesa Aquarius to defend their facility.”
Sheridan didn’t like what he was being told to do. It sounded like suicide to him. “Sir, there are only twenty-three Marines guarding the camp and almost all of them are military policemen, not infantry soldiers. By the looks of it, we could be going up against three hundred Kurgans.”
“I understand. However, you have the only forces in the area that can help. I’ll dispatch a pair of fighter-bombers when I can to support you. Until then, you’re on your own. Killam, out.”
“That comms base must be vital,” added Tarina. “I guess we don’t have any choice in the matter.”
“No, we do not. Let’s just hope they can hold out long enough for us to join them and then we’ll see who’s still alive come tomorrow morning.”
Master Sergeant Cole met them at the landing site dressed in full combat order. He saluted Sheridan. “Sir, I listened to your conversation with Captain Killam and got the MPs ready for battle.”
“How do you have them configured?” asked Sheridan as Cole handed him his body armor to put on.
“Three squads, each under a sergeant. Staff Sergeant Clinton as the senior noncom is the platoon leader.”
“Thanks. Have any of them seen any combat?”
Cole shook his head. “They’re all fresh from Earth.”
“Great. I’m going to have words with Captain Killam when this is all over, if we live through his madness.”
They walked in silence to the mess tent while Tarina escorted Komada back to his quarters.
Cole placed a hand on his friend’s arm. “Captain, I’ve been monitoring the station’s comms. Things aren’t going well for the people up on that mesa.” He turned up the volume on a portable speaker sitting on the table between them.
A panicked voice called out, “Any station, this is Aquarius-Six, we are under attack by superior Kurgan forces. We have taken heavy casualties and have fallen back to the inner perimeter of the camp. I don’t think we can hold out much longer. For God’s sake, please send reinforcements before we all die and the station falls to the enemy.”
“
Sir, we can’t leave them there to die. We have to help them with whoever we have on hand.”
“How far away is the station?”
“Just over one hundred klicks.”
Sheridan bit his lip as he looked over at the deserters’ barracks.
“Sir, I’ll save you the agony of trying to make up your mind,” said Cole. “I say we arm the sons of bitches with the Kurgan weapons stored in the hold of their transport ship. If they all die charging the enemy, at least they will have drawn the enemy fire while we try to reach the camp.”
“I guess if we’re going to die, the whole lot of us might as well all be together at the end.”
Cole grinned. “I never said anything about dying.”
Sheridan called over a guard. “Have Komada join us in the mess tent right away.” The MP saluted and ran off.
Tarina walked in, grabbed a cup of coffee, and sat down beside Sheridan. “I take it you’re going to arm the deserters?”
“Yes, I am,” replied Sheridan. “How did you know?”
“Wendy and one of the MPs are busy grabbing the weapons from the vault on the Kurgan ship. She told me Master Sergeant Cole gave the order.”
Sheridan looked over at his friend.
Cole grinned. “Come on, sir. I know how you think. I knew this would save time later.”
“Tarina, you can fly that thing, right?” asked Sheridan.
“Yeah, Wendy and I have become quite adept at piloting that Kurgan hunk of junk. I’ll take the friendly force indicator from the shuttlecraft and find a spot for it in the cockpit. I wouldn’t want us to get shot down by our own people before we reached the plateau.”
“You wanted to see me, Captain,” said Komada as he walked in the tent.
Sheridan stood. “Yes. If you ever wanted to prove your willingness to help us win this war, now’s the time. I want you and your people to come with us to the base.”
“Thank you, Captain. I would be honored to fight by your side.”
Ghost Company Page 8
