“Ghost Six, this is Canberra-Six-Alpha, we are unable to support your request at this time. Assault Force Claymore ran into heavier-than-expected opposition on Janus Prime. We are currently providing close support and evac ships to withdraw their survivors, over.”
Another bar disappeared on the indicator.
Sheridan’s blood began to boil. He had to force himself not to yell into the handset. “Roger that, but we have lost our ship and are surrounded by a hostile force. We need immediate evac, or we’ll be overrun when the sun comes up in five hours’ time, over.”
“Sorry, Ghost Six, according to our orders, you’ve been assigned the lowest priority for support. Once we finish our operations on Janus Prime, we may be able to free up some ships to help you, over.”
The last bar faded. The radio was dead.
Sheridan swore. In anger, he threw the radio on the ground and kicked it away from him with his foot.
“Glad to hear we’re not the only ones having a bad day,” said Cole. “I’m going to have to have a one-sided chat with the folks in the int branch back on the Intrepid when we get back home.”
Tarina placed a hand on Sheridan’s back. “Michael, there’s still the Kurgan ship sitting idle on the landing strip. If it still has power, we can try to make it back to the Canberra.”
Sheridan shook his head. “How many people could we jam into that shuttlecraft? Twenty? Thirty? With you and the new arrivals, we still have about sixty people in the company.”
“Sixty-one, to be precise, sir,” said Cole.
“We’re not going to draw straws to see who gets away, and I’m sure as hell not going to play God either and decide who gets to stay behind to die. We all go or none of us goes.”
“Don’t be so hasty, sir,” cautioned Cole. “Why don’t Captains Pheto and Sullivan take the ship and jump back to the Canberra? It’ll be harder for them to say no when someone is standing right in front of them.”
“Getting to the ship won’t be easy,’ said Sheridan. “There’s a large mob of mutants on the hill near the landing strip.”
“I’m willing to give it a shot,” offered Tarina.
“Me too,” added Wendy.
“The less of them that go, the less of a chance of being spotted,” reasoned Cole. He looked at the UAV tech. “What’s your name, Private?”
“Fitzgerald, First Sergeant.”
“Okay, Private Fitzgerald, you just volunteered to be close protection. Grab whatever ammo you need and be prepared to go in the next five minutes.”
With their plan in place, Sheridan took Tarina by the arm and led her away from the rest of the group. “If the captain of the Canberra denies your request for support, I’m ordering you to remain onboard and not to return.”
Tarina’s eyes widened. “Michael, I can’t do that.”
“You can and you will. I’m giving you a direct order. Do you understand me, Captain?”
Tarina came to attention and saluted Sheridan. “Yes, sir, I hear you.”
“Good, now get moving,” he replied, returning her salute.
Sheridan stood and watched as the only woman he would ever love walked away. His heart was heavy. He hadn’t wanted to be firm with her but Sheridan knew if he hadn’t been, she would have returned to face the same fate as everyone else in the camp. And that was something he couldn’t have on his conscience.
34
“The coast looks clear,” whispered Wendy, examining the feed from the miniature-UAV. On her wrist was Cole’s watch.
Tarina raised her head and picked a route from where they were hiding to the Kurgan shuttlecraft. She dropped down and looked into the faces of her comrades. “We’re going to use the pile of supplies sitting on the landing strip to hide us. Hopefully, the shuttle’s jump engine is fueled up. If not, I guess we’re staying here until the cavalry decides to show up.”
Together they slipped out the darkened doorway, hunched over, and ran toward the row of crates next to the ship.
Tarina was the first to arrive. She came to a sliding halt and brought up her rifle ready to fire on any potential targets.
“I don’t think we were spotted,” said Wendy, looking down at her watch. “No one on the hill has even looked in our direction.”
“Okay, let’s see if our luck holds.” With that, Tarina sprinted the last twenty meters to the shuttle. She ran straight to the cockpit and jumped into the pilot’s seat. Tarina turned on her flashlight and studied the vessel’s flight controls. She was relieved to see that it was similar to the ones she had learned to operate on the transport ship.
Wendy slid into her seat and hurried to bring the navigational computer online.
“Where’s Fitzgerald?” asked Tarina.
“She’s covering the open door. Until we get this baby powered up, the door will remain open.”
“Okay, let’s not make the same mistake like last time. One we have enough power, let’s take off and hover at about one hundred meters until the jump engine is ready.”
“Sounds like a plan,” replied Wendy, flipping on the main power switch for the shuttlecraft. The ship’s lights came on. Computers that had sat idle for days booted up.
“Closing the side door,” yelled out Fitzgerald as she pressed a button on the wall.
Tarina pressed her headset mic. “Ghost Six, this is Ghost Six-Alpha, we have reached the ship and have begun to power it up. We’re going to forgo Wendy’s calculations this time and rely on the shuttle’s computer. I estimate that we will be able to make our jump in five to seven minutes from now.”
“Ghost Six-Alpha, well done,” said Sheridan. “See you in a couple of hours with some help from the Canberra.”
“Wilco, out,” responded Tarina.
“Red told me you ordered them not to return if they fail to convince the Canberra to help us,” said Cole.
“That’s correct,” replied Sheridan.
“Good call. I would’ve said the same thing, but both ladies kinda outrank me.”
Sheridan took a seat at a dinner table and removed his helmet. “If the sun comes up and we’re still here, I say we shrink our position some more and make our last stand on the roof of the warehouse. There can’t be more than four ladders on the outside of the building. We should be able to keep the mutants from gaining a foothold up there until we run out of ammo.”
“I was thinking the same thing. Say, have you seen Komada in the last hour?”
“He’s been visiting his followers and praying over the dying.”
“I suppose he’s more useful doing that than sitting here with us.” Cole dug out his canteen and took a sip of cold water. “Sir, I guess we should do a line tour and pass on your new orders to the platoon leaders.”
Sheridan placed his helmet back on his head and stood up. His shoulder muscles ached. He shrugged a couple of times trying to relive the discomfort.
“Sir . . . I mean, Ghost Six, this is Ghost One, we’ve got a problem,” reported Lowassa over the radio. His voice sounded strained.
“Go ahead, Ghost One.”
“Sir, my men can see the shuttlecraft hovering over the landing strip and have begun to panic. They think they are being abandoned.”
“Christ,” muttered Sheridan. “Tell them that help is on the way.”
“I did, but they don’t believe me. Mister Komada is trying to calm them down as well, but I think it’s about to turn ugly over here.”
“Okay. Hold fast, we’re on our way to you.”
Cole tapped Sheridan on the arm and pointed out the window. Several soldiers from Robinson’s platoon were outside looking up at the shuttle as well.
“Get back to your positions!” barked Cole.
The men stood there, ignoring Cole. All of a sudden, one of the soldiers ripped his helmet off his head, threw his rifle to the ground, and bolted toward the landing strip, crying out for the ship to land.
A tidal wave of fear gripped the minds of the scared and tired soldiers. They abandoned their p
osts and ran to join the others already running toward the shuttle, begging it not to leave them.
Sheridan and Cole rushed outside, trying in vain to stem the flow of soldiers.
“Stop,” yelled Sheridan. “Get back to your posts or you’ll be caught out in the open and cut to pieces.”
He might as well have been yelling into the wind. Not a single soldier paid heed to his warning.
A horrific cry burst from hundreds of mouths. The mutants had seen the panic taking hold and were charging straight at the leaderless mob of soldiers.
“Sir, the warehouse roof before it’s too late,” said Cole.
Sheridan pressed his headset mic. “All stations, this is Ghost Six, fall back to the roof of the warehouse and take up positions there.”
Cole looked over at Corporal Kolben. Indecision was written all over his face. “If you want to live, follow me,” said Cole.
“I’m not getting anyone on my headset,” said Sheridan.
“Sir, if they heard you they’re already on the move; if not, there’s nothing we can do now,” reasoned Cole.
“Let’s go,” said Sheridan, turning on his heel.
“Does this thing have a gun?” asked Tarina as the mutants swarmed toward the horde of soldiers.
Wendy shook her head. “Sorry, no.”
Unable to help, the women sat in their seats and watched in shock as the soldiers were brought to the ground and ripped apart. Some dropped to their knees and begged for mercy only to be slaughtered.
“Who’s that on the warehouse roof?” said Fitzgerald, pointing toward the building. A couple of soldiers stood on the roof helping some of their wounded comrades up.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to land and help them,” said Tarina. “Get to the side door and open it on my command.”
“Yes, ma’am,” replied the young soldier.
“Delay the jump?” asked Wendy.
“Yes, pause it,” replied Tarina. “We’ll resume the countdown once we have those people on board.”
Sheridan fired off a burst into two mutants who tried to grab a hold of a wounded soldier. Both fell to the ground, wounded. Sheridan finished them both with a shot to the head before helping the severely injured soldier to his feet.
“Wrap your arm around my neck and hold on,” said Sheridan as he turned around and placed his hands on the metal ladder. The man’s extra weight strained Sheridan’s muscles each time he tried to move a rung higher on the ladder.
A ferocious sounding growl from below made Sheridan turn his head. Just a few meters below him was a man with two mechanical arms. With the soldier on his back, Sheridan knew he could never out climb the beast.
“Hold still,” called out Cole from the rooftop. A shot rang out. The mutant fell off the ladder with a hole in his head and landed on another attacker waiting to climb up.
“Thanks,” replied Sheridan as he continued the climb. It took him almost two minutes to make it to the top of the ladder. He had to be helped onto the rooftop by Robinson and her platoon medic. The corpsman took a quick look at the injured soldier and applied a field dressing to a cut across his back.
“How many people made it up here?” Sheridan asked Cole as he dropped a mutant struggling to climb the blood-streaked ladder.
“With you, we now have sixteen survivors.”
“That’s it?”
“We’re lucky to have that many.”
Tarina’s voice filled Sheridan’s earpiece. “Michael, get all of your people to the middle of the roof, I’m coming in to land.”
“I heard her, sir,” said Cole, stepping back from his sniper’s position on the edge of the roof. He brought up a hand to his mouth and yelled, “Everyone, on me, now!”
Sheridan was numb. In just over twenty-four hours, his company of two hundred men had been reduced to sixteen beaten-up survivors. He saw the shuttlecraft drop from the sky and make its way to the center of the roof. A door slid open and Private Fitzgerald jumped down to help the injured soldiers into the craft.
With Cole at his side, Sheridan walked slowly with his back to the shuttlecraft. Every mutant that made it on the roof was shot down.
Cole motioned for Fitzgerald to climb inside. When she was in, Cole and Sheridan stepped onto the shuttle’s ramp and climbed inside.
“We’re all in,” reported Sheridan to Tarina.
The side door slid closed. Tarina’s voice came over the ship’s speakers, “Okay, hang on back there. I’m going to take us into orbit before we try our jump.”
Sheridan pulled off his helmet and collapsed in a seat. He looked around the crew compartment and felt a pang of remorse in his chest. Of his platoon leaders, only Robinson had made it. Komada knelt over a dying soldier, reading to him from the Kurgan Holy Book.
“Hey, this one isn’t on you, Major,” said Cole as he took a seat next to his friend. “There’s no way this could have turned out any different, and you know it. A battalion of Marines would have had just as hard of a time against those bioengineered mutants as we did.”
Sheridan tried to smile but found he couldn’t. He was just too tired. “Alan, we got our asses handed to us today. If it happened here, who knows how the rest of the invasion is going?”
“Hopefully, in the next hour or so, we’ll be able to linkup with the Canberra and join the rest of the fleet.”
Wendy stuck her head in the crew cabin. “Major Sheridan and First Sergeant Cole, would you please join Captain Pheto and me in the cockpit?”
Sheridan nodded and wearily stood up.
“Hey, I know you ordered them to leave, but I’m glad they didn’t,” said Cole.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to get upset about that. I’m happy to be alive as well.”
In the cramped cockpit, Sheridan and Cole sat in the empty co-pilot and communication officer’s seats.
“Thanks for sticking around,” said Sheridan to Tarina.
“You’re welcome,” she replied. “But I think my hovering over the LZ caused the stampede which almost got everybody killed.”
“Poppycock, Captain,” blurted out Cole. “They would have run the next time the mutants attacked. They no longer had the will to fight. At least this way some of the company managed to get away.”
“Getting away is why the four of us are in here,” said Wendy. “I just did my calculations and we don’t have near enough fuel to make a jump to Canberra’s location. That’s if she’s even still there.”
“Also, even if we had the fuel, we don’t have a friendly force indicator on this ship,” said Tarina. “We could be mistaken for a hostile craft the second we came out of jump and blown to pieces.”
“This day just keeps getting worse,” said Sheridan. “We can’t just float around up here forever. Is there a place nearby where we can obtain more fuel?”
Wendy nodded and brought up a planetoid on her navigation computer. “This is BO-112-Alpha. It’s small with a diameter of just over five hundred kilometers. What makes this planetoid so appealing is because of a small Kurgan mining colony situated on the northern pole.”
Sheridan leaned forward in his chair. “How small of a colony?”
“If this shuttle’s database is up to date, the colony consists of only two dozen Chosen men and their families. There isn’t a military garrison for lightyears.”
“Are you sure we’ll find perlinium there?” asked Cole.
Wendy’s eyes lit up. “It’s a perlinium mine. They’re bound to have some processed rods sitting around waiting to be picked up by a passing freighter or warship.”
“Even if it doesn’t have what we need,” said Sheridan. “It’s somewhere off the beaten path where we can lay low until we find out what has happened to the fleet.”
“Shall I make the calculations for the jump?” asked Wendy.
“How long do you think our time of flight will be?”
“Not long. Perhaps thirty to forty minutes. I’ll have a more accurate time for you once I finish my calcula
tions.”
“Okay then. First Sergeant Cole and I will form a landing party and hopefully, this time, we can take this colony without having to fire a shot.”
“I thought we said that about the last place and look what happened to us,” said Cole. “Let’s go in looking for a fight and hope no one takes us up on our offer.”
35
“Five minutes before we come out of our jump,” announced Tarina over the speakers.
Sheridan looked over at the faces of the people who would be accompanying him into the mining colony. Aside from First Sergeant Cole, he had elected to take Corporal Kolben, the last three men in his squad, and Komada. Everyone else would remain on the ship under Tarina’s command. “Okay, our aim here is to get our hands on some more fuel. If we can do this without having to kill any of the miners, then that is what we will do.”
“May I go first, Major?” asked Komada. “I may be able to talk them into surrendering.”
Sheridan glanced over at Cole, who gave him a quick nod. “It’s your skin, Komada.”
“Thank you.”
“For everyone else, make sure your weapons are on repetition and only fire in self-defense.”
Cole stood and checked that Kolben’s men’s weapons were not set on automatic.
“Major, I thought you should know that Mister Lowassa died most bravely back at the camp,” said Komada.
“What happened?” asked Sheridan.
“When the soldiers panicked and fled, he tried to stop them but could not. When the mutants attacked, he fought most bravely, cutting down at least a dozen attackers before his medic was wounded trying to help a soldier. He ran to the medic’s side and fought off the mutants for as long as he could. I begged him to come with me to safety but he refused. He died fighting to protect the lives of his men. I don’t know how Terran medals are awarded but I would be honored to write up a letter if it would help him to be presented with a posthumous valor decoration.”
“Thanks. That would be greatly appreciated.”
Ghost Company Page 21
