“Major, the debacle that unfolded was because of my hubris. You did everything a man could have done in your place.”
Sheridan checked the clock on the wall; they had three minutes before their jump ended. “I don’t agree with you, Komada. I was in command and my company fell apart in the face of the enemy. I will have to answer for their deaths, not you.”
“And I will vehemently defend you should this become a court-martial offense. The Chosen soldiers who died wearing your uniform did so because when I first arrived in Terran space, I announced my intention to defect and fight on your side. The people who became my followers were following me, not you. I never should have said I wanted to fight with you. Rather, I should have told you I want you to help me fight to restore the Khynisan faith throughout the Kurgan Empire. My followers never really trusted you and our officers, which is why they ran. They thought you were planning on deserting them.”
“So, are you saying in the future Chosen deserters must fight under their own leaders, without assistance from us?”
Komada shook his head. “Advisors and material support are what we really need. Trying to make us into a Terran auxiliary was a bad idea and one I should have opposed from the beginning.”
“For once, I agree with him,” said Cole.
“If we ever get back to the fleet, I’ll pass it on to Captain Killam. What happens after that will be out of my hands,” said Sheridan.
“One minute,” said Tarina.
“Let’s go, folks,” said Cole. “Over to the airlock and remember what the major said, no shooting unless you have to.”
On a view screen in the cabin, an image of the planetoid appeared. Below the shuttle was a small settlement protected by a dome. The light from a distant sun glittered off the dome’s glass as the shuttle began its descent to the mine’s landing pad.
“Okay, Komada, you’re up,” said Sheridan.
Komada pressed an intercom button and said, “Mining colony, this is shuttle 4-112, we have a severely injured man on board. We need immediate medical assistance. Can we land?”
A woman’s voice replied. “Shuttle 4-112, your request is approved. Our medic will meet you at the airlock.”
Seconds after Tarina skillfully brought the shuttle down on the landing pad, the mine’s docking arm began to extend so it could mate with the ship’s airlock door. The light above the door showed red until the passageway was pressurized and the artificial gravity was switched on.
The light changed to green. Cole opened the door and looked down the narrow tunnel. At the far end, the miners had yet to open their door.
Sheridan slipped a bandage over his right eye and moved to Komada’s side. “Game on. Play it cool and we should both come out of this alive.”
Together they walked to the colony’s airlock door and waited. A woman’s face appeared on a screen. “Give me a moment; the door has been acting up recently.”
Sheridan wondered if their ruse had been spotted and the miners were playing for time. He reached down and ran his hand over a pistol concealed under his shirt.
The door slid open and the woman waved for them to step inside. Aside from the woman, there was only a chubby man with a thick beard holding a medkit to greet them.
Sheridan and Komada walked into the dome.
“How badly hurt are you?” asked the man.
“Not too bad.” Sheridan removed his bandage and drew his pistol. “Don’t make a sound or try anything stupid.”
Komada smiled at the two confused miners. “Please do as he says and no one will be harmed. My name is Komada, and I want you to have everyone assemble here by the airlock so I can talk to them.”
Tears began to fill the woman’s eyes. “Please don’t hurt us. I have a child here with me.”
Komada reached out and gently placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder and looked deep into her blue eyes. “Trust me. I am a Kurdofan and all I want to do is talk to you and your people. The man by my side won’t hurt you either, but only if you do as I say.”
It took ten minutes for all of the miners and their families to congregate together. Kolben’s men guarded the people while Komada preached to them.
At the ore processing plant, Sheridan met up with Cole and Wendy. “How much processed fuel is there available to us?” Sheridan asked.
“Not enough to get us back to the fleet,” replied Wendy. “It would appear we are a week too early. There are a few perlinium rods ready for use, but the rest are still being processed.”
“This place ain’t too bad,” said Cole. “We could wait here for a week and then take what we need.”
“Unfortunately, that’s not going to work,” said Tarina, joining the conversation.
“Why not?” said Sheridan.
“Because I checked the mine’s computers and there’s a Kurgan frigate heading in our direction. It should be here in about six hours. Because of the fighting in the Kallen star system, the ship has been assigned to protect this mining colony.”
“Wendy, how far can we get with the fuel we still have left on the shuttle combined with the perlinium rods we have here?” asked Sheridan.
“I’m not sure,” she replied. “Give me half an hour and then ask me again.”
“Hop to it and be prepared to give me options. If we can’t get back to the fleet, there has to be somewhere we can go.”
Wendy nodded and left the room.
“I think I’ll see how our holy man is doing,” said Cole, with a wink at his friend.
An awkward silence fell over the room. Sheridan and Tarina looked at each other, waiting for the other person to speak. Finally, it was Tarina who spoke first. “Michael, I love you with all my heart, but we can’t keep working together. It’s far too stressful.”
“I’m sorry I was so gruff with you earlier. But I didn’t want you to die if you didn’t need to.”
Tarina stepped forward and placed a hand on Sheridan’s face. “It’s not that, my love. If I were you, I would have given the same order. It’s just too tough watching you risk your life time after time. I’d rather just assume you’re safe and wait until I hear from either you or your father.”
“I guess deep down I agree with you. I’ll miss you when you’re gone.”
“I know you will, but we’re a long way from the fleet, so you’re stuck with me for the next little while.” Tarina leaned forward and kissed Sheridan. Right away, hunger gripped her heart. She pulled him close. “We’ve got thirty minutes until Wendy gets back here. Let’s make the most of it.”
Sheridan smiled back at her and said, “Yes, ma’am.”
“You know you two should stop grinning,” said Cole as he took a seat. “It’s unseemly.”
Wendy set her computer on a dusty table and opened it. A picture appeared showing the neighboring star systems. She pressed a button and a white circle came up. “This is the distance we can make with the extra fuel rods.”
“Are there any mining colonies like this one we could visit?” asked Sheridan.
“There are three, but each one of them is guarded by a Kurgan military garrison.”
“Habitable planets?” asked Cole.
“There’s a few. But only one which could be of benefit to us,” explained Wendy.
“Which one?’ Sheridan asked.
Wendy brought up the planet on the screen. “Kandara-Minor is one of two habitable planets in the Kandaran system.”
Tarina snapped her fingers. “Hey, I remember that planet. That’s where Kitan is from.”
“Precisely. If anyone is going to help us, it’s going to be her.”
“Komada will be happy to hear this,” said Cole. “A whole planet for him to convert. He’ll be happier than a five-year-old kid on Christmas Day.”
“I’d rather we hid somewhere nice and quiet, but I guess fate has decided otherwise for us,” said Sheridan. “Okay, get Corporal Kolben to help move the perlinium rods over to the ship and begin your calculations for the jump.”
&
nbsp; “I thought you’d feel that way,” said Cole. “Red and I spoke before coming up here. Kolben and his squad are outside waiting to move the fuel rods.”
“I should have seen that coming. Over to you, First Sergeant.” With that, Sheridan stood. “I suppose I had best break the news to Komada and what’s left of the company.”
“Sir, don’t be surprised if we end up taking some of the miners and their families with us,” said Cole. “Komada is preaching up a storm out there.”
“We’ll only take those who we can fit safely in the crew cabin and not a soul more.”
“It’s going to be a tight fit,” said Cole, under his breath.
36
Sheridan and Cole looked at the image of Kandara-Minor on Wendy’s computer. With so many people jammed in the crew compartment, they had taken the two spare seats in the cockpit. Everyone had changed into civilian clothes taken from the people who refused to leave the mine. Uniforms would be of no use to them anymore.
“I wish Komada had given us a more precise location for his cousin,” bitched Cole. “Somewhere in the mountains of the southern continent is hardly useful.”
“There’s only one small village anywhere near the area he believes Kitan is supposed to be hiding in, so it’ll have to do for now,” replied Sheridan.
“Unlike the mining colony we just robbed, this planet is bound to have a sophisticated early warning system. When we come out of our jump, their satellites are going to detect our presence and alert the military.”
“That’s why I planned our jump to end five kilometers above the planet’s surface,” interjected Wendy.
“We did this kind of thing before on the prison planet and it didn’t end well,” said Cole. “You did factor in the mountains, didn’t you?”
“Take it easy, Alan, I made sure to end our jump well above the mountains.”
“Wendy’s got it right,” said Sheridan. “From now on, I want us all to drop our ranks when talking to one another. We’re going to be trapped on a hostile planet for who knows how long. The less the Chosen people living there know about us, the better.”
“It’ll take some getting used to,” said Cole. “I’m not one to speak to officers informally.”
“What a load of crap!” said Wendy. “We talk to each other all the time without using rank.”
“Yeah, but you’re not my boss.”
“Get used it, Alan,” said Sheridan, smiling at his friend’s discomfort.
“Apart from linking up with Kitan, do we have a workable plan?” Cole asked.
“Before we saw what the Kurgans did to those colonists, I was vehemently opposed to interfering in the internal affairs of the Kurgan Empire. Now all I want to do is make them bleed. We have no idea if Operation Olympic was a success or not. I’m going to go with the assumption that it worked and has kicked over the proverbial hornet’s nest. The Kurgs will undoubtedly be preparing a counterstrike to take back those resource-rich planets. I say we help Komada and his cousin initiate a revolt. It may cause the Kurgans to alter their plans and send much-needed manpower and equipment to this planet to put down the insurrection.”
“I was just as pissed as you were about what happened,” said Cole. “But were their actions any worse than our own a century ago when we created weapons of mass destruction like the Alpha-Virus?”
“You can’t be serious?”
“I am. Think about it. We created a virus so lethal that it could easily kill billions and then hid it out on a moon far from Earth with only the flimsiest of security measures. How did Mister Williams and the other Chosen agents find out about the virus, its location, and all of the top secret security protocols needed to access the virus? Don’t tell me it was blind luck. Either Harry was supplied the info by a deep operative or he was deliberately fed the information by someone on our side. Someone who wants the virus to be used.”
“Why would they want the virus to be released?”
“If it was used in Terran space, it would look like the Kurgans had escalated the war and would give the hardliners in the government back home an excuse to widen the war. If it was used on the Kurgans, especially now with a looming civil war, its effect would be devastating and could tip the war in favor of one side or the other.”
Sheridan shook his head. “Alan, your conspiratorial streak has gone too far this time. There is no way in hell I can believe that our side allowed Harry, a known Chosen agent, to steal the virus.”
“Perhaps Harry is a double-agent,” proposed Tarina. “You said after he disappeared that he has his own agenda. He could be working for both sides.”
“Or playing both sides against one another,” said Cole.
“You two are nuts. I know him. He’s not that smart, and why would he do it? To what end?”
“Never underestimate Harry Williams, Mike. You of all people should know that by now.”
A knock at the door interrupted the conversation.
“Yes?” said Tarina.
Robinson opened the door and popped her head inside. “Sir, Komada thought you should know that one of the wounded soldiers has just died. The medic did all she could for him, but his wounds were just too severe.”
“Damn,” said Sheridan. “I’d hoped the kid would make it. What would Komada like to do with the body?”
“As we can’t cremate him and keeping his remains onboard wouldn’t be good for morale, I convinced him to have a funeral in space.”
“Very good. Komada knows what do to prepare the body. Please let me know when he intends to read a prayer over the body before it’s ejected out into space.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Robinson before going about her duties.
“I didn’t think the poor lad would have survived this long,” said Cole. “Tough little bugger.”
“Let’s hope he’s the last person we have to bury for quite some time,” said Sheridan. “I’m getting a little tired of losing people.”
The deceased’s body had been stripped naked before being washed and wrapped in a clean blanket in the Kurgan way. Sheridan stood next to Komada while he read from his Holy Book. Behind them, Chosen soldiers and civilians repeated Komada’s words, praying for the dead soldier’s soul. When he was done, Komada and Sheridan stepped out of the airlock and sealed the door behind them.
“Do you wish to press the button opening the outer door?” Sheridan asked.
Komada nodded and placed his hand on a red button on the panel. He whispered a few more words and pressed the button. The instant the outer door slid open, the corpse shot out into space.
Sheridan waited a moment before closing the door.
“Thank you for attending the service,” said Komada. “I wasn’t sure a human would attend a Kurgan religious ceremony.”
“I’m not big on religion,” replied Sheridan, “But I am on respect. That young man died fighting and for that, he has my gratitude.”
The people who had come to see off their fellow citizen disappeared, leaving the two men alone.
Komada said, “Major, you haven’t really said much to me about what you intend to do when we reach Kandara-Minor.”
“That’s because I’m playing it off the cuff right now. If we can find Kitan and she agrees to help us, I can only see two possible outcomes. First, we help you start an insurrection against the Kurgan authorities and then try to obtain enough perlinium to jump back to the fleet, leaving you to carry on with your revolt.”
“The second option?”
“We stay and act as advisors to you and your fellow insurgents.”
“Mister Sheridan, I know my cousin, and she will help you regardless of the cost to her and her family. As for me, I’d prefer that you stay to guide and assist us in our holy struggle. I’m not a student of military history like yourself, and have no idea how to begin, let alone conduct, a successful insurgency.”
“Komada, I think we’ll play this one day at a time for now.” Sheridan stepped in close, so the two men were eye to eye. He co
uld see a tinge of discomfort in the Komada’s eyes. “As for your holy war, you had best be able to rein in your followers, because if they get out of hand and begin to massacre the innocent, you’ll have to answer to me. Got it?”
“I understand you.”
Sheridan stepped away from Komada and left him alone to think about the future and how he wanted to shape it.
37
“Everyone is strapped in nice and tight back there,” reported Cole as he took his seat in the cockpit and reached for his harness.
“Okay, coming out of the jump in ten seconds,” said Wendy.
Tarina placed her hands on the controls and waited for the inevitable jolt as the planet’s gravity, like an invisible hand, took a hold of their ship and pulled it down toward the surface.
Sheridan popped his mouthguard into his mouth and wrapped his arms across his chest. He silently prayed that Wendy’s calculations were correct, or they could be coming out of their jump right into the side of a mountain.
Wendy continued the countdown. “Five-four-three-two-one.”
In the blink of an eye, the world outside of the ship changed from utter darkness to one of a night sky filled with stars. A second later, the ship dropped like a stone.
“Engaging the sublight engine,” said Tarina.
Sheridan felt his stomach jump up into his mouth. He knew Tarina was an exceptional pilot but he always dreaded the time from the end of a jump to the moment the sublight engines kicked in. The sound of the engines switching on filled the cabin. In less than five seconds, the ship ceased to fall. Sheridan looked over at Wendy’s monitor and watched as the shuttlecraft descended into a mountain ravine.
“Did anyone detect us coming out of our jump?” Cole asked.
“My warning indicator is still green,” replied Wendy. “The mountains and the speed of our fall must have shielded us from detection.”
“Any sign of habitation?” asked Sheridan.
“There are a dozen or so small communities within a thirty-kilometer radius around our landing site,” reported Wendy.
Ghost Company Page 22
