Sheridan pulled Cole with him as he dove for cover behind the rocks. They tumbled to the ground. A second later, they could hear the whine of the UAV’s engine as it closed in on their hiding spot. Both men, hugged the rocks, trying to blend in. It was an act born of desperation and they knew it. If the drone saw them with its thermal camera, a missile would be coming their way in mere seconds. The sound of its engine grew close as it flew near. All of a sudden, a spotlight shot down from the UAV lighting up the ground in front of their position.
“They must have seen us,” whispered Sheridan.
Cole shook his head.
A voice on a loud speaker drowned out the hovering drone’s engine. “Prisoner, stop where you are, or I will be forced to fire.”
Cole said,“I don’t think that was for us.”
Sheridan moved just enough so he could see what was going on. At first he saw nothing, then a man stumbled out of the dark. His clothes hung from his emaciated body. The UAV’s light moved over onto the prisoner.
“Halt, or face the consequences,” warned the UAV.
The man paid it no heed and kept staggering forward. Each footstep taken was one more toward freedom. Sheridan could see that the prisoner was not going to make it. With a loud whoosh, a missile shot from the drone and exploded right next to the man. His dead body flew up into the air before crashing down onto the rocky ground.
“Poor bastard,” whispered Cole.
Sheridan slid back down behind the rocks. Anger filled his heart. He couldn’t wait for the task force to arrive so they could pay back the Kurgans for their cruelty. Urban’s voice filled his earpiece. “Gents, don’t move. A Kurg patrol mounted in two vehicles is heading your way. I think they’re coming to pick up the dead guy’s remains.”
The drone’s light switched off. It hovered over the body for a few seconds before flying off to another part of the mining camp.
Pinned behind their rocks, Sheridan and Cole waited for the Kurgans to retrieve the corpse lying less than fifty paces from them. Two eight-wheeled APCs drove out of the camp and stopped right next to the body. A couple of Chosen warriors got out of the back of one of the transports and dragged the shattered remains into the back of their vehicle. A minute later, the APCs left.
Cole whispered, “I’m amazed that the Kurgs didn’t see us too.”
“We left by an unguarded exit. I bet that poor soul tripped some kind of alarm when he made his escape from the mine. We’ll have to be wary and look for laser warning systems from now on.”
Cole nodded. “I think we’re alone now. Let’s get the hell out of here before anything else goes wrong.”
Sheridan nodded. As quiet as a pair of church mice, the two Marines crept from their hiding spot and made their way back to the rest of their team. Tired and scared, Sheridan knew that luck more than skill had helped them so far. He couldn’t always count on being fortunate in the future. From now on he would have to rely on his and Cole’s experience to keep them alive.
Chapter 26
Lieutenant Colonel Tolinksi’s navigator, First Lieutenant Frost, broke the long silence. “Ma’am, we’re almost there.” His accent had a hint of Scandinavian in it.
Right away, Tolinski could feel her heart begin to race. Although qualified to fly the Avenger, she had only ever flown it on training missions in the Illum star system. Today was her first combat assignment. She sat up in her chair, took a deep breath, and waited for the stars to appear.
Frost reported, “Coming out of the jump in three-two-one.”
In the blink of an eye, their ship came out of its long jump precisely where they had planned to. Stars filed her cockpit canopy. Below them was the Kurgan base. Less than five kilometers away, the other ship appeared. Both had survived the long journey into enemy space.
Tolinski reached over and flipped a switch on her control panel. “I’m arming the bomb.”
“I have the device on my screen. The signal is good,” announced Frost.
“I’m releasing the bomb . . . now.” Beneath their sleek vessel, the large circular bomb detached and floated free.
“Ma’am, my scope shows no enemy activity. I don’t think they’ve spotted us.”
“They will if we stick around any longer. Get us the hell out of here.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Seconds later, Tolinski’s Avenger vanished as it jumped away from the base.
Tolinski sat back and let out a long-held breath. From the time they jumped in over the top of the base until they departed was less than one minute’s time. She chuckled to herself. If she survived the war, she could stand around the officers’ mess with a beer in her hand and brag about her one minute of combat.
“Ma’am, we’ll be coming out of our jump in less than one minute. Will our transport ship be waiting there for us?”
“They want to be or they’re going to get my boot upside their asses if they’re not.”
“Ma’am, after what happened with the satellites the squadron deployed above Klatt, do you think the EMP bombs worked?”
“I goddamn well hope so, because Colonel Wright and the rest of our friends should be finishing their jumps right about now.” She closed her eyes and saw Eskola. With a silent prayer on her lips, she waited and worried.
Like a flock of predators appearing from nowhere, the second wave of Avengers dropped out of their faster-than-light journey. In case the electromagnetic bombs had failed, Colonel Wright had insisted that the squadron end its jump ten kilometers away from the Kurgan base behind a long rocky ridge that shielded them from enemy observation and fire.
“Speak to me, Eskola,” said Wright.
“One second, sir,” replied his navigator. “Nothing. I’ve got nothing on my screen; the Kurg base has no power signature whatsoever.”
“That’s good enough for me.” He keyed his mic and spoke to the rest of the assault force. “Reaper Team, this is Reaper Six, you are clear to attack. I say again, you are clear to attack. Follow me onto the base. I want you to fire your missiles and then get the hell out of Dodge. Reaper Six, out.”
He turned his helmet slightly so he could see Eskola in her chair behind him. “Ready?”
“Ready,” she replied with a confident tone in her voice.
Wright gave a bit of power to the ship’s engine. His Avenger sailed up and over the rocky hill. Formed up like a wedge, the squadron flew meters from the ground toward its objective. Without any power on, the Kurg base sat dark on the asteroid surface. Wright checked his targeting computer and saw that it had already identified its target, the base’s main complex.
Barely five seconds later, he heard a steady tone in his headset. He announced, “I have a missile lock.” Just to be sure that he wouldn’t miss, he waited a few more seconds before depressing the fire button on his joystick. With a bright flash, the torpedo shot out from underneath his ship and streaked straight for its target. All around him the other crews fired off their weapons. Wright pulled back on his joystick and climbed away from the base as the long line of warheads sped toward the doomed base. One by one they struck home, blasting the buildings and communications arrays spread throughout the base to pieces. Wright did not think of the hundreds of Kurgans and Chosen he had probably just killed. He had a job to do and that was all there was to it.
He was about to tell Eskola to begin the countdown for the return jump when an alarm sounded in his helmet. “Warning, incoming missile!”
Without hesitation, Wright applied full power to his ship’s engine and flipped a switch on his panel, firing off the Avenger’s countermeasures. Behind his craft, superheated metal balls shot out trying to draw away the heat-seeking missile locked onto his Avenger.
“Come on . . . come on, take the bait,” said Wright as his ship’s computer counted down the seconds to the incoming missile’s impact.
“I can see it,” called out Eskola, looking through the glass behind her. “It’s coming up from the surface of the asteroid. It’s small. Must be from a man-portab
le launcher.”
Right away, Wright knew that things might just change in their favor. A shoulder-launched weapon had far less range than a missile fired from a missile battery. He waited a couple of seconds before asking, “What’s it doing?”
“It’s given up. It’s turning away from us,” she replied excitedly.
Three seconds later the missile exploded destroying one of the decoys with it.
“That was too close for comfort,” said Wright.
“Yes, sir. I’d rather not do that again.”
“Do you have the return jump calculations confirmed in the computer?”
Before she could reply, half a kilometer off to the right, a bright flash of light told Wright that one of his ships had just been destroyed. He clenched his jaw in anger and frustration. It was obvious that after the Kurgan base had lost power, some of the soldiers must have known what was coming and rushed out onto the asteroid’s surface to engage Wright’s team. It was what he would have done if he had been in their position.
A voice came over the comms system. “Reaper Six, this is Reaper Four. Reaper Three just exploded. I say again Reaper Three is gone.”
“Did anyone eject?”
“Negative, sir.”
“Rodger that,” replied Wright, his voice was bitter at the loss. “Time to leave. All craft begin your jumps.”
“Sir, we’re ready to jump,” announced Eskola.
Wright felt the loss of the flight team in his chest. There would be time to mourn later, he told himself. “Take us back to the RV, Eskola.”
She began her countdown. Within seconds, the stars vanished from sight.
Wright bashed his fist against the side of his cockpit. He knew that there was nothing he could have done to prevent the loss of the two men in Reaper Three, but that didn’t stop him from being angry. The only consolation he could think of was that the incoming task force would not be spotted by the Kurgans and reported. They had done their job. Now it was up to the people in the task force to do theirs.
“Status report?” Admiral Sheridan asked.
Killam looked away from the tactical screen. “Sir, we have come out of our jump five hundred thousand kilometers from the Kurgan base. Sensors are showing no sign of life or power emanating from the installation.”
Admiral Sheridan smiled. Wright’s people had come through. “Task force integrity?”
“Sir, all of the ships have reported in. Only one ship has reported any issues.”
“Which ship, and what is the problem?”
“Sir, it’s LC-432, one of the spare landing craft. The ship’s captain has reported that his perlinium reactor is running a bit high but feels that it is nothing to worry about.”
Admiral Sheridan shook his head. “Order him home. I don’t want his engine to fail when we are over Klatt. We still have two spare landing craft at our disposal; more than enough to get the job done.
“Aye, sir,” replied Killam as he quickly typed out the order. “Message sent and acknowledged.”
“Open a secure channel to the task force,” said Sheridan to his communications specialist.
“You’re on, sir,” replied the petty officer.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is Admiral Sheridan, we have successfully jumped into Kurgan space. The first leg of our journey is now complete. In a couple of minutes, we will begin the second and most hazardous part of this operation. I need not remind you that the lives of over five thousand of our fellow soldiers, fleet members, and Marines hang in the balance. To steal a quote from Admiral Nelson, ‘I expect that everyone will do their duty.’ End of speech; let’s get to work.”
“Sir, the task force has indicated that they are ready to jump to Klatt,” reported Killam.
With a determined look in his eyes, Admiral Sheridan placed his hands behind his back and nodded.
Killam gave the order. On the tactical screen, all of the ships vanished within seconds of one another.
Sheridan began to pace the deck. He knew that there was no turning back now. They were committed to their chosen course of action. For better or worst, there was going to be a battle in the next twenty-four hours which would seal the fate of the men and women languishing in the mines.
Chapter 27
Tarina didn’t sit down on her bunk as much as collapse onto it. She let out a moan when her arm, bruised earlier in the day, hit the hard wooden sides of her bed. Another long day in the mine had taxed her to the breaking point. She doubted that there wasn’t a muscle on her body that did not ache. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and felt herself drifting off to sleep. As much as she wanted to she couldn’t afford herself the luxury of a quick nap. Tonight was the night that they intended to escape. She needed all the nourishment she could get, even if it were from the awful Kurgan soup. She muttered, “Get up, you lazy lump.”
“Did you say something to me?” asked Wendy, looking as tired as her friend was.
Tarina smiled. “No, just talking to myself again.”
“You know that’s not a good thing. Soon you’ll be answering yourself.”
“At least it’ll be the right answer.”
The people in the bunks began to stir. Tarina looked over and saw the food cart pull up. Her stomach growled. She swung her feet down and slid them into her clogs. With Wendy and Angela by her side, Tarina joined the lineup. After getting their supper meal, they made their way back to Tarina’s bed and sat down together.
Angela dipped a piece of dry bread in her soup before devouring it in one bite. She licked her lips and then her fingers, not wanting to waste a morsel of food. She took a quick glance around and said, “I heard a couple of the guards say that the Inspector General is due to arrive later tonight. I hadn’t expected him for a few days. Perhaps he’s here to witness the bloodletting ceremony?”
A shiver ran down Tarina’s back. “If he’s here for that, he’s a ghoul.”
“Ghoul or not, things have just fallen into place for the three of us,” interjected Wendy. “Just think, in a matter of hours we could be heading home.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Angela. “One thing at a time. I think it would be best if we waited until sometime after midnight before sneaking out of here.”
Tarina nodded. “I agree. If we go too early we run the risk of someone coming around, finding our bunks empty, and sounding the alarm. It’s better to wait until the guards have a belly full of liquor before trying to escape.”
“I’ll never be able to wait that long,” Wendy said, nervously tapping her feet against the side of the bed. “I’m already too worked up.”
“You’ll just have to try and force yourself to relax,” said Angela. “You’re supposed to be downtrodden and defeated, not excited and happy.”
“You’re asking for the impossible.”
Tarina patted her friend on the shoulder. “You once told me that you were involved in your high school’s drama program. Well, for the next few hours you’re going to have to channel your inner actress.”
Wendy chuckled at the thought. “Can do.”
Travis appeared at the front of the cavern. With him was a squad of Chosen warriors. This time they were carrying rifles, not whips. He spat on the ground at his feet. “Alright, you lazy sons of bitches, get up off your asses and form up in three ranks in front of me.”
Tarina could sense that something was amiss. The prisoners put down their food and slowly got to their feet.
Travis’ expression turned ugly. “Hurry up or I’ll have the guards shoot some of you for being slow!”
A murmur ran through the prisoners as they shuffled over and got into three ranks.
“Keep you mouths shut,” hollered Travis. “Now listen up, you maggots; I want the following people to fall out and move over beside the guards. For the rest of you, take a look at ‘em as they ain’t ever coming back.”
Tarina’s heart began to beat wildly as the names were read off one by one. When hers was called, she could h
ave cried. Instead, she held her head up high, walked over, and joined the other prisoners. She looked back over at Wendy and saw the tears in her friend’s eyes. Tarina tried to smile to comfort her but found that she couldn’t; she was scared out of her mind.
“The first person who tries something stupid dies as does the person standing next to them,” threatened Travis to the selected prisoners. He smiled sadistically at the people he knew he was sending to their deaths. “You’ll be joining the other volunteers at the loading platform. Behave yourselves and try to have a nice day.”
A captured Marine sergeant broke from the group and ran at Travis only to be shot down before he got a little more than five paces. Less than a second later, another shot rang out and a woman who had been in line with the sergeant fell to the ground dead with a hole in her head.
“God damn it. I warned you , didn’t I. I’ve got a quota I have to fill. I got to find me two more volunteers.” He spun about and glared at the cowering prisoners. He quickly picked out two of the fitter and healthier-looking people and had them dragged over to replace the two dead ones.
A terrified young crewman was pushed into line beside Tarina. He was shaking like a leaf and looked no older than eighteen years old. She tapped his arm. Quietly, she said, “Stay calm. If we get the chance, you and I are going to make a run for it.”
The young man looked over and nodded. He was too afraid to speak.
Travis dismissed the other prisoners and marched himself to the front of the small column. “No more funny business,” warned Travis as he led the prisoners away from their friends.
Wendy stood, fixed to the ground as if her feet were made of lead. She watched in horror as Tarina vanished into the darkened tunnel. For the first time in months, she was alone.
A hand reached out and grabbed her arm. “Come on, let’s go back to the bunks or the guards will make you move,” said Angela.
Trident Fury (The Kurgan War Book 3) Page 15
