Part 2 (2/2)
Pivoting about, Sheridan moved over to the soldier. He was right. Tethered to a bed was a man inside a survival suit. Sheridan quickly checked over his vitals and saw that the man was stable but unconscious.
”Let's take him,” said Sheridan to the two nearest Marines.
After a quick check of the room, they realized that they had found the sole survivor of the California.
Sheridan keyed his mic and told Cole that they were on their way back to the airlock. Captain Lefol, who had been listening in, acknowledged the message.
Five minutes later, Sheridan's team met up with Cole and his people.
Happy to be leaving the dead s.h.i.+p behind him, Sheridan pushed the b.u.t.ton for his maneuver unit's thrusters and headed back out into s.p.a.ce.
The instant that they stepped back inside the Churchill's airlock and closed the door behind them, the s.h.i.+p's jump engine kicked in, blasting them away from the wreckage. A pair of medical corpsmen waited for them on the other side of the doors. After handing off the unconscious man to the medics, Sheridan, Cole and the rest of the Marines moved inside and stripped off their suits.
Sheridan's clothes clung to his sweat covered body. He grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from his face. With a heavy sigh, Sheridan sat down and looked down at his hands and saw they were shaking.
”It's ok, it's just the adrenaline leaving your system,” said Cole as he took a seat beside Sheridan. ”It happens to all of us.”
Sheridan glanced over and saw that Cole's hands were as steady as a rock. ”You're not shaking.”
”I've learned to deal with it, doesn't mean I wasn't scared.”
Sheridan made sure that none of the Marines could hear him. Quietly, he said, ”I'd never seen a dead body before today. It's not something they prepare you for at the academy.”
Cole nodded his head. ”There's plenty they don't prepare you for. Wait until it's one of your own men. Trust me, it's an awful feeling you never really get over.”
Sheridan shuddered. He decided to change the topic. ”Did you get what the captain was after?”
”I sure did. Sir, did the man you found have any ID on him?”
”None that I could see.”
Cole slapped Sheridan on the back. ”Come on, sir, let's get changed and go see the captain.”
Chapter 5.
With less than two hours to go before they arrived at their destination, Captain Lefol studied the computer logs downloaded from the California. The attack on the convoy had been carried out with surgical precision. First, the freighter had struck a cloaked mine, disabling her engines. When the frigate Orion stopped the convoy to allow the crippled vessel to make repairs, they were hit by a Kurgan raiding party. Once the Orion was taken out of action, the remainder of the s.h.i.+ps in the convoy were picked off one by one as they tried to escape. She made a note to inform her superiors to abandon any s.h.i.+p that couldn't keep up with the others from now on. It was a cold move, but one she knew would guarantee a greater chance for survival for the others.
After handing over the bridge to her first officer, Lefol headed down to the medical bay to check on the patient brought over from the California. She found the s.h.i.+p's doctor checking the sleeping man's vitals.
”How is he doing?” she asked the doctor.
”He'll live,” replied the doctor, a dumpy, redheaded man with a strong Scottish accent.
”Did you find any identification on him?”
The doctor handed her the man's ID discs.
”Tartov,” said Lefol as she read the man's discs. ”Is he in the fleet medical database?”
”Yes, he's listed as a Petty Officer Third Cla.s.s. He has no history of ill health. Unless he changed jobs recently, he's a computer technician.”
”Do you think he'll be coming around soon?”
The doctor shook his head. ”He's got enough drugs in him to knock out a horse. He'll be out for at least another twelve to twenty-four hours.”
Lefol bit her lip. She'd hoped the man would be up well before that. They were heading into a dangerous situation and she needed answers. ”Ok, thanks, Doc. Please let me know the instant he wakes up, I have a few questions I'd like him to answer.”
”Can do. Is there anything else I can help you with, Captain?”
Lefol shook her head and left the room. Finding survivors on stricken s.h.i.+ps was not unheard of. What dug at her was the fact that he was the only one wearing a survival suit when the s.h.i.+p was attacked. She couldn't believe that it was just a coincidence. There was more to the story than anyone knew and that bothered her.
In the mess hall, Sheridan and Cole sat silently at their table eating a light meal of soup and sandwiches. The usual loud banter between the young Marines had evaporated. After returning back to the s.h.i.+p, the Marines who had ventured over to the California came back with tales of horror and devastation. The brutal reality of war had just begun to sink home.
”Sir, shall I have the men ready for action when we arrive at Illum Prime?” asked Cole.
Sheridan nodded his head. He knew that Cole would have given the order anyway; he knew that it was his way of easing him into giving the orders. ”Sergeant, since we don't have a medic with us I'd like a couple of medical packs given to the troops who scored the highest on their combat first aid in training. I'd feel better knowing that we had the med kits with us just in case we need them.”
Cole looked over at the Marines and called out, ”Simons, Garcia, draw a med pack each and carry it with you from now on.”
”Yes, Sergeant,” replied both Marines.
Sheridan said, ”Sergeant, you picked two women.”
”s.e.x has nothing to do with it, sir. You wanted the best and those two Marines are the best combat first aiders we have.”
Sheridan placed his spoon down and looked over at Cole. ”Sergeant, a couple of hours ago you said that we'd be lucky to live out the day. Do you still feel that way?”
”Yeah, I do. It's obvious that the Kurgans have been planning this for years. These strikes deep into our territory are a prelude to an all-out invasion. Illum Prime would make a great staging base for someone planning to take our outer colonies or some of the resource planets. When we arrive in orbit, trust me, we're going to find a Kurgan fleet waiting there.”
Sheridan sat there for a second, not sure what to say. Everything Cole said made perfect sense. ”If the Kurgans are already at Illum Prime, then why is the captain insisting that we go there?”
”She probably has standing orders that state in the event of war that she must reconnoiter the planet and report what is happening. Sir, you must have studied the last Kurgan War in the academy. What is the first thing the Kurgans would do if they were attacking Illum Prime?”
”They would knock out all of the planet's satellites, blinding it and making it unable to communicate with anyone in the Fleet.”
”Precisely. They can't send a distress message, so that's why she has to take a look in order to determine if the planet is under attack.”
”Jesus,” mumbled Sheridan. ”There has to be a better way of doing that.”
”If there is, I'm sure the captain would be delighted to hear about it.”
Two hours later, the jump engine switched off and the Churchill came to a sudden stop behind the largest of Illum Prime's four moons. On the bridge, Captain Lefol ordered the s.h.i.+p's sensor suite to be turned from active to pa.s.sive. She didn't want the Kurgans, if they were in orbit, to realize that they were being scanned. A small probe was launched so Lefol could get a better picture of what was happening on the other side of the moon. The s.h.i.+p's navigator and helmsman hurriedly computed their escape trajectory should they need to make an emergency jump back to the nearest colony.
”Ma'am, I'm getting a coded message from Fleet Headquarters,” reported the communications officer.
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