Part 15 (1/2)

The eerie silence that gripped the long, black street was unnerving. Sheridan's mind began to play tricks on him. Every shadow, every odd shape became an enemy soldier. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. If they were going to make it to their lines alive, he had to stop being so jittery.

With less than ten meters to go to the destroyed tank, Cole told everyone to wait while he checked it out.

The sound of boots crunching gla.s.s underfoot made Cole freeze in place. Like a statue, he didn't move a muscle as he listened to a couple of Chosen soldiers poking around in an empty shop. He couldn't understand a word but figured that they were looking for food. After about a minute, the men abandoned their search and left the building, heading back towards their own lines. Cole left out his breath. He removed his finger from the trigger of his rifle and cautiously looked to see if there were any more Chosen moving around in the dark. When he was sure that they were alone, he walked back and told the rest of the group to follow him. Using a nearby burnt out vehicle for cover, they made their way un.o.bserved to the back of the tank. Cole went first crawling in his belly underneath of the tank. Sheridan ordered Roberts and Danika, holding onto the dog, to go next. As soon as they vanished under the tank, Sheridan told Garcia to follow them while he pulled up the rear.

With one quick look around to make sure that no one was following them, Sheridan dove under the belly of the metal beast and began to crawl. Because of the size of the large armored vehicle, there was plenty of s.p.a.ce underneath to move. In less than a minute, Sheridan was at the far side. He got up on his feet and sprinted to join his comrades. He had barely stepped inside a building on the Marines' side of the street when a pistol was jammed into his face.

”Hands up, you Kurg b.a.s.t.a.r.d!” snarled a soldier.

Sheridan heard the anger and the fear in the man's voice. He carefully raised his hands, hoping not to antagonize the frightened Marine. A pair of hands roughly grabbed him from behind, ripped his rifle from his shoulder and then pushed him down a long empty corridor. A couple of seconds later, he was manhandled into a room.

Cole stood there shaking his head in disbelief. ”I guess these idiots think that the enemy has drafted little girls and dogs into the war effort.”

”Are we ok?” asked Danika as she took Roberts by the hand.

”We sure are,” he replied. ”These people are just being careful, that's all.”

A stream of invectives filled the air outside of the room.

Cole grinned. ”Gunny Wilson's still alive.”

The door opened and a chastised Marine waved at them to follow him. They walked through several destroyed buildings until they came to a set of stairs that led own into a bas.e.m.e.nt. Inside, Sheridan saw Captain Rolleston huddled over a map.

Rolleston turned to face the newcomers. He had a bloodied bandage over his left eye. ”Mister Sheridan, I take it that this is all that remains of your platoon.”

”Yes, sir, I believe so. Some could still be alive trapped under the ruins, but I doubt it.” For the next five minutes, Sheridan briefed his commander on what had happened to them and how they had made their way back to friendly lines.

Rolleston said, ”It's truly amazing that you made it back here alive. With your people, we now have a grand total of twenty-one Marines in the company.”

”Jesus,” muttered Cole.

Gunnery Sergeant Wilson said, ”We're being topped up tonight with whatever they can scrounge up. We're going to receive a couple of platoons of artillerymen to act as infantry.”

”Something is better than nothing,” noted Cole.

”Get some food into you. After that get some rest,” said Rolleston. ”You'll probably being going back into action later tonight.”

”Yes, sir,” replied Sheridan. Before he left, he found out that there was a refugee control center nearby. Roberts and Garcia volunteered to escort Danika to the center while Sheridan and Cole scrounged up some food and ammunition. After grabbing all they could carry, Sheridan and Cole found a quiet room in a building that hadn't been too badly damaged in the fighting and took a seat.

Cole took off his helmet and scratched the top of his head. He let out a weary sigh and grabbed two rations packs. Before he could ask Sheridan what he wanted to eat, he heard the young officer snoring loudly. Cole turned his head and saw that Sheridan had fallen into a deep sleep the instant he sat down.

Chuckling to himself, Cole dug out his thermal blanket and laid it over Sheridan to keep him warm and then picked a ration to eat. He cracked his neck, sat back and listened to the sound of battle in the distance. With a resigned sigh, he envied Sheridan's ability to fall asleep. He knew he wouldn't relax until Garcia and Roberts were back. Such was the life of a platoon sergeant, he mused.

Chapter 20.

The night had never seemed so long and dark to Tarina. Her heart ached with an emptiness she knew could never be replaced. With her legs curled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around a pillow, she lay there. She had been told that the s.h.i.+p Sheridan had been traveling in had been declared overdue and was presumed destroyed in action. Alone in her room, all of the lights were off. In her hand was a picture of them taken during a visit to Paris during a break at the academy. It was one of her most beloved and cherished memories.

The door to her room opened slightly letting the light from the hallway s.h.i.+ne inside. ”Tarina, it's me, Wendy.”

”Please leave me alone,” said Tarina.

”I know, but I can't. Colonel Wright has called for all of us to a.s.semble on the flight deck ASAP.”

Tarina sat up and wiped the tears from her face. ”I'll be out in a minute.”

Wendy closed the door, plunging the room back into darkness. Tarina did not want to, but she had no choice. She flicked on a light, walked into the bathroom and washed her face. She straightened out her uniform and joined Wendy in the hallway. ”What's going on?” Tarina asked.

”No idea, but we had best hurry.”

A minute later, they joined their fellow pilots. A wild and animated discussion was brewing. Someone said that the Kurgs had attacked another star system while anther spoke of saboteurs detonating bombs at Fleet Headquarters on Earth.

Major Fareed walked in and told everyone to take a seat on the bleachers behind them. A couple of seconds later, Wright entered the hangar floor. Everyone rocketed to attention. Wright stood in front of his people and locked his ice-blue eyes on them. ”Folks, one thing you should never do in the military is sugarcoat bad news. It only leads to misunderstandings that can complicate thing down the line. So here it is. The war to date has gone spectacularly bad. All along the Disputed Zone, we have suffered defeat after defeat. Several systems have already fallen to the enemy.”

He paused to gauge the news on the faces of his pilots. If it bothered them, they didn't let it show. ”Fleet intel has intercepted messages coming from the Derran system which seem to indicate that the Kurgs are struggling to pacify Derra-5, a planet, which fleet had expected to fall by now. In fact, if the messages are to be believed, it is a real burr under their saddle and fleet wishes it to remain so for as long as possible.”

”Sir, what of the rumors of Kurgan agents operating in the fleet?” asked a short, broad-chested lieutenant. ”Can we trust communiques coming from the Kurgan forces on Derra-5?”

”Absolutely not,” replied Wright. ”That is why we have been tasked to take a look at Derra-5 in order to confirm or deny this information.”

An excited murmur ran through the squadron.

”People, I know that not all of you are ready for this a.s.signment, so here is how it is going to go down. I will take two Avengers with me. The remainder of you will remain behind to complete your training under Major Fareed.”

A c.o.c.ky, captain with short blonde hair and a skintight flight suit stood up. ”Sir, who are you planning to take with you?”

”Not you Bradley, you're not ready yet.”

Deflated, the blonde-haired pilot sat down.

”I will fly one of the Avengers with Lloyd as my navigator. Tarina with Wendy as her navigator will fly the second s.h.i.+p. Folks, this is not open to discussion, so don't try and corner me after this meeting is over and try to get me to change my mind. I expect the flight crews to rendezvous back here in thirty minutes. We have a fast transport s.h.i.+p to catch that will jump from here to the furthest edge of the Derran system.”

Wright dismissed the pilots. ”Tarina, please walk with him for a minute. When they were out of earshot of the other pilots, he turned to face her. ”I'm sorry, I just heard about your loss.”

”Thank you, sir,” responded fighting back the tears.

”Think of this as your chance for payback. If it's true and Derra-5 is still holding out, fleet undoubtedly will kick into high gear. I bet they will plan to give the Kurgs a severe drubbing there if they can. However, they can't do a thing until they know what is going on there. That is why I picked you. You're the best instinctual pilot I have, that and fact that I thought you'd like the opportunity to stick it to the enemy.”

Tarina smiled. ”Yes, sir, I'd like that. I'd like that a lot.”

”Good. Pack your things and meet me here. The flight to the Derran star system will take three days at full speed. After that, we're on our own. If you haven't already, fill out a will.”