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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 ship 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 shine 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 assemble 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. Tarina 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 another 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 things 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 assignment, 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 cocky captain with short blonde hair and a skin-tight 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 ship. Folks, this is not open to discussion, so don’t try and corner me after this meeting is over to 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 ship to catch that will jump from here to the furthest edge of the Derran system.”

Wright dismissed the pilots. “Tarina, please walk with me 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,” she 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.”

Wright carried on, leaving Tarina alone in the now empty hangar thinking about what he had just said. Her heart was a mix of emotions. It still ached for Sheridan; however, a burning desire for revenge was brewing deep inside her. Whatever happened next, Tarina wanted payback and she intended to collect for the death of the only man she had ever loved.

Chapter 21

It had been two days since Sheridan had gone back into the line. His new platoon of re-tasked artillerymen had been put through street fighting drills by Staff Sergeant Cole day and night until they understood what was expected of them. Sheridan would have preferred infantrymen, but they were in short supply. Best estimates put the division at about fifty percent strength with most of the casualties coming from the three infantry regiments who had so far withstood the worst of the fighting. As Sheridan studied the tactical situation on a map in the company command post, he saw that the Kurgan forces had almost taken half of the city. All along the river, there were pockets of resistance that were holding out against the onslaught. It was to one of these locations that Sheridan and his understrength platoon were going to move to in a few hours. They were going to relieve a platoon that was guarding one side of the only bridge still standing over the fifty-meter wide river that cut through the middle of the capital. The remainder of the company was going to guard the other side. A couple of squads of combat engineers were coming with him to prepare the bridge for demolition.

“Mister Sheridan, are your people ready to go into battle?” Captain Rolleston asked.

Sheridan turned and said, “They’re as ready as we could make them in forty-eight hours, sir.”

“How are you organized?”

“I have two large squads, a weapons detachment, and a small headquarters. Without experienced NCOs, I was reluctant to break the platoon down any further.” 

“That’ll do. How are you set for ammo?”

“Sergeant Cole has managed to obtain a ton for us. Ammo isn’t the problem, medical support is. The only medic I have is one of my own people. Sir, are there none to spare from the division?” 

Rolleston shook his head. “Unfortunately, we’re all in the same boat. The medical battalion has been swamped with casualties. There won’t be any help coming our way for a long time. You’ll have to make do with what you have.”

Sheridan did not like the answer, but he understood that they were truly on their own. He made his way back to his platoon. Cole was just finishing his final inspection of the new Marines before they made their way to the bridge.

“What’s the word from the CO?” Cole asked.

“The word is we’re on our own. What we’ve got is all we’re going to get.”

Cole shrugged. “Could be worse, they could have sent us some of the divisional staff officers as replacements.”

Sheridan chuckled. “Okay, I’m going to take the NCOs and the heavy weapons team with me for the handover. I’ll see you and the rest of the platoon at the bridge in an hour.”

“Don’t get lost on your way there, sir,” teased Cole.

Almost to the minute, Cole showed up. The platoon quickly occupied two large houses on either side of a road leading to the bridge. He was pleased to see that the soldiers that had been there before them had done a good job of preparing the buildings for defense. Fields of fire had been cleared and all of the rooms had been fortified. It would not stop a Kurgan tank’s fire, but against small arms, the houses were almost impregnable.

The crump of artillery shells landing a few blocks away alerted Sheridan that the enemy advance had begun again. His job was to hold his side of the bridge until ordered to withdraw. Behind them in the dark, the combat engineers busily prepared the bridge to blow.

Cole walked into the small house Sheridan had chosen for his command post and reported that everything was set. Garcia, Roberts, and a young artilleryman were responsible for working the only heavy weapon they could find, an automatic grenade launcher that was sited to cover the road.

“Sir, I don’t get why the Kurgs are smashing the city to pieces,” said Cole. “I thought you said that they wanted to take it intact so they can use the city’s infrastructure.”

“I know, it’s very odd. Perhaps they didn’t expect this much resistance and have changed their mission objectives,” replied Sheridan.

Roberts said, “I heard from a guy who works up at division that the Kurgs are using the planet as a testing ground to see if their Chosen warriors are loyal to the empire.”

“You should know better than to listen to rumors. Especially those coming from the div staff,” retorted Cole.

The sound of gunfire reverberating down the streets put an end to the conversation. Sheridan moved to a firing port, brought up his night vision binoculars and looked toward the sound of the fighting. He could not see any movement. The street was deserted, yet barely two blocks away, Marines and Chosen soldiers were once more locked in a battle to the death. House by house and street by street, the two sides fought over the destroyed remains of the capital.

“Unless something drastic happens, I don’t think we’re going to get hit tonight,” said Sheridan. He turned his head and looked over at Cole. “Sergeant, let’s have the platoon go to fifty percent manning for the night.”

“Sounds like a plan, sir,” replied Cole. He looked at Roberts. “Pass the word.” With Tammy running by his side, Roberts dashed over to the nearest squad.

Now all they had to do was sit and wait, and that was almost as bad as being in combat as far as Sheridan was concerned.