Kesmon smiled and followed Sheridan into the forest. After walking for nearly a minute, Kesmon stopped in his tracks. "Kimdar, where did you say you left your gear?"

Sheridan's stomach tied in a knot the second he decided to end the charade. He reached into a jacket pocket, pulled out one of his razor sharp ceramic knives and turned about. Kesmon saw the hard look in Sheridan's eyes a second too late to save his life. Like a tiger, Sheridan pounced on the hapless soldier and plunged his knife into the man's chest. With a look of utter disbelief in his eyes, Kesmon's feet buckled. Sheridan grabbed the Chosen warrior by the collar of his uniform and forced the dying soldier down onto the snow-covered ground. He looked over his shoulder to make sure they hadn't been followed before placing a hand over his victim's mouth so he couldn't make a sound as he lay dying in the snow.

After a few seconds, the Chosen warrior's eyes glazed over. Sheridan reached down with a blood-covered hand and checked for a pulse. There was none. He had expected to feel guilty about killing the man in cold blood; however, after all he had seen and been though he was numb. Grabbing the body, Sheridan dragged the remains deeper into the woods. He was thankful that the snow falling from the sky would soon erase his tracks. When he was done covering the corpse with snow, Sheridan dug out his compa.s.s, took a bearing and began to walk through the thick woods.

He had a rendezvous to keep.

Chapter 41.

The word that one of the four-man teams was overdue didn't come as a total surprise to Sheridan. He had planned for the possibility of losing at least one team. There was still enough enhanced explosive charges carried in the packs of the young Marines he had with him to flatten an entire city block. With the twelve Marines plus himself and Cole, Sheridan was confident they could knock out the jamming site as planned. He grabbed a hot drink and sat down with Cole away from the other Marines. Sheridan quickly outlined his plan of attack on the compound.

Cole liked the plan; it was simple yet effective. In his experience, the more complicated the plan, the greater the chance of something going wrong.

"Until we destroy the jammers, I guess we'll just have to a.s.sume that Garcia and Roberts managed to lead their teams to safety," said Sheridan.

"They may be young, but they're good soldiers," said Cole. "They'll get their people where they need to go." With that, he stood up and went to fetch them both some food.

Sheridan checked the time. They had four hours to wait until they had to move out to attack the enemy position. He rooted around in his jacket pocket until he found some crackers. While he munched on his snack, Sheridan studied the faces of the people he was going to lead into battle. Unlike them, he had at least had seen combat and knew what to expect. He chuckled to himself when he realized that he was still relatively new to the business of war. What a difference a couple of months can make in a person's life, thought Sheridan.

Cole returned and handed Sheridan a warmed up ration. "Here, sir, eat this. You may not feel like eating, but your body needs the calories to keep you going in the cold."

Sheridan took the food and thanked Cole. "I hope the missing team knows to head back to the capital now that they've missed the rendezvous timing."

"Your orders were quite specific. They're either on their way back or are dead. There's nothing you can do about it, so I suggest you put them out of your mind until this is all over."

"Sergeant, when we step off, I want you on the far right-hand side of the a.s.sault force. If any Chosen soldiers or their Kurgan officers try to make a run for it, kill them. I don't want anyone who may know how to work these jammers surviving the attack."

Cole nodded his head. He had antic.i.p.ated Sheridan's order. He would have given the same one if he had been in the young officer's place.

As night fell, the weather turned bitterly cold. A strong wind came from the north whipping the falling snow into a swirling maelstrom.

Sheridan called his three team leaders to him. "Ok, we attack in five minutes time. Sling your Kurgan rifles and use your silenced pistols during the initial a.s.sault. I want two explosives charges per tent or vehicle. When you see a red pen flare fired up into the air, that's your signal to withdraw. Move back in pairs to the RV and for G.o.d's sake, don't leave a man, dead or wounded, for the enemy to find. Everyone makes it back here or none of us does."

At the edge of the forest, Sheridan dropped to one knee, brought up his binoculars and studied the position one last time. He saw through the blowing snow four Chosen soldiers walking back and forth on the perimeter of the camp with their heads down. They looked unimpressed to be outside in the cold. He lowered his binoculars and placed them away. Sheridan looked at his people waiting in a long line for the signal to advance. Sheridan took a deep breath to calm the growing feeling of anxiety in his chest.

There was nothing more they could do. It was time.

Sheridan stood up. With his silenced pistol in his hand, he walked straight towards the center of the Kurgan installation. His teams quietly spread out and walked towards their intended targets. When he was within ten meters of the nearest guards, one of them saw him and called out for him to stop. Sheridan ignored the warrior and kept on walking. The soldier called out again and then reached for his weapon slung over his shoulder. Sheridan brought up his pistol and dropped the soldier and his partner before they could react. He stepped over their lifeless bodies and kept walking towards the main tent he had eaten in earlier. He watched as two of his men silently shot down a couple Chosen warriors before tossing their prepared charges under a long vehicle with several large antennas and dishes on its roof. They now all had ninety seconds to do what they had to before the charges detonated.

Sheridan pulled open the flap to the tent and stepped inside. It was like stepping into a furnace. Several heaters turned on full blast warmed the room. His arrival didn't stir anyone away from the warmth of the radiators. It was as if he was invisible. Sheridan couldn't believe his luck. He quickly moved to one side, reached into his jacket and pulled out his charges. He flipped the safety switch to armed and dropped the explosives behind him. He counted down in his head. When he figured he had less than thirty seconds until the charges went off, he brought his pistol from behind his back and started shooting. With the image of Eve hanging lifeless from a tree in his mind, Sheridan yelled at the top of his lungs at the soldiers. He was going to exact his revenge. The first to die were the Kurgan officers followed by any Chosen, who went for their weapon. He kept firing as he edged backward for the opening. With their officers dead, the Chosen soldiers seemed to hesitate, unsure what they should do even though there was an enemy in their midst firing on them, killing them.

A second later, he was outside. He dug out his pen flare, pointed it up into the night sky and fired it. With a pop, the flare opened up over the installation. Sheridan could see in the red light of the flare his people moving back. It was all going to plan when all of a sudden automatic gunfire erupted from outside of one of the vehicles. Sheridan turned his head just before the flare burnt out and saw a couple of his people fall. With a curse on his lips, Sheridan ran to help. He heard another burst of gunfire, only this time it came from some of his Marines. By the time he arrived by the two fallen soldiers, Cole and another man were already there, bending over to pick up the casualties.

"Cover us," called out Cole as he tossed Sheridan his rifle.

Sheridan grabbed the weapon, checked that it was on full-auto, and fired off a long burst into a couple of Chosen soldiers who had run out into the night trying to stop them.

A second later, a loud explosion tore through the camp. Bright orange and red flames leaped up into the sky, lighting up the installation. Several more powerful detonations rocked the night as vehicles and tents vanished in a wall of fire.

Sheridan jogged beside Cole and the other Marine as they carried their casualties into the swirling snow and safety. They soon entered the woods. Sheridan ran ahead, pushing the branches out of the way so the men following him with their wounded comrades wouldn't be struck by them. Behind them, the last couple of charges went off destroying more of the installation and its jammers. A couple of minutes later, Sheridan stepped out into a small clearing. The rest of his people were already there waiting for him. A Marine with combat first aid training saw the two casualties being carried in and ran to help.

Sheridan reached into a pocket and pulled out a small radio. He turned it on. With a grin on his unshaven face, he said to Cole, "We did it. We have a signal." He quickly contacted divisional headquarters in the capital said, "Tarawa." The code word for success.

"Sir, Hebert is dead and Kim has a stomach wound," reported Cole.

"d.a.m.n," snapped Sheridan. "Any other casualties?"

"None to worry about. Allen and Charles were grazed by enemy gunfire, but they'll be ok after they've been bandaged up and given some painkillers. Sir, without immediate medevac, I don't think Kim's going to last the night."

Sheridan shook his head. He'd hoped to pull his mission off without any casualties. He was about to say something when the clearing was suddenly lit up as bright as daylight from above.

"Run!" yelled Sheridan just as a missile fired by a Kurgan drone struck the ground, exploding. Three Marines were killed by the blast, their broken bodies tumbling across the frozen ground. Sheridan's people scattered and ran for their lives.

Cole and Sheridan stopped under a tall fir tree and looked up into the dark, trying to spot the drone. The sound of another missile streaking through the air made both men duck. A split second later, another warhead exploded nearby killing more of the already hammered team. Sheridan knew they had to do something about the drone before they were all systematically hunted down and killed.

Cole looked over at Sheridan, "Sir, do you have any more flares?"

"Yes," replied Sheridan as he pulled out his pen flare launcher.

"Ok, when I tell you, I want you to fire it straight up in the air."

"What are you going to do?"

Cole said, "I'm going to see if this Kurgan rifle grenade launcher is as good as ours." With that, he checked that there was a grenade in the tube and brought the rifle to his shoulder. He took careful aim at the drone as it hovered above the clearing searching for a new target to engage.

Sheridan held out his pen flare.

"Now, sir," said Cole calmly.

The flare shot up into the night. The drone took the bait and moved directly towards the light. Cole held his breath and gently pulled back on the trigger. With a loud pop, the grenade shot out of the launch tube and soared straight up into the belly of the drone. With a loud boom, the drone blew apart.

"Watch out," said Sheridan, pushing Cole to one side as the burning debris rained down where they had been standing.

Both men looked over at the heap of metal and electronics as it burnt. They knew they were lucky to be alive.

Sheridan said, "Come on, Sergeant, let's see how bad we've been hurt before another drone makes its way over here."

The casualty count stood at seven dead and two walking wounded. Cole bent down and began to pull the ID discs from the dead bodies.

Sheridan looked over at the shaken survivors. "Leave the dead where they are. We have no choice; we'll have to come back another time to get their bodies. Sergeant Cole will divide you into two groups. Each one will look after one of the wounded soldiers. You are to make your way back to the capital while Cole and I link up with Garcia and Roberts' detachments in the hills overlooking the Kurgan lines.

When the last of the soldiers vanished from sight in the falling snow, Sheridan looked over at Cole. "How far do you think we've still got to go?"

"Ten klicks, maybe."

"Well, I guess we had best get moving before the sun comes up."

Together they made their way through the thick woods, keen to avoid any more contact with the enemy. Above them, the battle that would decide the fate of Derra-5 was about to begin.

Chapter 42.

Tarina steeled herself as the seven ships' crews prepared to jump to Derra-5. All of other jumps to date had been without incident. This time, however, she knew they were deliberately going into harm's way. From their hidden satellites...o...b..ting above the planet they knew where the enemy's ships would be, however, once they came out their jump they would have to fly as close as possible to the Kurgan vessels before detaching their bombs. It was a maneuver that would probably take more than ten seconds to accomplish, leaving them vulnerable to detection and engagement by the Kurgan ships.

"How are you feeling?" asked Wendy in Tarina's headset.

"I don't mind telling you that I'm more than a bit nervous about this one."

"Me too. I've already programmed the return jump into the computer. Give me the word and we are out of there."

"Sounds good. The sooner we can get back here the better."

The lights inside the hangar changed to red. Tarina let out a deep breath and watched apprehensively as the floor below them opened up. As one, all of the craft maneuvered underneath the transport ship and spread out.

Colonel Wright's voice came in loud and clear in all of the Avengers. "Ok folks, this is what they pay us for. Stay sharp, keep calm and you'll all do fine. Beers are on me when we all get back."

An automated voice took over and began the countdown. Tarina could feel her heart racing. Her palms inside her tight leather gloves were sweating. The instant the computer said zero all of the Avengers jumped into battle.

It was the shortest flight in her life as far as Tarina was concerned. The second they came out of their jump, Tarina and Wendy saw their target, a ma.s.sive Kurgan fighter carrier. Tarina looked up and smiled. They had arrived right underneath of the enemy vessel. Tarina glanced down at her scanner; there were no fighters in the area. She quickly engaged the sub-light engine and maneuvered straight up. The fighter carrier dwarfed their ship, filling the gla.s.s of their c.o.c.kpit.

"Five hundred meters," announced Wendy.

"Detaching the bomb," said Tarina as she flipped a switch on her flight console. Beneath their Avenger, the experimental EMP bomb activated and floated free in s.p.a.ce with its timer already counting down from sixty seconds. Tarina maneuvered back slightly from the bomb and said, "Wendy, get us the h.e.l.l out of here!"

"Jumping in five-four-three-two-one."

Tarina expected the world to turn dark as they jumped away from the enemy fleet. Instead, they were still beneath the Kurgan carrier. "Wendy, why haven't we jumped?"

"One second," replied Wendy as she re-checked her calculations in her head. "Jumping now!"

Again nothing happened. They were still in Kurgan occupied s.p.a.ce.

Tarina's console lit up. "d.a.m.n it. They have us. Wendy, can we jump or not?"

Wendy sadly reported, "I don't think so. I think the engine must be malfunctioning."

Tarina swore. Right away, her fighter pilot training kicked in. She pushed down on her joystick and applied full power to the Avenger's thrusters, trying to put as much distance as she could between her ship and the bomb before it detonated.

Colonel Wright saw them flying away. "Alpha-two this is Alpha-one, why have you not jumped?"

"Alpha-one, our jump engine is non-functional," replied Tarina curtly.

"Head for the Marine landing sites. They'll be along in an hour."

"Roger that."

The warning lights on Tarina's console flashed red. She cursed their run of bad luck when she saw that a Kurgan cruiser had missile lock on their ship and that a pair of fighters was also closing in on them. "Hang on," Tarina warned Wendy as she dove underneath of the cruiser just as it fired.

"Warning: incoming missiles," said an automated voice in the c.o.c.kpit.

"No s.h.i.t," muttered Tarina. Up ahead was another cruiser. Tarina grinned. She had an idea. Without flinching, she flew straight for the other Kurgan cruiser.

"What are you doing?" asked Wendy, her voice tense and nervous. "The missiles are right behind us and closing fast. We've got to get out of here!"

"Firing countermeasures," Tarina announced calmly as she ejected several super-heated metal orbs out the back of her ship to lure off the incoming missiles. Two of the three enemy rockets locked onto the orbs and detonated. The third, however, flew straight pa.s.sed the others and rapidly closed on the Avenger.

Wendy cranked her head around and looked behind them. "d.a.m.n, we've still got one bogey hot on our tail."

Tarina waited until the Kurgan cruiser's stern filled her screen before she flew underneath the ship missing it by less than a meter. Behind them, the missile locked onto the nearest heat source and flew straight into the cruiser's engine, igniting it in a ma.s.sive fireball.

"You did it!" cheered Wendy.

"We've still got company," replied Tarina, watching her console as the two Kurgan fighters closed to within fifty kilometers.

They never witnessed the havoc wreaked on the enemy fleet when the EMP bombs detonated. Only half of the experimental the weapons went off as planned, but the results were beyond measure. One of the Kurgan carriers instantly lost power and began to drift in s.p.a.ce. The other only experienced some electrical outages, but that was at the precise moment the first strike force from the Sixth Fleet arrived in orbit and began to launch its fighters to engage the enemy. Within seconds, swarms of fighters from both fleets were locked in a deadly struggle. Missiles streaked across the heavens as the Kurgan fleet struggled to fight back. In less than three minutes, the entire complement of ships from the Sixth Fleet jumped into their pre-arranged coordinates above Derra-5. Hundreds more fighters rushed to join the battle targeting the Kurgan destroyers and cruisers that still had power.

"We're going in," announced Tarina as the underside of the Avenger turned red and began to heat up as they rapidly descend into the planet's atmosphere. The ship shuddered as it fell, rattling its occupants.

"I can't see those fighters on my scope anymore," said Wendy.

"Our scanners will be useless for the next couple of minutes. They won't give in that easy. We'll probably pick them up again once we got lower in the atmosphere."

"Please tell me that you weren't a real wash out at fighter school."

"I was let go because I didn't follow orders well and went after the enemy by myself."

"That's a good thing, right? You're good at dogfighting, aren't you?"

"Sorry, I never survived a single simulated engagement." Tarina heard Wendy groan. "There's got to be a first time for everything."

"If you say so."

"Fleet status?" asked Admiral Sheridan.

"Sir, all ships have arrived in orbit," replied Captain Killam. "The carriers Ark Royal and Saratoga have engaged the two Kurgan carriers. The Kirov has launched her fighters armed with anti-ship missiles to attack the enemy's escort ships. Our destroyers and cruisers have moved to engage the remainder of the Kurgan fleet."

"Thanks. Ask for periodic reports from the strike forces, but don't get in their shorts. Let them do their jobs and they'll win this battle for us."