Trident Fury (The Kurgan War Book 3) (17 page)

“We got a whole box of them. I bet the boys in the First Div don’t eat the same meal day after day. In fact, I’m sure of it. Ain’t it grand to be on the frontlines? Now, eat up, Captain.”

An hour later, Sheridan and Cole lay on their stomachs on the top of a nearby hill. The wind had died down so much that they could see for kilometers in all directions. As anticipated, they could see the mountains to the east. Silhouetted against the horizon, it looked like a devil’s pitchfork.

Sheridan lowered his binoculars and looked over at Cole. “The middle mountain is where the prison is located. What do you think . . . thirty klicks?

“Yeah, maybe less but not much less.”

“I’d love to launch a drone over toward the mine to see what the ground looks like between it and us.”

“Yeah, and if you did that, the Kurgs would know we’re here for sure. Their sensors would light up like a Christmas tree if we put something up in the air.”

“It’s already getting hot,” pointed out Sheridan. “Within the hour it’ll get up to nearly fifty Celsius. I’d rather wait until tonight when it’s cooler to begin our trek, but we don’t have the time to waste.”

“If we walk slow and steady, we should be all right.”

Sheridan nodded. “Okay, let’s round up the gang and get going.”

Chapter 22

A thick cloud of dust hung in the air. Tarina waited for the signal to enter the newly blown open mine shaft to grab the rocks and place them in the back of a long transport vehicle that looked like a robotic snake. She had heard a rumor over breakfast that they would be given a new assignment in the next day or two. Angela explained that just prior to the arrival of the Inspector General the prison commandant liked to get the prisoners to clean their living quarters up a bit. It was all smoke and mirrors intended to make it look like he was doing a good job looking after the mine.

A whistle sounded.
 

Tarina trudged forward. She brought up her dirt-encrusted shirt over her mouth so she wouldn’t breathe in the fine dust particles. Beside her Wendy did the same thing. There had been no time this morning for Tarina to ask her how her reconnaissance of the escape tunnel had gone the night before. She had tried to stay awake the whole time the two women were gone but hardly lasted ten minutes before exhaustion took over and pulled her into a deep sleep. Tarina waited a moment for the dust to settle before beginning the arduous and backbreaking work of hauling the rocks out of the debris-strewn tunnel.

For close to three hours, the prisoners worked without respite. Tarina’s body was soon covered in sweat and dust. She had grown accustomed to being filthy. In fact, she doubted that she would ever come clean.

Another whistle sounded. Everyone stopped what they were doing and shuffled over to a cart with a large metal pail of water on it. People queued up and waited their turn to get a cup of water. It was never enough to sate the burning thirst in their throats, but it was all they were going to get before the supper meal.

Travis walked up and down the row of prisoners, poking and prodding them with a wooden baton looking for any sign of defiance. Tarina turned her head to the ground as he got close. A second later, she felt his wooden truncheon against her ribs. She fought the urge to reach over and scratch the man’s eyes out. She knew that would be foolish and result in not only her death but that of her friends. She watched his shadow pass only to stop alongside Wendy. Tarina bit her lip and raised her head to see what was happening.
 

“I bet you don’t realize how lucky you are that Kurg colonel never selected you when he was here a few days ago,” said Travis to Wendy.

Wendy said nothing. She kept her gaze fixed on the back of the person in front of her.

Travis thrust his baton under Wendy’s chin and forced her to lift her head. He kept raising his stick until Wendy was on her tiptoes. Slowly, he forced her to step out of line with the others. He smiled lustfully at her as he lowered his truncheon. “Look at me, Captain. I’m speaking to you.”

Wendy took a deep breath and with reluctance turned her head.

“That’s better. Now, do you have any idea why you should consider yourself extremely lucky? Do you ,girl?”

Wendy shook her head.

“Believe it or not your red hair saved your life. The Kurgs hate it. I, on the other hand, find it sexy.”

Wendy felt her skin crawl as he leaned forward and studied her face.

Travis continued “You’re one fortunate girl. For you see, three days from now, my dear captain, all those people whose names are in my little black book will be leaving us and never returning. Do you know why?”

Again she shook her head.

“Of course you don’t. It’s never happened here before. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. The Kurgans have plans for those people. It’s called
Kahtak,
and I bet you have no clue what that means.” Travis turned his head and flashed an evil grin at Tarina. “I’d pay good money to see what happens, but I’m not allowed to go. It’s for Kurgans . . . pure Kurgans only. The Chosen can’t even attend.”

Wendy kept her mouth shut. Travis was right, she had no idea what
Kahtak
was, but, by the way their tormentor was salivating, she had no doubt that it was not good.

“Back in line,” said Travis, pushing Wendy back with his truncheon. He was about to leave when he fixed his gaze on Angela. “You should ask her what
Kahtak
means. She knows. Don’t you, girl?” He laughed to himself, spat on the ground, and kept on walking down the line having fun at tormenting the helpless prisoners.

At the water station, Tarina slipped over beside Angela. “What was that all about?” she asked barely above a whisper.

“It’s nothing,” replied Angela. “He’s just messing with our minds, that’s all.”

“That’s a load of crap and you know it. He may be mad, but he knows something about you. I want the truth this time.”

Angela hesitated before nodding. “I’ll tell you and Wendy everything after supper tonight. Trust me, you aren’t going to like what I’m going to tell you.”

“By the way Travis was going on, I’m fairly sure that my days are numbered.”

Angela didn’t respond. She took her cup of water and drank it all down before moving back to the tunnel entrance to get back to work.

“What’s going on Tarina?” asked Wendy. “I’m scared.”

“Me too . . . me too.”

The women ate their meager meal in silence. The mood between them was somber as if they had all just come back from a funeral. None of them seemed willing to broach the topic of what Travis had been going on about. After placing their empty bowls on the food cart, they walked back to Tarina’s bunk and sat down. When they were sure that no one was paying any attention to them, Angela broke the silence. “I guess I have some explaining to do. First off, my name is not Angela, it is Kitan, and I am a citizen of the Kurgan Empire. Angela died two weeks after she arrived here. As I looked an awful lot like her, I assumed her identity. If we are to keep up this ruse, I must insist that you continue to refer to me by my adoptive human name.”

“Well, that explains a lot,” said Tarina. “But why did you not leave with the other Chosen prisoners when this was turned into a prisoner of war camp?”

“Because my best chance of escaping from here lay with people like you. Pretending to be Angela was my best hope for freedom. If I had never told you this, you’d still think I was her, wouldn’t you?”

“I was beginning to have my doubts.”

“As was I,” added Wendy.

“By Travis’ tone, I take it that he knows your little secret,” said Tarina.

“Yeah, he does but keeps the information to himself. He’s borderline insane. I think he thinks it’s hilarious that I would want to hide out amongst my enemies.”

Tarina sat up. “So do you consider Wendy and me your enemy?”

“At first, I was leery of all humans. I had been taught all my life that you were a sub-species and since you didn’t worship our religion that you were all infidels. However, as weeks turned into months in this hellhole, I began to see that we aren’t all that different. So to answer your question, no I do not see you as my enemy, just fellow prisoners.”

“That’s good,” said Wendy.

“How is that you can speak fluent English?” asked Tarina.

“I have an ear for languages. I was a teacher and taught Kurgan back home until I was arrested for killing my husband and sent here. It didn’t take me long immersed in your tongue to pick it up.”

Tarina looked her straight in the eyes and asked, “So what were you planning to do once we had escaped from here?”

 
“I would have told you the truth before we reached Terran space. All I would have asked for in return for helping you escape was that after you were safe, you reprogram the shuttle’s navigational computer to return me to my home world. I have two children there and I miss them terribly.”

“If you can’t fly it, how would you have landed the ship when you arrived at your home world?” asked Wendy.
 

“I don’t know. All I know is that I have to get home to my children. I would have bailed out when I was over land or something like that. Look, I really hadn’t thought that part through. But wouldn’t you try to reach your children if you were in my shoes?”

“Neither of us has any children, but I guess we would do the same,” Tarina replied.

Wendy asked, “Can you explain what Travis meant by
Kahtak
?”

Angela nodded. “It is a bloodletting ritual.”

Tarina’s eyes widened. “It’s a what?”

“It is a ritual that goes back centuries. For a Kurgan to become a member of the Old Guard, the Empire’s most elite and veteran soldiers, he must have dipped his blade in the stomach of his enemy. I’m assuming that you and all the other people earmarked by that colonel are going to be sacrificed so that new warriors can join the ranks of the Old Guard. I’m sorry.”

“Not as sorry as I am.” Tarina could hardly believe what she had been told. It was barbaric. She was an officer, not some animal that could be led to the slaughter to appease some ancient tradition.

Wendy reached over and put a hand on Tarina’s shoulder. “This is horrible. We can’t let this happen to you.”

“I don’t plan to die.”
 

“It’ll all come down to timing,” said Angela. “Hopefully, the Inspector General gets here before they come for you.”

“I don’t plan to stick around to see who gets here first. Tomorrow night, I say we take our chances. I’d rather die trying to escape than be gutted by a Kurgan blade.”

“Me too,” added Wendy.

Angela hesitated. She had waited months for the right people to come along; however, now she seemed unwilling to take the risk.

“We’ll go with or without you,” said Tarina. “If you want to get home to your children, I suggest that you come with us.”

Angela nodded. “Tomorrow night it is.”

“I think it would be wise to end our conversation,” suggested Wendy. “One of the guards is looking our way.” With that, they split up and went back to their own bunks.

With a growing sense of resolve in her heart, Tarina laid back on her bed and closed her eyes. In her mind, she saw herself frolicking on the beach with her lover, their bodies were intertwined while the warm water of the Pacific Ocean surged over them. With a smile on her face, Tarina drifted off to sleep. For the first time in ages, she dreamed about her life with Michael and how much she missed him.

Chapter 23

The setting sun cast long, dark shadows across the bleak desert terrain. Michael Sheridan could not remember a time when he had felt so hot and tired. He had trained in the deserts of Nevada, but it hadn’t prepared him for the broiling hot temperatures on Klatt. His desert camouflage uniform stuck to his sweat-soaked skin. He had already gone through four liters of water and still felt thirsty. He couldn’t wait for the sun to dip below the horizon, allowing the planet’s surface to cool. Behind him, his small band of Marines kept pace. No one complained or asked for a break. Everyone knew what was at stake. What were a few days of discomfort compared to the deprivations that the prisoners in the mines would have suffered?

“Drone,” called out Cole from the rear of the column. As one, the Marines dove for cover under any rocky shelter they could find. A couple of seconds later, a large UAV flew overhead and carried on out into the wastelands.
 

Sheridan waited close to a minute before crawling out from under a ledge and peering up into the cloudless sky. The drone was nowhere to be seen. Thankfully, the rocks, heated by the sun, masked their body heat. It would be harder to hide at night when the temperature would drop to near freezing. With a wave of his hand, Sheridan took the lead once more. He was aiming for a mesa a few kilometers away; he hoped it would give them a good view of the mine.

Two hours later, in the dark, Sheridan brought up his hand. His team stopped, dropped to one knee, and raised their assault rifles to their shoulders. As quiet as he could, Sheridan moved forward on the top of the round, flat mesa. He could see the bright lights from the mining camp illuminating the horizon. It took him less than a couple of minutes to find the ideal spot for them to establish their base camp. Rain had long ago carved a deep crevice into the rock that was wide enough for Sheridan to climb down inside. There he found a small cave. It was ideal as it would provide them with protection from the heat and hide them from prying eyes. He hurried back and brought his people down into the cavern.