Free Vengeance (The Kurgan War Book 4) by Richard Turner

so he could look into the faces of his followers. “Go about your business tomorrow. By noon, there will be a clerical issue with your clearances and you will be asked to stay here another day. Rest here. When the time is right I will come for you and together, with the rest of our brothers and sisters, we will win this war.”

Chapter 11

    It may have been well after midnight, but Admiral Oshiro was still at his desk. He had let most of his staff go for the night. Parker, naturally, remained in case his boss needed him. Colonel Valens’ preliminary report into the destroyed freighter had arrived less than an hour ago and deeply bothered the old admiral. The few bodies they had been able to retrieve showed signs of gunshots to the head. The attackers had somehow been able to hijack the freighter during its flight to Eris and murdered the entire crew. The Home Guard with its net of ships, satellites, and bases spread throughout the solar system should have been able to detect an unregistered ship deviating from its flight plan. Yet there was no evidence of another vessel having been anywhere near the freighter.
    Oshiro removed his reading glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. The answer must be right in front of him, he just couldn’t place all the pieces of the puzzle together yet.
    There was a knock at the door. Oshiro looked up and waved in Parker.
    “I take it you’ve reviewed Colonel Valens’ report,” said Oshiro.
    Parker nodded. “Most troubling. Have you shared his findings with Home Guard command?”
    “Not yet. General Sadir wants us to be the lead service on this investigation for now. When we figure out what’s going on, it will be up to the staff at ADF Headquarters to decide how to best disseminate this information.”
    “Sir, according to Colonel Valens the Alpha Virus was held in a container that could be easily hidden inside a midsized suitcase. Whoever stole it did not need a large ship to take it away.”
    “Agreed, but there are no signs of another ship having been anywhere near Eris when the virus was stolen.”
    “A civilian vessel, perhaps?”
    “I thought about that. The trouble is that there is only a handful of people wealthy enough to afford a ship that is jump capable. Perlinium is not cheap and with a war on, the skyrocketing costs would make it all but out of reach except for a very select few. Besides, the Home Guard would have been able to track a civilian ship the second it left Earth’s orbit. No, it had to be a military vessel capable of masking itself from detection.”
    “Sir, if you’re saying what I think you are, we’re in bigger trouble than we thought we were. Chosen operatives have either stolen a stealth ship or have access to one which would mean whoever did this are ADF members.”
    Oshiro nodded. “There can be no other answer. We are dealing with traitors in our own organization. Please contact your counterpart in the Home Guard and see if any stealth vessels were used recently as far out as Eris. If he cannot supply you with an answer then speak with General Wagner and see if ADF Headquarters can answer your query.”
    Parker checked his watch. As Home Guard Headquarters was in Beijing, he did the math quickly in his head and saw that it was nearing lunchtime. He hurried to make the secure call.
    Oshiro sat back in his chair. He felt drained and in need of sleep. He let out a resigned sigh and stood up. His feet felt like they were made of lead. He knew that if he didn’t get some rest he would burn himself out and be good for nothing. He glanced down at a picture on his desk of him and his wife with their only son, a captain in the fleet. His heart felt heavy. His wife, Kaoru, had died of cancer five years ago. Going home to an empty house was something he abhorred. He reached for a coffee urn and poured himself a cup. Oshiro would wait until Parker had made his calls. Then and only then would he make his way to a room he kept on base to put his head down for a