The Chronicles of Benjamin Jaminson: Empires At War (Book 5 Part Two)

by Thomas Wright

  The queens cleared a path through the horde as you might expect a spider queen to do. If people didn’t move out of their way fast enough, they knocked them out of the way or just walked over the top, stepping on heads. On purpose, no doubt. There was no military formation. The insects were moving in all directions, climbing on top of or underneath each other. Some snapped at others and fought while some just walked in circles. The only thing they weren’t doing was charging across the field. I wasn’t sure what was holding them back, but an invisible line seemed to be drawn that they didn’t cross. It had taken some time, longer than it should, but we were finally standing at the front of the horde.

  With a thought, the scene zoomed in and I surveyed the Khalnalax army camp. It was surreal, like a page from the past. Two armies facing each other across an open battlefield, waiting. The Cjittan with a horde of monster insect berserkers and the Khalnalax with a trained fighting force of men and women. They were trained in the sense they were organized, formed into ranks and had officers commanding them. But could they fight? The Khalnalax favored an army of its own citizens with only a small number of Etash, where the Cjittan bred the insects by the thousands across the empire and fielded a small force of military citizenry for support and transport.

  I saw land vehicles on the Khalnalax side with mounted lasers at the rear of their formations. Those would even the odds. The Khalnalax had numbers, but an insect could take on three to five soldiers at a time, which improved the Cjittan odds. The lasers would be equalizers, but I had my money on the insects.

  The jungle had been cleared, but I didn’t see it to their advantage. They would have fared better fighting in a jungle instead of stumps of trees and brush. There was a lot of ash and mud. It was true the Khalnalax could watch their enemy, and had a defined battlefield. But advancing would be in the favor of the giant insects. I surveyed the whole area from edge to edge. The way they cleared the area around their encampment would benefit his team. Trees ripped from the ground lay in piles, along with the foliage that grows the canopy. Those mounds and the jungle itself would provide the cover they needed to get to their base camp. The wind blew across the land. It smelled of earth: dampness and decay, smoke and ash. Soon it would smell of death.

  “Imelda, you and the other queen stay with us. We don’t need to get trampled when they get turned loose. We will move along with you through the horde and break away before we get to the main force,” I ordered for all nearby to hear. I knew it would be a slow process, but it would give me time to study all the different insects. Some, like the ants and wasps, I had never seen, except for the one wasp back when I first met Taz. It seemed we had an engineering battalion and an air force. I only had a few minutes to observe when they really began to bunch up and so did we. The queens did their best to keep the insect soldiers off us.

  We stood surveying like that for no more than a minute, then whatever held them back was gone. The two spider queens maintained their positions with the team. The insects flowed around us like water. I heard the Khalnalax respond, orders yelled across the ranks. While it could all be done by com, there was something about releasing the emotion verbally in the face of the enemy. It didn’t take long for the smell of burning insects or the scream of dying soldiers to reach us. My team walked, firing at the occasional opportune target. There weren’t many yet. A few enemy soldiers, staggering dazed through the killing field, had body parts missing. If the insects didn’t finish them, we did them a solid and finished what the horde had started.

  As we moved farther into the thick of the front lines, we encountered more healthy soldiers. It seemed the insects had slowed their carnage and, after feeding the edge that made them so ferocious, had declined. The Khalnalax had done their homework and were teaming up on individual insects. Ten to twelve to a team, they were lethal. Then again, the battle had only just begun and there were thousands of insects. As we faced more opposition, I decided to make a few slight changes.

  “Harry, take my rifle. I want you to get the feel for something other than edged weapons. Hand me my battle axe. We’ll trade.”

  “Are you sure?” Harry asked.

  “Yeah. We’ll get you some new weaponry, but use that for now. I saw laser cannons mounted on the vehicles heading our way. One of those might be an option. I still have my pistol, so I feel good.”

  “You want me to shoot the vehicles?”

  “That’s a great idea. We will keep the ground forces off you and you target the incoming vehicles. Everyone hear that? You know what to do.”

  I slipped my hand through the lanyard on the axe and let it hang for a moment, gauging its weight. It had been a while since I held it. Harry wielded it like a fly swatter. Moving away, I took a few practice swings. The Khalnalax started a second push against the insects. I wore my pistol lefty and drew it while the axe settled, feeling comfortable on my right. It was time.

  Taz was out there somewhere. I had no proof, no witness had come forward, but something inside me whispered assurances, if anyone knew I would know if she was dead. Right now, thousands of Khalnalax stood between me and her. Even if they didn’t, they were a threat and had to be eliminated. Whatever led them to a sixteenth-century style of warfare meant shit to me. I’d drop a ship right in the middle of the battlefield and let the explosion of the reactors do the rest if things didn’t go our way.

  Scanning the battlefield, I could see three squads heading toward Imelda and the current spider queen. I didn’t issue any order, just took off running. My team would follow. I got closer and knew they had ranged too far ahead of us. We wouldn’t catch the first squad, even with my new-found speed. But I didn’t need to. My pistol was faster than anything on the battlefield and I unleashed it on them. They would not touch a hair on Imelda’s big hairy ass. Five were down screaming while others made no sound. They were dead before they hit the ground. The second and third squads saw the devastation as the rounds ripped through their comrades. Part of squad two continued while the remainder and all of squad three headed for us. They fired on the move; we never slowed down. We had been shot at a time or two and nothing about the advancing soldiers made us think twice.

  Zuri and I were the first to make bodily contact and we hit them like a cavalry in full stride. Asshole to elbow in bodies, I holstered my pistol and drew the katana. Deireadh, how are your power levels?

  Three quarters. Speed augmentation increases our power consumption two-fold.

  Back off then. I’m pretty quick in my own right.

  As you wish.

  “Harry, go to the queens and protect them. Mira, go with him,” I ordered. My target was following my movements with his laser rifle. Spinning my body and bending my knees, he fired over me. I launched upward and brought the axe down on the top of his weapon. The force ripped it from his hands. A thrust with my blade into the flexible material around the neck didn’t penetrate, but must have crushed his throat. I was using Deireadh in defensive mode or the blade would have exited the back of the neck. This was a learning experience. I needed to give orders based on what would happen to my people in the upcoming engagements and not what happened to me. They didn’t have my augmentations and new freaky black armor.

  They did have the original black armor and it had stood up to laser fire every time in the past. A vision of black wraiths moving across the battlefield popped into my head mid-swing as my backhand caved in, split open and buried the axe into the head of my enemy. Jerking on the handle and kicking the body freed it as I looked for my next target. Harry and Mira were using the insects as cover as they worked their way over to Imelda. Ronnie and Genius usually had other duties, but they knew how to do this and it came as easy as suturing a wound or hacking a network. Snake and Angel had that calm look on their faces that spoke of years of experience. Nothing on this battlefield would give them cause for concern. Adam looked pained, but it wasn’t interfering with his duty. I never asked him about his past. He was entitled to his secrets as long as he kept doing the
right thing when we needed it.

  I heard a growl and the sound of a body hitting the ground behind me. Zuri had one of the soldiers by the throat, but his arms were free and filled with his laser rifle. The muzzle pushed against Zuri’s side. I knew what was next. I dived and landed on the soldier, pushing the rifle into the ground right as it went off. The ground exploded and Zuri jumped out of the way. I rolled off and away three turns then rolled back once, swinging the axe in a downward arc into the chest plate. I didn’t have the force to drive it home, but it dented and forced the air out of the soldier’s lungs. I was on my feet and facing a new threat that had hoped to get me while I was down. Zuri had the soldier we just fought by the throat again. I heard a growl and the sound of bones breaking. My new attacker had a revelation and put on the brakes. It seemed things looked better in the other direction and he began a hasty retreat. Well, sorry, not today, and not when we were outnumbered 10,000 to 8. His fear made him fast, but I was faster and swung my axe at the back of his leg as I ran past. Tripped up, he hit the ground on his back. I sheathed the katana and swung with two hands like I was splitting a log. He threw up his arms, but the axe cut through one and split his head. One bloody stump fell away. I put my foot on his chest, pulling the axe free. All around me were bodies. Snake had blood spatter on his armor and so did Angel.

  “Let’s move out. If the rest of the army represents what we saw here, then we know what we’re up against.”

  No one agreed or disagreed. They fell in and we moved in the direction Harry and Mira had taken following the queens and I contacted the Claymore.

  “Lorelei, how long will it take you to get back?”

  “You miss us, don’t you?”

  “No. I need you to do a fly-by and kill about nine thousand Khalnalax soldiers.”

  “Nine thousand, huh? Sounds like you grunt types are getting lazy. We’ll see what we can do, but this isn’t the right tool for the job. It’s like you taking that rifle of yours and shooting flowers with it.”

  “I get it. Do what you can and lock in on my signal so you fire in the opposite direction.”

  “You take all the fun out of it. I’ll do it because Ronnie and the others are with you. You got eight minutes.”

  “Thanks a lot.”

  ****

  Tazleaha and her force of a hundred refugee survivors watched the two armies from their position in a mostly dry ravine. A small creek trickled in the bottom, leaving pools of water in the lowest areas. The ground was muddy and slick as they trudged along, hoping to find the Cjittan army without venturing into the open. She knew the officers in charge would be at the rear of the insect army in a camp, but their ravine angled away from where they guessed the location of the camp would be. If they had to double back and make camp they would, but she hoped once the battle began in earnest an opening would present itself. There was no need to rush to their deaths. Benjamin would not take a hundred against thousands. Then again, maybe he would. Best leave him out of her thoughts.

  Lying flat at the crest, she watched the battle unfolding. A movement caught her eye in the sky far off in the distance. In seconds, she could tell it was a ship. A black, sleek, angry-looking ship. It grew larger on approach and in another second would be there. She knew it was traveling far faster than planetary law allowed, but then the owner of that ship didn’t care too much for planetary laws. Or laws of any kind.

  It happened before she could even warn her people. The Claymore flew in just above the trees and fired on the camp from a distance. Laser cannons from the Khalnalax army returned fire but had little effect on the ship. They weren’t expecting a warship of that class planet-side and were underpowered for the job.

  The laser cannons of the Claymore did not suffer from lack of power as they opened fire on an army with no defenses capable of stopping it. As fast as it began, it ended with the Claymore pulling up in a vertical climb and accelerating till it was over and well above the enemy. Tazleaha watched in a moment of panic but realized Lorelei knew who was below her. Just when she thought nothing would happen, the Claymore exploded in a burst of speed. The shockwave was enough to throw both armies off their feet. The ravine provided some cover and no one in Tazleaha’s party was injured. The ship was gone and Tazleaha wondered what they would do next.

  The refugees had no more than shook the dirt off their heads when three smaller ships appeared and began firing. She recognized them as the Cjittan stingers belonging to her Privateers. They continued what the Claymore started. The enemy fired on the stingers but they were unorganized, still recovering from the Claymore attack and shockwave. Their aim was hurried and haphazard. The stingers departed, adding more confusion but little reduction in overall numbers. Again, she surveyed the battlefield. In the distance, she saw two large bodies stand and move through the horde. Her spider queen—queens? Two, when there should only be one. Imelda! He was already here.

  “Zora, Dela’maah, we need to ready ourselves!” Tazleaha said.

  “Queen Tazleaha, there are still too many Khalnalax for us to enter the fray,” the mayor said.

  Tazleaha ignored his comment. “They recover as we speak.” She pointed at the battlefield. “Zora, look to the near side of the battlefield approaching our direction. What do you see?”

  Zora and Dela’maah, who had been listening, stared intently into the distance. “There are two queens leading the army,” Zora answered. “He is here.”

  “I am sure they are all here. Let us join this fight,” Tazleaha said and ran before anyone could respond. Zora began to speak up, but Tazleaha was well on her way. She rallied the others and ran after her. The Khalnalax forces near her were surprised by the small band of Cjittan attackers that hit them from behind. Tazleaha watched as their forward momentum came to a sudden stop and her companions fell, the wounded and dead dropping all around her. She didn’t expect to lose so many so fast. Some found cover moving around the giant insects, which, moments later and to her horror, didn’t discern any difference between Khalnalax or Cjittan as they ate whatever they could catch. She scanned the battlefield. The mantis who maintained order were missing and everything that moved was fair game. They had become food, and fodder for the enemy.

  Laser fire flew in all directions. Some of her people gave no thought to choosing targets or conserving power as they fired their weapons nonstop, scared and believing their lives would soon be over. Almost all of them fought that way. Then, when the weapon failed, they fought hand to hand, using the dead weapons as clubs. It was a turning point that marked their end. Eventually overwhelmed, they were shot multiple times. The enemy numbers were just too great. The small contingent of people surrounding her wouldn’t last much longer. She had failed them miserably. Looking around, she saw there was no escape route that would be any different than staying right where she was. She decided to stay there and hope help would come. Until then, they would fight till the end.

  ****

  I’m gonna kill her. Damn Lorelei is trying to wreck my ship. We picked ourselves up, brushed off and hurried on. Imelda, Harry, Mira and the queens were fine, no injuries. Lorelei might suffer a few later. Maybe. It was a pretty good move; I’d give her that. The sound of a battle echoed in the distance. It might be something worth checking out. “Angel, I’m going to split us up. I want you to take the team minus Harry and Mira and head for the jungle. Once there, all I want is eyes on the enemy. They do anything other than killing insects, you let me know. We’ll be joining you later.”

  “On it, Boss. We’ll be in touch,” Angel said. The rest of the team heard it all and fell in behind her without a word. They disappeared into a maze of bodies. Whatever kept us from being attacked by the insects, I hoped didn’t wear off any time soon. Something seemed off, was missing, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Zuri looked toward the jungle. She couldn’t see around all the giant insects, so I surmised she was hearing something in that direction. The sounds and smells of death blanketed us. I knew it well; an old friend coming to vi
sit once again.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Imelda sensed Tazleaha was near and in emotional turmoil. She felt her presence earlier, but it had been distant, calm. At the time, Imelda had decided not to distract Benjamin from the battle before him. She no longer had an allegiance to the crown or the queen, and regardless she wanted nothing to come between her and those she now shared a bond with. Friends, they called themselves. She had no doubt she would be dead had she not joined with Benjamin and his crew. She served as an equal in the crew and was treated far better than she had been during the hundreds of years she served under the former and current queens of Cjittan. She decided to speak.

  Benjamin, your queen is in grave danger.

  Where is she? Which direction?

  Imelda didn’t answer. She turned her body a step and lifted a long hairy leg and pointed. It was the direction of the battle he heard earlier.

  You still have problems with direction and numbers, you need to learn—

  Her leg, a different one, shot out and hit him in the chest. It was her version of flicking something irritating. He sailed through the air and bounced once then sprung to his feet.

  ****

  Numbers and direction mean nothing to me. You have been told before, Imelda said. I let my head drop, but only for a second. I could show no weakness. Or maybe I should.

  “Let’s go,” I said instead of doing something stupid. Harry and Mira ran along beside me while Zuri ran farther ahead. Imelda and the spider queen moved toward the jungle for cover. I ran under and around giant bony legs in the direction Imelda pointed, but our path was so congested we had to slow to a walk or even stop. They were eating. The stupid bugs were grazing on bodies, mostly their own kind. I was getting madder. I looked around and got an idea.

  “You two sit tight,” I ordered and leaped onto the back of the ant that had just stepped into our small clearing. It reared and turned its head, trying to remove its attacker. Wickedly curved pincers with large serrations opened and closed. I drew my pistol with one hand while Deireadh began speaking to it.