“I think they would put pressure on her, for one, and Alona is very smart. She might find a subtle way to aid us without drawing too much attention.”
“How does this look?”
“That’s good, but add this. ‘I understand if you feel you cannot join or aid us in any way. You are my friends. I love and think about you often. Benjamin.”
“Oh! That’s dirty.”
“Maybe, but you and I both know it’s also true. I am the Admiral, and I do not lie. Now get the captains on the com; it’s time to plan our attack.”
“I’ll do it, Captain,” Shawna said. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think it would be good to see Captain O again.”
“It’s my hope that we do. Nedra, weapons. Power up everything,” Binda ordered.
“Admiral, the captains are on the com.”
“Thank you, Shawna. Lorelei, sound battle stations. Captains, the time has come. Captain Lorelei is going to take the Claymore and engage the Khalnalax ships. I want both of your ships to head planet-side as soon we destroy one of the ships or you hear from me. Load as many of our people as possible. We can redistribute the head count later. Once the Claymore has destroyed or disabled them both, we will pick up whoever’s left and follow. Set your heading for Kanlost and don’t slow down. The Claymore will catch up. Any questions?”
“Admiral, how do we decide who will leave and who will stay? I think we will have some fights on our hands.”
“Load the women, children, elderly and handicapped. After that, if there is any room, handle it as best you can. If anyone gives you too many problems, stun them and leave them behind. We do not have time for any nonsense. I will deal them myself. Anything else? No? Ok, remember—don’t reveal yourself until we are in a one-on-one. Good luck.”
“Everyone is ready, Admiral,” Lorelei announced.
“Very good, Captain. Let’s go kick the shit out of some Khalnalax.”
“Damn, Binda. You miss him, don’t you!” Lorelei said.
“I know I do,” Shawna added.
“You know, this seems kind of boring without him and the constant chaos he brings,” Binda replied. “Lorelei, whatever you do, don’t tear up his ship. We’ll never hear the end of it.”
****
“I can’t believe you’re going to greet her looking like that,” Sashet said.
“She’s used to it. Ever since I met her I have been involved in some kind of violent struggle. It was either her suitors or kidnappers, with an arena of death and clones, pirates, Allith, Trillond, and my own species. The blood of every one of them is on this suit of armor.”
“It’s disrespectful.”
“Says the pirate who didn’t give a shit about her queen until a week ago. This has nothing to do with her. She will get off that ship accompanied by some of the crew, the captain perhaps. This will be an unspoken warning for them to keep their mouths shut. It might work, or it might not.”
“So what, you’re going to kill the crew of a Cjittan naval ship?”
“I don’t want to, and if Taz doesn’t leave us alone together they will probably fare pretty well.”
“Is there anyone besides the few people who accompany you that you don’t want to kill?”
“You, but I think that feeling is disappearing fast. Another day or two and I’ll want choke the life out of you as well.”
“Likewise. And don’t think me some helpless female. I’m not scared of you.”
“Yes, you are, but it’s ok if you keep telling yourself you’re not. Bring them to the hold. Imelda and I will be waiting there.”
“What are you going to do?”
“A joint Cjittan/Khalnalax lesson on how the privateers will be dealing with our problems.”
I walked away, leaving Sash standing at the airlock waiting. The Khalnalax who were leaving were waiting for me to let them into their shuttles, and those who weren’t leaving were never leaving. “Natalia, is Imelda ready?”
“Put it like this, Dad. If you don’t open those rear cargo doors soon, she’s going to be very unhappy with you.”
“I know, but not everyone is here yet.”
“Are you sure you want to do this? I get that she needs to feed, but it doesn’t have to be a show.”
“Sure it does. I told you, later it won’t be so necessary, but right now we have to be ruthless.”
“She isn’t going to be happy with you doing that in front of her and whoever is tagging along.”
“I would wager that none of them have seen any real action in their whole life. Time to wake up to reality.”
I could hear a group of people walking toward me. I expected to hear at least some conversation, but it was quiet. “Hey, they’re coming and no one is saying a word.”
“I told you, Dad, watch yourself.”
The young Khalnalax captain and his people were all watching from their position around the shuttles. The Allond marines stood guard. I began lowering the cargo door and dialed back the force field to allow entry or exit and still retain atmosphere.
Taz strolled in from the other direction. “Benjamin, what are you doing? Why are we here and what are these Khalnalax prisoners doing standing around?”
“That group is leaving shortly, and this group is not. The Khalnalax crew who are going to accompany you are already at their stations.”
The Etash warriors in the group not leaving were anxious, possibly sensing something was about to happen. They had a nervous tic developing, stepping in place.
“Here she comes. Good luck. I’m going to lock myself on the bridge,” Natalia said.
Imelda leapt from pirated ship to Khalnalax ship, entering the hold. Gotta love an exoskeleton. I pointed at the Etash. Those first. Imelda raised herself onto her four hind legs. Her two front legs grabbed the closest Etash by its leg and hung it upside down for a second. It wrapped its tentacles around Imelda’s legs and she slammed it head-first into the metal decking.
Her second set of legs pulled the tentacles free and took the beast, while the front two grabbed a second. The process was repeated, only she slammed the second into the inner hull wall, leaving a large bloody spatter. The Allond had to stun two of the remaining Etash, who were trying to escape. Imelda grabbed the stunned bodies and bashed them in the same fashion. Both groups of Khalnalax had the same reaction. They cried out and held each other, the group by the shuttles fearing they were deceived and about to be killed.
I walked over and grabbed the young captain by his shirt. “Do you see that? I have an army just like her, and when I’m done with you people, you will wish you never heard of Reaper’s Privateers.” I punched in the code on the door and opened it. “Get inside and get ready to go, but don’t move either of them until I tell you.”
The young captain could only nod. Not being able to help himself, he watched as Imelda fed on the Etash. Full-grown Etash were devoured in minutes. It was sloppy, but she would get around to the scraps.
“Natalia, move your ship to a safe distance. The shuttles will be departing shortly.”
There was fear in every set of eyes, except Taz’s. In her eyes was something totally different. I walked toward the remaining prisoners. The female Khalnalax who had been captain for an hour or less and the male who followed her orders stood huddled together.
“It’s something to see, isn’t it? She was starving, but I think she feels better now,” I told them.
Imelda, take this one and drain her slowly. No sooner had I thought it than I was knocked out of the way. Her hook-like claw took the female by the leg and pulled her through the air to Imelda’s face. She bit into her shoulder and held her upside down. Her screams echoed through the ship, then slowly became softer till she made no sound at all. I heard retching behind me; some of the Cjittan accompanying Taz were bent over, heaving. Even the Allond marines had a wild look in their eyes, but they held their positions.
“Be at ease, my friends, she will not harm you. Dakkon would not forgive me if I let
something like that happen to his soldiers under my command.”
“Are you finished, or will you subject us to more of this childish show?”
“Childish? Look around you, queen of the retching people. My daughter is ten times the warrior your naval officers are. I would call this little display effective, not childish, and you should learn from it. Tell them to clean up their mess and follow me.”
“Take your pet and leave my ship.”
“I will when I’m damn good and ready. Imelda, take your prizes and return to our ship. Sash, are you ready to go?”
“I need a few more minutes with the crew on the bridge. So far, the Khalnalax are being straight with the Cjittan crewmen regarding instruction of operation. I had your little show playing up here also. They are cleaning up their last meal off the floor and should be done with that shortly. You scored with two up here; they lost it quick. Not sure what they eat on this ship.”
“Sorry, I can’t leave just yet, Your Highness. There’s still some training going on up front on the bridge. Would you like me to show you to the captain’s suite? You can relax there until you depart.”
“Fine. We have matters to discuss, this being the latest.”
I looked to the Allond marines, who were still standing by the shuttles. “You two, come with me. The rest of you, prepare to depart on my ship so I can return you to your captain.” The two I had spoken to earlier followed us, with the Cjittan captain and his aides following behind. I opened the door to the suite, motioned for Taz to enter and proceeded to block the doorway behind her. “This is a private conversation. You will wait out here,” I addressed the Cjittan. “You two, make sure no one tries to enter,” I told my Allond guards.
Life was surely different now than it had been when Taz traveled with us. While she still gave me the queen speeches and got mad often enough, she seemed more of a woman. “Normal” would never apply to her or to any of the women I knew. Maybe for a short time, the weight of responsibility had been lifted off her shoulders, but now that she was back it was even heavier than before. My actions and antics did nothing to alleviate it; they only added to her burdens.
When I had first met her, she wore gold and silver armor and was the very image of a warrior queen. I had thought her people would be like her, but over time I had come to understand that though she was what she seemed, her people were not. They weren’t ready for a war after hundreds of years of uneasy peace. It was not the Cjittan people that their neighbors feared, but the army of insects. She studied me. Usually by now my helmet would be off, but my instincts warned against it. While no one would witness it. I didn’t relish getting the shit smacked out of me.
“Well?”
“Well what?”
“Why did you put on that little show, and why are you not taking off your helmet? What if I wanted to kiss you?”
“Nothing about you or this conversation says ‘kiss me, baby,’ unless you’re talking about your hand kissing my face.”
“How does this happen to us?”
“Maybe because when it comes to me and my crew, you’re not in control, and it pisses you off. Maybe it’s because I don’t care about your laws, or the laws anywhere else, for that matter. I’m done with all of that. I told you I was going to do this my way, and that little demonstration is what you’re going to be able to expect when someone tangles with us.”
“But we do have laws.”
“Yes, and you need them. You’re forgetting that I’m not going to be fighting the Cjittan. I’m going to be supporting them. Do you think anyone who walked away from that will forget it? How about on Trillond? Do you think they will forget me or the Alliance? There are two shuttles crammed full of eyewitnesses on a course for Khalnalax. You think they will forget during the course of the trip?”
“Take the helmet off, Benjamin,” she ordered.
I figured I might as well get it over with. “I put on that show with your officers present so they would know firsthand not to screw with us. Our reputation will be an important tool in our arsenal.” I set the helmet down. “Why are you so angry? You’ve seen the dog and pony show before.”
“I’m angry at my officers for having no stomach for death, and at you for shoving it in my face. The Allond marines did not soil the deck of my new ship. But I have to give you credit—they did seem unnerved until you spoke with them.”
“I need more like Imelda if you want us to take Kanlost back. Otherwise, once Binda has the families relocated somewhere, my little fleet is going to keep its eyes on Naloon where they are resupplying their ships. Supplies and ships are two of our main goals. It could be more beneficial to the cause if we went in that direction.”
“No! Tormaline and Idaline have fallen to the Khalnalax. There is far more at stake there, but I will not let Kanlost be turned into a barren planet.”
“No problem. I live for suicide missions. Or you could take my knife and shove it in my eye to the hilt; the result will be the same.”
“You had no problem earlier when I suggested you go.”
“That was a recon mission to gather intel, but your tone tells me recon isn’t all you want us to do.”
“Destroy the World Eaters, the massive machines that are stripping Kanlost of its very soul. That will buy the planet time until we are able to direct a portion of the fleet to that system.”
“Dakkon can help. His battleship and the Claymore could do some major damage.”
“Except that Dakkon has other orders and cannot accompany you to Kanlost.”
“Ok, we will do what we can. I won’t make any promises.”
“You already sound defeated. That isn’t like you.”
“Just keeping it real. My people, I trust. They’re trained, but the privateers are just a blunt instrument. I don’t really want to sacrifice them. Furthermore, unless there is something to steal, the job doesn’t pay. All risk and no reward.”
“This mission is where they prove their loyalty to their queen. After it’s over, you can go chasing ships around the black all you want.”
****
Joon knelt on the floor beside her pallet. In school they had learned the history of the Cjittan race and the fate of their original home world before they had wandered the stars to finally settle on Xanlos. During the millennia in which they traveled, they gave up on their gods and religion; their beliefs were just whims on their new worlds. Joon was spiritual and a romantic. She enjoyed the lessons; they offered something different to think about on a world where nothing changed.
“Girl, what are you doing?” the Overseer asked.
“Forgive me, master, I pray for our health, that we may continue to serve as you see fit.”
“Pray? To whom do you pray?”
“To anyone listening, lord.”
“Girl, there is no one listening. Now go to sleep. When the captains return from chasing the Cjittan cowards away we will have a dinner party, and there will be too much to do for you to be thinking of broken ideals.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“On second thought, ask the gods to provide us with additional slaves.”
“I will, my lord.”
The Khalnalax Overseer could not believe his ears, but maybe the backward planets in the Cjittan empire were seeking out the old ways in the absence of a strong leadership. The pair were good workers, twice as productive as the last two. It was odd that the young man didn’t speak, but he didn’t need to. He acknowledged orders with simple movements of his head, and his sister could speak for them both if needed.
“Brother, are you still awake?”
Doon reached over and touched her arm, but didn’t open his eyes. Joon felt her brother’s pain and weariness. They worked him hard, but he completed each task. “The Overseer may be right about the gods, but our queen is alive and well, and I asked her to send us deliverance from our oppressors. She is a good queen and I believe in her.” Doon patted her on the arm then rolled over. He was snoring softly within seconds.
<
br /> Joon stared into the darkness above her. She kept away from the windows during the day, hating to even accidently look out at the destruction the machine had left in its wake. Her heart still ached for her parents and friends.
Morning came with a flurry of activity. Joon caught bits and pieces of conversation from the workers who ran the halls. The ships that had gone out to apprehend a lone shuttle had not fared well. Currently one ship was reported lost to the enemy. The other two were fleeing an Allond battleship and it was possible they would be captured or destroyed as well. The Allond were involved; Joon didn’t know much about them, but if they were attacking, that was a good sign.
She could hear the Overseer yelling in the control room of the World Eater as she carried his breakfast to him. They lived on board the mammoth machine. Each level had housing for the different groups of workers. The Overseer and his staff lived at the top, monitoring every operation from there.
“Cowards, that’s what they called us. I tell them we only have one ship to guard the planet and they call us cowards. They say that whatever the Cjittan send our way, we should be able to handle. I want weapons and shields online on every unit around the planet.”
Hope sprung anew in Joon. She found comfort in their fear. She would pray again tonight for the safe travel and arrival of the Cjittan forces and most of all the liberation of her home from Khalnalax invaders. She left the Overseer his breakfast and walked away. Her eyes darted back and forth; seeing no one, she smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever.
****
The shower felt good. Lately it seemed I only had time to take one after killing large groups of life forms, which I would be off to do again within the hour. Binda and the others would be joining us along the way. Dakkon had disabled a second Khalnalax ship and we needed to clear it, man it, and get it out of the system. I would at least be clean for the argument that was bound to happen once I left the shower. Taz knew about the ship and wanted it. Dakkon had let it slip, and she had decided she didn’t care what we had previously discussed or the arrangement we made just days before about splitting the haul.
Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison 4: Empires at War (Part One) Page 24
