Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison 4: Empires at War (Part One)

by Thomas A. Wright

  A command maybe, she didn’t know what, brought the beasts to a halt. Their mouths were waist-level on their bodies and looked like a bird’s beak. They could crush bone like it was freshly baked bread. The red guards were angry and wet, their faces too far away to see clearly, given the conditions. However, the things they were yelling over the storm gave every indication that she and her brother were going to die and the guards would enjoy watching.

  A movement in the sky, a shadow barely seen. It descended, moving like a ghost within the storm. It landed behind the guards, hit the deck then stood up. It moved in silence, then became a blur of motion the storm could not master. A red guard’s body fell forward, its head rolling away from the group, then another guard fell to the deck, head twisted at an unnatural angle. The third raised an arm in defense and the arm fell away. His mouth opened to scream. Something entered it and exited, almost too fast to follow, silencing it forever. The wraith carried something in its hand and when it moved something died.

  The beasts were farther ahead of the guards; they sensed something, or maybe the head rolling past them was enough. They began turning around. They were large and their movements were not graceful, using multiple steps to adjust. A flash of lights and high-pitched, barely audible sound: one beast collapsed, a spray of blood and tissue stretched out behind it. The storm cracked the sky, jealous of the sound of death. She saw it and so did they. The other beast began backing away from the demon that had fallen amongst them. Joon smiled and wiped the wet hair from her forehead, her wild eyes full of fear and excitement.

  The fourth guard was frozen in place as the demon approached him. The second beast found its courage and moved forward, faster and more sure of itself. Four tentacles were reaching out to grasp the shadow when it moved and threw the fourth guard into its path. Instinct made the beast grab the guard, and in a blink the shadow reached out. This time they heard the sound clearly. Lights flashed from its arm and the guard and beast both fell to the deck, the guard rolling off the beast onto his back. Bones protruded from the hole in his chest, eyes open, staring into the black. Their blood mingled and ran away in streams of rain.

  Joon stood holding her breath, fear so great it shut her body down. She could not move no matter how hard she willed it. Finally, she exhaled and drew another breath. In a few blinks, their pursuers were dead and the killer walked slowly toward them. Her eyes locked on the demon’s chest where an evil sigil smiled. Flames danced within the eyes, and now she knew the face of death. Two steps away, it stopped. The depth of the black armor was only surpassed by the night sky.

  Joon’s knees buckled, and before Doon could grab his sister, the demon had her arm, then picked her up like a child and cradled her against his chest. The demon’s helmet visor was whisked away, revealing two deep blue eyes and a smiling face.

  “Sorry, kid, no time to explain right now. I have a shuttle and I’ll put you and her on it. It will take you to a ship in orbit. The crew is Allond. Have you ever met their species before? If not, you’re in for more surprises.”

  Doon just shook his head.

  “Don’t talk much, huh? That’s good. I like you already.”

  Joon squirmed, looking up at the face. “He’s my brother. He has never spoken to anyone. I am familiar with the Allond from my lessons. Have you come to save us?”

  “It wasn’t part of the plan, but in my experience, plans are always fluid. I’m gonna put you both on the shuttle, just like I told your brother, and blow this thing to hell.”

  “Are you a demon from the Ratocha netherworld?” Joon asked and held her breath.

  “No, I’m no demon, but I’m no angel either,” he answered. She grabbed the edge of armor plate and tried pulling herself up against the stranger. He cradled her tighter.

  ****

  Kimit had landed the shuttle nose first into the storm. The back ramp lowered in perfect timing and she stood looking out at us. The brother stopped in his tracks, staring at her. I walked past him up the ramp and laid the female on a long munitions crate.

  “The other one is still standing in the storm. Can you coax him in so I can close the ramp?” Kimit asked.

  “Yeah, sure. Is there anything you can cover her with?”

  “I will check.” Kimit walked over to a storage compartment.

  I walked down the ramp and returned with the brother over my shoulder. Kimit gave me the creepy lizard smile when she saw us. I sat him down next to his sister and noticed his hands balled into fists. “No one is going to hurt you or her, do you understand me?” I said.

  “It’s probably hard for him to understand, given your appearance,” Kimit suggested.

  I began unlatching and unzipping, pulling my helmet off my head. I set it on a crate. He studied me hard for a few seconds, then I saw his hands relax. Fists gone, he reached over and touched his sister on the arm. She opened her eyes and looked from her brother to me, where they lingered for a few moments before closing. She was dead tired and soaked to the bone.

  “I was only going to drop you off. This isn’t supposed to be a rescue mission,” Kimit stated.

  “Things change. Take these two to the space port and go back to your ship if you’re worried. Just try to find them a secure place and send me the coordinates. There may be others I’ll need to send and I want them all in the same place when it’s time to go.”

  “I can do that.”

  “Thanks. Oh, and one more thing. Do you think you can unload these crates there too?” My smile had no effect on her. She just turned and walked away.

  “Unload what you think you’ll need,” she said. “I’ll handle the rest.”

  “Thanks—”

  “Stop thanking me. If I get in trouble with my superiors, I expect you to take time out of your busy schedule to help me out.”

  “No problem.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel better.”

  “Kimit, if you find yourself at odds with your superiors I will do my best to aid you.”

  “Better. Hurry and take what you’ll need so I can get out of here. I’ve stayed far longer than I planned.”

  I pushed two crates of mines down the ramp, pried one open with my knife and looked at the contents. Then I put my helmet back on and slung my new rifle across my back. Everything else was still on my person. It was go time. I pulled the crates away from the shuttle and watched Kimit shut the ramp. I hope it’s all worth it, Taz. I’ll do my part like I told you I would.

  ****

  Kimit didn’t wait any longer than it took to walk from the back to the front of the shuttle. “Young ones, sit in a seat and secure yourselves.” She reached over to the com and retrieved the codes for the pirate ship Benjamin had contacted earlier. The young male sat beside her in the other pilot seat. He stared at her, waiting, never touching the harness. She glanced back, pleased to see he had secured the female before sitting down.

  “Do you wish to sit there?” she asked and the young male nodded. “Fine, just don’t touch anything.”

  The shuttle took off nose into the storm and was halfway to the space port when the screen came to life. The person Benjamin had referred to as Sash stared at them, waiting.

  “Captain Sash—”

  “That is not my name. It is Sashet.”

  “Apologies, Captain, we weren’t formally introduced,” Kimit replied.

  Sashet sighed. “I am sorry, you are correct. What can I do for you?”

  “Captain Kimit, of the Allond warship Black Scythe,” Kimit answered. “Captain Sashet, take this as you will, but I think you should make way to Kanlost immediately. My ship is going to have to pull back to the Allond border shortly and I believe Benjamin is going to need some assistance sooner rather than later.”

  “He is very capable, from what I have seen. Why do you think this?” Sashet retorted.

  “Something he said about plans being fluid. He shared little about how or what he planned to do. I’m not sure his plan to destroy the World Eater included res
cuing the Cjittan who are now slaves of the Khalnalax. I don’t think he realized until right before I departed that there could be slaves in need of rescue.”

  “I see you have a passenger now,” Sashet said.

  “Two. There is another in the back. When he brought them on board I was led to the conclusion he would need help. He was different for the short time he spent with them. He saw to their comfort and enlisted my help getting them to safety. Ruthless to kind as if he hadn’t just ended six of his enemies a few breaths before.”

  “Captain Kimit, I am Natalia, his daughter. Your observation is correct. He won’t let them die if there is a chance to save them. Do your passengers have any idea how many slaves there might be?” Natalia asked, her focus on the male Cjittan next to Kimit.

  “Do you know?” Kimit asked, looking at her passenger.

  “Captain Kimit,” a voice called from behind. “My brother cannot speak. Regardless of how many, they will not all be together. They work within the machine. Some will be working while others rest. An alarm to evacuate would send them outside and away from the World Eater where a rescue would be easier.”

  “Will the Khalnalax evacuate also?” Sashet asked.

  “Yes, and they will be more vulnerable to attack and then he can kill them all,” the young female answered vehemently. She had moved into the doorway behind Kimit.

  “What are your names, young ones?” Kimit asked.

  “I am Joon and this is my twin brother Doon. They murdered our parents and now they murder our world. But I think their time on Kanlost is about over. I prayed when no one else did and my prayers were answered.”

  “You think your prayers were answered, child?” Sashet asked.

  “Captain Sashet, do what you want. Captain Kimit means well but you are not required,” Joon muttered, defeated. “My people—those who are left—are already dead, if only in their hearts. It is only a matter of when the Khalnalax Overseer wishes for us to cease to exist. Knowing that, if we die and the Khalnalax die right along with us, it will be a good death, better than the one they already planned for us.” Doon reached back to grab his sister’s arm. He smiled in agreement to what she had said.

  “She is right,” Natalia said somberly. “As a child held captive by pirates, I wanted them to die and I hoped one day another ship would destroy us. I wasn’t afraid to die and would have welcomed it if they all died with me. I would have died happy.”

  “Did the black demon save you from the pirates?”

  “He did, and with his team they killed them—all but one. He is now my father and he isn’t a demon, Joon. He is a reaper. When he shows up, someone’s time has come to leave the mortal plane and he sends them on their way.”

  “Captain Sashet, I will send you the location where I’m going to leave these two when I send it to Benjamin,” Kimit said. “I still believe you should make haste. Safe travels.”

  Chapter 21

  Work on the Cjittan Generation ship continued on the bridge for another two days after power was restored and systems came on line. On day one they had found the power coupler had been purposely misaligned and wasn’t damaged. It was clear now, and supported the theory that the occupants had deserted the ship and purposely disabled it. Genius monitored the power output of the drives and it had steadily increased, enabling him to power up different systems in order of importance. One thing was clear, the scope of the task he had to adjust to was the size of the ship. Bringing it back to life using educated guesses and learning at the same time was almost overwhelming even for him. One thing was certain. There was not going to be anything happening quickly.

  If they were going to transfer the pirate families and non-essentials to the ship he needed to get medical up and going soon. On his back under the console he tested junctions and couplers, continuity and polarity, every damn thing he could think of. It was alien technology that went beyond software and semiconductors. The software, if he could call it that, ran on the bridge console but only locally. Nothing happened at any of the medical facilities or labs.

  “Captain Adeen, I’m going to the main medical center to see what I can do there. We get it powered up and online and I think I can get the Admiral out of your hair.”

  “Thanks, Genius. It’s not that bad; she’s worried about Benjamin and has three ships sitting in limbo waiting on you, not me.”

  “Thanks for reminding me. Who is free that can give me a hand?”

  “I’ll call Warlock and have him meet you there. He is less likely to give you any lip.”

  “Perfect. I just need someone to hand me tools or supplies and one person who will remain unnamed couldn’t do that without running his mouth.”

  “Ha. He is still busy matching wits with the creature they captured. Last vid I checked, I think the creature is a lot smarter than Snake.”

  “So what you’re saying is the creature knows all about us and we know nothing about it.”

  “Absolutely!”

  ****

  The trip to the medical center was so eerily quiet it was unnerving. Genius got straight to work checking the main panel in the wall. He had nothing that indicated power at the main panel in medical. He knew his next step was up into the maintenance tunnel and assumed a lot of crawling around was in his future. He had just started up the ladder when Warlock arrived.

  “Hey, just in time!”

  “Captain sent me to give you a hand.”

  “Soon as I get this open, you can hand up all the tools and the datapad.”

  “Genius, do you think there are any more of those creatures on the ship?” Warlock asked, some apprehension in his voice.

  “You know, I can’t say. We are both armed and will be in such a confined space it will be hard to sneak up on us.”

  “What if one comes while we’re working?”

  “First off don’t freeze up, stay calm and shoot it and don’t stop shooting until it’s down. I’ll be doing the same thing right along with you.”

  “We don’t have to capture it, do we?

  “Hell no. I have to get this ship ready and don’t have time for mutants or zombies.”

  “Good, good, I’ll shoot it dead, I promise.”

  “Perfect. You have family on one of the ships?” Genius asked, trying to change the subject.

  “Not anymore.”

  “Oh sorry, I have a mom and sister back in the Alliance. Not sure if I’ll ever see them again.”

  “No worries, growing up pirate you see a lot of loss. The ships go out then when they come back everyone goes to meet the crews. A lot of highs and lows on those days. The worst though is when a whole crew doesn’t come back.”

  “Can you imagine all the maintenance tunnels on this tub? This isn’t bad, at least we only have to stoop so much, but there are others you have to crawl through. Just keep your eyes and ears open.”

  “So you do think there are more of those things.”

  “Not necessarily them, from what I have researched since Benjamin was first held captive on one of these, they are very old. Ancient is a better word. Given the things they have been able to do in those labs, there are bound to be critters prowling these tunnels.”

  “Critters?”

  “Small creatures, usually a nuisance. The reason I say that is those two…I don’t know what to call them, mutants?, we ran into had to be feeding on something. Where my people come from, we had small rodents, mice and rats. They lived all over our world but you would find them in mass in the worst places.”

  “You think we will run into ‘critters’?”

  Genius walked slowly, looking left to right, up and down, for damage. Maintenance tunnels were organized clusters of hard clear tubing, the strange liquid moving through them and conduits, each providing service to and from something in long rows. Any damage would change the perfect symmetry and therefore stand out. He opened and checked each junction box before moving on. While not visible on the outside, a damage-causing surge would be easier to identify inside
the junction. “Just reemphasizing, be calm.” His answer was slow in coming. “Look at this. Someone disconnected this whole section. Not what I expected, but not totally surprising.”

  “You mean like the power coupling was misaligned on purpose?”

  “Exactly. If our captive and his dead friend disabled the coupler and this junction box, then one, they are smarter than they appear, and two, even more dangerous than we think.” Genius activated his com. “Captain Adeen.”

  “Go ahead, Genius.”

  “Warlock and I found a junction that has been purposely disconnected. I think we need to keep our captive alive. Would you give that order?”

  “I will. Do you think the medical bay will be online after you reconnect everything?”

  “Hard to say. This might be sabotage and there could be more of the same. We will know in about five minutes.”

  “Include the Admiral in your next com. She is waiting patiently.”

  “Copy that. Warlock, check that next junction box and see if everything is connected.”

  It took less than five minutes to reattach all the connectors. Warlock verified the next three junctions were intact. They made their way back to the hatch when an alarm began sounding. Genius noticed a red glow coming from the room below.

  ****

  “Admiral, Captain, we are receiving transponder codes from the Cjittan Generation ship as well as a coded message,” Nedra reported.

  “The translation matrix is working on the message, I know it’s Cjittan but maybe it’s a different dialect,” Shawna added. “Wait, it just started again and this message is different, its Trillond. It’s doing it again in another different language. Oh shit!”

  “Shawna without your embellishments, do we have a completed translation on any of the messages?” Binda asked.

  “Plague ship! Our people are on a damn plague ship.”

  ****

  “Captain Dakkon! Ten Khalnalax warships!” Commander Izzak shouted.