“Don’t like women anymore? Maybe Genius isn’t into that sort of thing.”
“After being with you, that tapeworm thing would be an improvement.”
Genius waited for the insults to cease; he knew the history. “I’d like to go the Claymore myself. What do you need, boss?”
“The labs. I want access. I can wait a day and just explore without you till you get back. If they try to task you with something else, tell them to talk to me. It’s not going to happen.”
“Snake and Harry need to go, too,” Genius said.
“Everyone but Adeen. The captain doesn’t leave her ship. It’s not proper. Oh, and leave the toothy fucker. I don’t know it and don’t trust it to leave and board any of my other ships. She can keep it company.”
“Do you want me to stay with you?” Angel asked Adeen. A young Cjittan male stood next to her. He volunteered to stay also. Adam and Buddy seemed unsure where their loyalties lay.
“If she stays near the bridge and leaves me alone, she will be fine,” I said. Not sure I meant it. “One bit of news is that all the World Eaters except one are destroyed and Aisling’s marines and the Privateers are capturing the last one. Not sure how busy the Claymore is with all that’s going on, but I’m sure they will give you a warm reception regardless. They’ve been worried.”
They didn’t know how to process that info, as they have never seen a World Eater or been privy to what’s happened since they were left behind.
“When you see the World Eater, it will all make sense. So, no plague, or did you find a cure?” Be good to know before they all jump ship.
“No plague. No illness, just a couple monsters,” Genius said. “I have researched as much as I can and I think they set the broadcast to keep the ship from being boarded. I also think it was a long time ago. I’m not exactly sure where our resident monster came from but my guess is its cryo sleep chamber malfunctioned and shut down. There was another one that attacked us, but Harry made paste out of it. We’ve had no problems since we brought the power levels up and made the journey here.”
“So there is power in the labs. How about the tanks where they grew the clones and other things?”
“I only looked around, but while they are full and a couple are occupied, I don’t see how anything in them can be alive.”
“When you come back, bring fresh food and someone to take command here,” I said. Angel gave me a beady-eyed look. “What? I’m guessing Adeen would like to get off this ship for a little while. There has to be a replacement for her.”
“What about you, hotshot?” Adeen said. She was trying to start something calling me hotshot. She used to do that all the time. “You can’t make decisions for a day or two?”
“I have other things to do. Genius, have them bring Imelda here. There is so much more room for her. I may need her to do something for me so I don’t get my hands dirty,” I said, looking Adeen in the eyes.
“If you’ll talk to Binda or Lorelei, they can bring the Claymore right into the cargo hold. I have power to the rear doors. They can offload everyone who is staying and I can get the parts fabbed to repair the comm array.”
“You tell them, and tell them the sooner the better for Adeen’s sake. You don’t need me. They respect and trust you. Now, come on, show me the labs and let’s change the entry and lock codes so you guys can leave.”
We walked to the bridge and I had him input new codes with command override and a level of authority above captain. He had learned a lot about the Cjittan system in his time aboard. He knew their current system, but said this was much older. There were many symbols that weren’t in the system at the palace on Xanlos. We made the long walk to the labs next and ran into Snake and Harry, who were heading for the shuttle.
“Snake, we have some things to discuss—”
“I know, Boss. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Harry and I trust the ugly SOB but the girls, not a fan. In the armor, they weren’t as queasy when he was around and it let him participate socially.”
“Don’t interrupt me again or it’s a beatdown you’re gonna get. Find a cloak with a hood. If not, have one of the women with the pirate families make one. If it wants to fight alongside us, then we will get it some armor.”
“It’s not going to be doing anything for a while. I think it’s got frostbite on the fingers and toes.”
“Is it worth keeping around? You guys adopt it like a pet. I’m inclined to go with the girls’ sense about that thing. Does it need anything tonight? Food, medication?”
“No, we locked him in his cell. Thought it would be safer for him until you get to know him.”
“Must have been Harry’s idea. If Harry hadn’t asked me, it would have bigger problems than frostbite right now. Snake, that armor is special, do you understand? You, Genius and Ronnie are special. Harry, you are too, but for different reasons. Get your asses on the shuttle. I’m sure when Nedra finds out you’re there and gets her hands on you, no one will see either of you for a week.”
Snake could piss me off daily, but in the end, he was solid. Nowadays I’m easier pissed and less forgiving. They still stuck with me and that counted for something. Tomorrow I would track down my daughter. She and I needed to have a talk about going behind my back. No one will be waiting with a hypo for me again unless they want to use it on themselves.
Genius had been watching me with a critical eye. Studying. I understood, but wasn’t in the mood to be under his microscope. “Something you need to say to me?”
“You haven’t been right since you last spent time on one of these ships. It’s getting worse. You lash out violently, threatening anyone who looks at you wrong. Is the armor that important you would kill someone for wearing it?”
“Yes, it is that important. When I had our armor made for us, it was because I wanted to keep you all as safe as I could. Give you and the rest of the team a leg up on the monsters and murderers we were facing every time we left the ship. Is it wrong or selfish of me that I want to keep my friends alive and with me wherever I go? That thing is not my friend nor has it done anything to deserve the protection that armor gives. I realize Snake didn’t think, nor would he understand my reasoning; I don’t think we’ve ever had to have this conversation before.”
“Ok, so that explains the armor. Benjamin, we are in the middle of an alien empire. Less than a dozen of our own race. Surrounded by aliens, friend and foe. We need Adeen and Snake and all the rest. Thanks to you we can’t fucking go home. I won’t see my mom and sister ever again. I have an alien woman interested in me, but I don’t even know if I’ll ever see her again…”
We stood outside the lab door. One of my best friends took a couple breaths to steady himself. I wasn’t about to tell him why I wanted access to the labs. It normally wasn’t good for people to self-diagnose their health issues, let alone treat what they thought was ailing them. The nanites were doing a fine job on my body, but my mind was sketchy at best. A fine medical term, sketchy. I thought the nanites were to blame. They belonged in a Cjittan male and not a human one. Killing them might be a start.
“Thank you, my friend. Go. They are probably waiting on you. I’ll see you when you return.”
“You going to kill Adeen?”
“No. Not tonight,” I said seriously. He shook his head, not knowing or wanting to say anything else. “Hey, probably not ever, but don’t tell her. She needs to stay sharp.” He smiled at that and walked away.
I input the codes and went inside a room large enough to park the Claymore in. Tanks lined most of the room in rows just like the other ship. Cryo-chambers with blinking indicator lights. I imagined some of them had failed. The console looked the same as the last one I had seen what seemed like so long ago. I pulled the lever down on the side and the ten feet of electronics began to come to life. Taking off my weapons and armor, I sat down to think.
I would remove the nanites and hopefully get better or maybe become like the monsters I fought. Either way, I wouldn’t be stuck
in the middle. It didn’t make sense to just sit here doing nothing, so I wandered through all the tanks, looking at something created a hundred or thousand or five thousand years ago. There was no way of knowing until I found a manifest or inventory of what they contained. Many were humanoid. Cjittan maybe. The white skin and hair. Probably all just a husk that would fall apart if exposed to the air.
A spider floated in one tank. Maybe about the size of a dinner plate. In the next one was a vicious-looking creature that reminded me of a dog gone wrong. Much larger than any dog or wolf and completely hairless except for some long hairs growing out of its ears. Ears that stood up, long and pointy. Wicked claws curved like a scythe were attached to its paws and it canine teeth, top and bottom, were much longer than needed on the end of its long, narrow muzzle. I put it down as something to look up when I had a chance. I already had a spider but for some reason dogs had been on my mind. I had called the guard a Chihuahua and thought of Aisling as an Irish Setter. I thought they were just random thoughts until I looked at the killer floating in the tank in front of me. I wanted it.
It took me the better part of six hours to stroll casually through the lines of tanks. I made my way to the cryo-chambers next. I was no scientist, more like a blunt instrument. But I could reason things out if it wasn’t people. When Genius got back, if the solution in the tanks was still viable, I would have that thing they adopted put in one for some healing.
One of the cryo-chambers was on, but indicated no lifeform inside. Well if there was no lifeform inside this would be a good one for me to experiment on. Learn just the basics of the controls. Learn whatever I needed to do to revive the slumbering contents in the future. Maybe another ally lay sleeping that we could use in the war with the Khalnalax. Or maybe a something that would have to be put down. I could read Cjittan but hadn’t much, so I was slow. I needed to draw the knowledge up from where it lay unused in my head. Thankfully, starting the process took the push of one button.
I had an hour to kill, which seemed short for a thaw but then there wasn’t a lifeform inside. I walked the rest of the chambers, pausing to see what was inside. Some were aliens I had never seen, male and female. More females than males, though. Wouldn’t that be something. Taz would royally shit if I thawed out a new girlfriend. She was going to anyway when she found out I had one of her prized ancient ships. Maybe purple skin with green eyes and yellow hair. If there was viable tissue, I could grow one. Just like the way Mira was made. The more noticeable, the better. Built for sin, like we used to say. A walk with hips swaying that pulled the eyes out of your head with grace and power. Taz could have her suitors. Lead them on and jerk them off. Enough! I thought. Yeah, right.
I strolled back and the chamber had completed its cycle. The door was unlocked. I opened it and saw the top of a box. I tapped the screen to tell it to remove the contents and a table rolled out of the chamber. On it was a long rectangular box with grab handles at the top and bottom. Checking the weight, it wasn’t as heavy as a box that size could be. Would be nasty if it was body parts or something they were keeping for emergencies. Opening it was straightforward and done by accident. I put my hand on the top the see if the small screen would divulge its contents and the latches popped open.
It must have still been cold inside it because a frosty air whooshed out. I slowly lifted the top and sat it back on the table. Inside it looked to be some type of black sand. It was shiny as I pinched a few grains into my palm. I thought maybe something might be buried inside and dug my arm down through the sand, feeling around inside the box. I was ready to just dump it on the floor when I felt them. I watched as the black sand flowed up my arm. I removed my arm from the box, but they formed a line up and onto my body. I was mesmerized as they jumped to my chest and my legs, not following anymore but dispersing, covering my body as fast as possible.
Reality woke me when my face was being covered and they entered my ears and mouth. My vision went pitch black and I stood in total darkness. My sense of touch was overloaded as they covered every bit of my being. My body began shaking uncontrollably and I collapsed. It was as if every bit of control I had was lost. A pain started at the base of my brain and ran down my spine. I felt my back arch, then the pain was gone. Blackness so sweet enveloped me.
****
Mira sat up straight in the captain’s chair. It was her ship. She fought for it. She won. Her past captors, the Akelorians, were now her benefactors; a lie here, an embellishment there, stoked their greed. A trail of broken or dead bodies led to her captain’s seat. All her skills proved their worth again. This is where she belonged, not living a domestic life trying to blend with people whose DNA she barely shared. She liked the aliens well enough, but now that she was able, there was somewhere else she would rather be and she would be there shortly.
They had traveled for months and it wouldn’t be long until they arrived where the spies said a ship matching the Claymore, along with other ships, was engaging the Khalnalax. It was a little backwater planet called Kanlost. The Khalnalax, who were an enemy of the Akelorians, were trying to strip the planet bare. She stroked her thumb against the shiny black metal of the armor she wore, lost in thought. She had a story to tell Benjamin when she saw him. An exploding exploration ship, pirates, a fighting pit and coming out on top. It was almost as amazing as the things that happened to him. She hoped she could tell it before trying to kill him.
One of the crew coughed and her wandering thoughts came to an end. Why was she thinking about him now? She looked around the bridge at the aliens who were relying on her to find help in an upcoming battle with an alien force they tried to describe but she couldn’t understand. Like so many others, the Akelorians were passing into oblivion. Maybe that is why the clan leader gave an outsider a chance. Maybe he would regret it. More sophisticated than the Allith but less than the Allond, this race of beings had many leaders, each heading a clan. Not all clans were spacefaring warriors. There were at least eight major ruling clans based off what they called their calling. Science, agriculture, religion, finance, administration, education, warrior, military. The latter two differed by internal structure and function.
“Mistress Mira, we will arrive at Kanlost in the Cjittan Empire shortly. Do you have orders for the crew?”
“Prepare for battle. Weapons and shields at full power. Any idea what the situation is? Bring it up on the viewer.”
“Yes, Mistress Mira. Four ships are attacking a Khalnalax World Eater as it departs the Kanlost system,” the tactical officer reported.
“Connect me to all the ships, including the Khalnalax, when we are within range of visual communication. I want them to know exactly who we are.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
Chapter Five
Binda gave the crew of the Generations ship time to eat and sleep in their own quarters before having a meeting with them to discuss their thoughts on the ship. Afterward, she kept Genius behind. She had talked to Angel and the others during the meeting and found out about Benjamin’s behavior when he had arrived. She thought he would be the one most likely to have an idea of Benjamin’s thoughts. “What do think he has been doing?” Binda asked.
“No idea. I get the feeling he has questions and thinks he will find answers in the lab,” Genius answered truthfully. “He wants Imelda and me back on the ship. Today. With his current frame of mind, I don’t want to disobey.”
“He broke a guard’s wrist on the Warhammer in the guise of trying to do the right thing asking permission to use a shuttle. They were right in the middle of the boarding op against the World Eater. It was also said he was polite in a strange sort of way. Not sure what to make of it.”
“Yeah, it could be he is worse. Or better. I’m not sure. We only spent a few minutes with him really. Tazleaha’s suitors are a big problem for him. She expects him to deal with it and it’s not in his—our—DNA. You’re Trillond, so I’m not sure you understand either. She is the ultimate spoiled child. He is damaged goods. She wanted a n
ew toy and got a used broken one.”
“Genius, I think I get it. I don’t fawn over him or wish to engage in a physical relationship with him. My mind is not clouded in a Benjamin fog. I do care for him, just the same as you do, and yes, I don’t understand everything.”
“In times long past, he would have been a great warlord. Kind, but ruthless. Logical yet mad. Bring your enemies to their knees then feed, house and provide for them. A killer and a benefactor. There is no place for suitors in that or his world; they would likely receive a worse treatment than he gives them.”
“I think there are triggers, Genius, and we don’t know what they all are. You and the team: your past with him is paramount. The armor worn by another who isn’t part of his team was a trigger. It was wrong and upset the world he knows; a world he is comfortable with was violated. It is why he had to seek you and the others out the minute you returned. He needed to be where he understood how things operated.”
“He wants you to bring the Claymore, dock it inside the Generations ship. Offload all the people. Then I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to leave. Where to, I don’t know.”
“Do you think he harmed Adeen or possibly killed her?” Binda asked offhand.
“She is another paradox in his life, once his leader and lover. Then a painful memory. When she needed an out, at the end of her rope, he let her come along. It seems she is more of a festering wound that won’t heal. He had the chance to end her on the shuttle back on Athena and didn’t. Really, I just don’t know. If we get there and she is dead, then I say he has slipped far too deep into his demons.”
“Then what do we do? Genius, how does one man have so many?”
“He isn’t the only one. There are many, many others. He is just the only one you know. If I tied you in a chair and held your eyes open then played scenes of battle, death and destruction over and over, battles with the Allith, when the action moves to close quarters and you watch your teammates not only killed but eaten right before your eyes, how long could you watch it, Binda, before it would affect you?”
The Chronicles of Benjamin Jaminson: Empires At War (Book 5 Part Two) Page 6