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

by Thomas Wright

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kimit had taken time, although not as much as the situation warranted, to consider Benjamin’s offer to accompany them. Even though her own requests to depart with the Privateers had already been denied on two occasions. This wasn’t a decision she could make alone and the crew would need time. Depending on sentiment, constant conditioning to duty and empire, some of the crew would not risk their lives and careers for a foreign empire. While there might be personal glory in battle, it would only be their own. The empire would not celebrate the accomplishments of criminals and that is what they would become. She determined not in any way to influence the decisions of her crew. She gave them time, her decision already made.

  Her officers were loyal to her. She knew this. They had attended Allond Naval School together and had graduated with her or within a year either way. How they would react to Benjamin was something else entirely. From her first meeting years ago prior to the Cjittan summit to the mission with the World Eater and the Cjittan children, she shared his exploits casually in conversation at times. The icing on the cake was when she mentioned the favor the emperor and other Allond leaders afforded Benjamin. How he came by his ship Claymore, a twin to the Black Scythe they called home. She hoped they would all accept him and his Privateers because her officers and crew were important to her and even if any of them left, they would carry the stigma of having been part of a crew that had committed a traitorous act. They would be innocent, but their lives and careers would be forever stained.

  Those who did not wish to join were put on shuttles and sent to the Cjittan Generations ship that was en route to Dratma 6 to wait out the war. Once they arrived at their destination, they would be within a reasonable range of travel to meet one of their own fleet ships. Kimit and the remaining crew would be long gone—or maybe long dead—by the time they arrived, as slow as the Cjittan Generations ship traveled.

  There was no going back and no one to blame but herself. She wanted to fight, not sit by and watch. It was wrong and selfish. She couldn’t blame Benjamin and her motives weren’t necessarily for helping Cjittan. They were warriors. She wanted to prove they were the best. The Privateers and Akelorians had departed, and she had to catch up to them. Missing the battle would be the worst thing imaginable. Everything would have been for nothing.

  ****

  It had been two days since Tazleaha, Zora, Dela’maah and the refugees had merged the two small parties into one. Inventories were taken of weapons, food, water and anything available that could be used as personal armor. A dedicated scouting squad was formed to locate all the Khalnalax camps in the region. The rain of fire from on high had stopped. The queen and her council concluded the enemy wasn’t aware of their actions. She hoped that pride and embarrassment would keep the officers of the Khalnalax army from reporting their losses. It was doubtful, but they hoped.

  A shift in daily routine by the enemy soon became a buildup of soldiers. Troop transport shuttles were dropping off soldiers by the hundreds and their numbers on the ground swelled into thousands. They cleared a large tract of jungle near a volcano that had erupted relatively recently and cleared a huge expanse of jungle. The ash had to have been over her head in places. The rains had come and gone over time and slowly the land began to reform itself. Tazleaha set up round-the-clock surveillance and hoped the enemy would send no scouting parties any time soon.

  “Our hit and run missions are all but over,” Tazleaha said to her officers. “We need to find a location at least a day’s walk from here. We are too close and risk capture.”

  “Then what?” the mayor asked.

  “We march another day and rest and continue to do this until we can safely establish a permanent base again,” Tazleaha answered. She looked at each of her officers for a second. “We stay alive until our forces regain control of the planet and system.”

  “And if they don’t?” Dela’maah asked. “We need to plan for that possibility.”

  “They will,” Tazleaha fired back. She got in Dela’maah’s face, staring down into her eyes. Dela’maah was wise and looked away first.

  “It is a possibility, but we can discuss it once we’ve relocated,” Zora said to break the tension.

  “Apologies, Dela’maah. I have too many things on my mind and failure isn’t one of them,” Tazleaha said, her tone soft. She rested a hand on Dela’maah’s shoulder.

  Dela’maah looked up at her. “I know. I wish for nothing more than victory and to send the Khalnalax home beaten and battered. The sight of so many soldiers was overwhelming and my spirits fell.”

  “So we are in agreement: we break camp and march at first light tomorrow?” Tazleaha asked, again giving everyone time to respond. She received silent nods. “Inform everyone.”

  ****

  “Admiral, the fleet is ready and awaits your order,” the captain reported.

  “Are we sure our ships on the far side of the system are in place?”

  “They are. I authorized the use of a one-word signal. We just received it.”

  “May the Ancestors watch over us and guide us to victory. Ahead full speed. It is said a surprise only lasts a moment. What follows lasts forever.”

  The captain repeated the admiral’s command over ship-wide broadcast and added his own. “Helm, ahead full, weapons, full power, load all armament. Sound emanate engagement, kill all boarders, damage control crews at the ready. For Cjittan!”

  The ship responded in kind. “For Cjittan!”

  The admiral had divided the fleet to hit the Khalnalax on two fronts. The planet Idaline was the pinnacle of a triangular attack pattern. Thirteen ships approached on each side, forming the other two corners. Two of the light cruisers contained no crew except for the helmsman. In the time it took the admiral to travel to Idaline, he had researched everything their intelligence had collected on the queen’s barbarian lover. He did not want to meet the man ignorant of his species and their history. The reading had given him an idea that would only require the loss of two lives and the ships they piloted.

  Admiral Cushda hoped, but didn’t expect, his two volunteers would live through the experience of purposely ramming their ships into the Khalnalax battleship. Two light cruisers were selected and would not accompany the fleet in its initial engagement but would fall back and escort the ground forces. They would initially be aiding the Generations ships and troop transports to get to the surface, then would break away to complete the second half of their mission. All environmental systems beyond the bridge would be deactivated and all extra power directed to weapons and shields. Weapons would be live, auto-fire and targeting handled by the ship’s computer. Shields would be eighty percent allocated to the front of the ship. The two fully manned heavy cruisers that were part of the escort of the troop transports would break off once the transports were safely past the Khalnalax blockade then rendezvous with the light cruisers, providing cover fire.

  Six ships from each wing were tasked with attacking the battleship. The remaining five would work to keep the rest of the Khalnalax occupied. Fourteen ships total, twelve ships and two on suicide missions. Cushda believed the battleship was the key. If it was destroyed, it would be a blow to the rest of the enemy fleet. They would fight, but if the tide of the battle strongly favored the Cjittan fleet, they would run, in turn sparing as many ships in his fleet as possible.

  The darkness of space swallowed the Cjittan fleet one moment then spit them out shortly after. They emerged to find themselves in an all-out attack by the Khalnalax and could not raise their shields fast enough.

  “Betrayed! We have been betrayed,” the captain sang out.

  “Captain, get hold of yourself. We follow the plan,” Cushda said, then addressed the fleet. “This is the admiral. All ships stick to the plan, fire your weapons, give no quarter.”

  The admiral’s flagship remained in position while the other ships of the fleet mounted their attack. Cushda watched the holo-screen in front of him. It had only taken the targetin
g computer a second to identify every vessel within the scope of the battle. The wreckage from the previous Cjittan fleet didn’t go unnoticed. He was sure the Khalnalax had corralled it all in one place for them to see. It made the admiral mad as hell and he hoped the rest of his captains were equally so. If it was a plan to destroy their spirit, Cushda was sure it would backfire.

  He had to figure out who betrayed them and how. He knew the regent had betrayed them, but she had no way of knowing their plan or their exact time of attack. She had a mole, a spy, who had a way of contacting the Khalnalax directly without being detected. The infiltrator could be on his bridge right now. He gripped the arms of his chair till the blood rushed from his hands, leaving them shaking when he finally relaxed his fingers. He had a battle to win and so many lives depending on him. The regent’s plan would come to light eventually and he would be ready.

  His view of the battle showed him that the Khalnalax formed up on only one side of the planet, facing them. Not surprising as they knew his plans. Two heavy cruisers were parked closest to the planet facing their battleship, which was surrounded on four points in a rectangle by light cruisers. Three corvette-class ships were on each long side of the formation around the battleship out beyond the light cruisers in a row facing deep space. Cushda knew the planet itself was not a priority and having access to the far side meant little at the moment. The Khalnalax were making a stand using the planet to guard their backs.

  They had to get the transport ships on the ground in one piece. Two light cruisers did not make one heavy. While they had almost equal weaponry, two ships to one, their hulls were thinner, a sacrifice of protection for speed. Something had to be done and fast.

  “Wing Commander, corvette division, change of orders. Escort the light cruisers and assist in the attack of the heavies guarding the planet.”

  “Affirmative, Admiral. Corvette division breaking off attack run, targeting battleship and engaging heavy cruisers.”

  Cushda watched as his five ships on each side of the Khalnalax formation began an attack run on the two heavy cruisers. Following them were four transport ships containing the Cjittan infantry and insect soldiers. He watched the Khalnalax formation ignore them, holding their position. The only movement in their formation was when the heavy cruisers adjusted slightly to face their attackers, giving them less of a target. His ships adjusted by widening their formation, but it brought them dangerously close to, almost within range of, the enemy corvette and light cruisers guarding the Khalnalax battleship. The enemy ships could assist without giving up much of their positions. He prayed they wouldn’t.

  As it stood, his losses would be higher than he had estimated. His main attack fleet, with the loss of the corvettes to escort duty, was more evenly matched with the enemy fleet. He watched as ship-busting torpedoes speeding in both directions were destroyed by laser fire or impacted on the shields. At the current distance, lasers were only used in defense against the torpedoes when they were in range. What the lasers missed, the shields would have to handle. His transports and their escorts traveled much faster. The light cruisers and corvettes would slow eventually to keep the heavy occupied while the transports maintained their speed. The corvettes led the formations, firing on the incoming torpedoes the heavy sent their way. The light cruisers would be the next line of defense, picking up the torpedoes that escaped destruction.

  The battle could shift faster than originally planned, possibly in the Khalnalax’s favor, as they closed the distance with the enemy. The battleship had yet to fire anything. It sat waiting . . .

  ****

  Almost a week had past uneventfully. I knew we were close to Idaline. “How much longer?” I asked. I always asked just to irritate Lorelei.

  “You ask again and I’m gonna have Harry pick up you and your bug suit and throw you off my bridge,” she answered.

  “You know you can’t treat royalty that way.”

  “You’re about as royal as my ass cheeks. Nedra has more royal blood than you do. Sit down and be quiet. We are close.”

  “How far ahead of us were the Akelorians?”

  “See’n as I don’t know nothing about that ship of theirs, I have no idea. Maybe you should ask Mira, your blue-eyed girlfriend. It’s not on long-range scans is all I know.”

  “That’s a good idea. Com her and ask. Just for reference’s sake. I think the Claymore is faster.”

  “Who cares?” Lorelei answered growing tired of the conversation.

  “It’s a guy thing, Captain. They have to know they have the fastest ship, biggest gun or the longest—”

  “Shawna, it’s not exactly like that,” I said.

  “Probably not for you, Boss. You already got all three—”

  “Shawna, stop before you embarrass the king of thieves, murderers, freaks and whores,” Lorelei ordered. She was on a roll.

  “Nedra, shoot them for me and I’ll make you Captain.”

  She didn’t answer and continued to ignore us. “You ok?” I asked, the banter forgotten.

  “You’ve been quiet since we left Kanlost, Ned. Really, what’s eating you?” Lorelei asked.

  Nedra turned in her seat and faced me. “You, that’s the problem. You have no concern or idea what you’ve done by encouraging Kimit to follow us.”

  “It’ll be ok. I’ll talk to Dakkon and smooth it over,” I answered.

  “It will not be ok. You will come away unscathed but Kimit will likely lose everything and spend her life in prison. There are vows to the empire she has broken, not to mention disgraced her family name. Do you not see this?”

  “I could send her back; she hasn’t been gone long. I’m sure nothing has happened at Kanlost in her absence.”

  “It is too late for that. You will figure out a way to save her or I’m leaving and taking Harry with me when this mission is over.”

  I would rather fight a horde of Allith than have Nedra mad at me. Mad enough to threaten to leave. “Nedra, if you say going back would do her no good, then let us deal with what’s ahead and I promise to face up to Xamand, Dakkon, Jinwasys and the whole Allond military if that’s what it takes to make it right.” I moved closer to her and looked up into her face. The slits for nostrils opened and closed. Her eyes bore into mine. I took both her hands in mine. “I promise.”

  She snorted and sat back down, spinning around to her console. I wasn’t in the mood to tease anyone else. I decided to go bond with my pooch. Since she came back with Imelda from the quick hunt on Kanlost, I had been introducing her to the team. That had its ups and downs, but no fatalities or major bodily damage occurred. Imelda joined after Snake got slightly mauled to assist with protecting the crew. Just her presence with each team member must have helped Zuri understand. I had to come up with something better. There were too many lives in our group to introduce them to Zuri individually. Imelda had proclaimed Zuri to be very intelligent. Maybe I would wait and reintroduce her to the Khalnalax. After all, she had been eating them for a week.

  What have I done? I thought as I walked off the bridge. Enticed an officer to disobey her oaths and orders. Put her crew in the same situation. They could have said no. The crew could have taken Kimit into custody and locked her in the brig. Is their decision my fault? Nedra thinks it is. They must really love their captain to risk everything. When it’s over, I have to do something for them.

  My whole team is a collection of misfits. Pirates, orphans, slaves, marines no one wanted are the normal ones. A giant spider, a former Trillond officer, an Allond lizard woman and a four-armed humanoid who somehow found . . . love. A test tube assassin with flawed protocols who looks like a woman I used to love. Something that looks like a canine, moves like a feline, and is smarter than both, with anger issues. Must be why I like it. Nanite armor built for a king with AI-like abilities. All of this is just like a bag of mixed nuts. If the Black Scythe survives, I would have Kimit return it to Allond and take her and her crew on the Claymore. We’ve been running with a quarter of the required c
rew since it was given to me. If Xamand would go easy on Kimit and her crew, they would be a welcome addition.

  I was stepping through the hold door and found Zuri and Imelda facing each other. “Imelda, what’s going on?” I asked. Zuri didn’t look my way but I knew she heard me. One ear twitched and pointed in my direction.

  She learns, Benjamin. I teach through pictures to better help her understand your ways. Her kind fight for position within the family from the time they are old enough to walk. She thought all who hunt the lesser species did the same. She recognized you to be the head of the family and sought to establish a position of her own.

  “I’m sure she does. I can see her figuring things out. But will she adapt, understand she doesn’t have to fight for a place in the ranks? I was wrong. I know, right? Who would have thought it. I saw what I wanted to see. She isn’t going to be licking my face and wagging her tail or whining for a treat. She’s not a dog. Tell or show her she has a place here if she wants to stay, but no more challenging the crew.”

  She wishes to be free of the cage most. Her kind do not defecate in their den. They find a place for such things. It angers her. She also misses her mother. She remembers more of her. They were taken together while on a hunt. She would like to kill those who took them. She now seems to understand it was not you and the crew.

  “I can help with one but not the other. Her mother has passed. I understand revenge, as you well know, but I can’t have her killing the Cjittan. Direct her anger at the Khalnalax, Imelda. Show her the Kanlost hunt was just the beginning. There will be more to come soon.”

  And the cage? She is free of it.

  “Yes, but for now she should confine herself to the hold and make friends with Buddy and Grubb. They will have to devise something for her needs.”