Our Land (Queen's Own Book 1)

by James Tallett

  Jacob noticed an oddity. The Umkhovu weren't properly volley firing. Instead, they were firing by groups, three soldiers aiming at a single enemy and unleashing at precisely the same moment. And everyone, every single Umkhovu, was doing precisely that. The Lifeguards had had trouble focusing their fire, and here were these native upstarts showing them up. Their aim was somewhat ragged compared to a properly trained soldier, which probably gave the advantage back to the Lifeguards, but that was an entirely mixed blessing at this time.

  Despite the rapid call for the reserves, the barricades that had been designed to stop the charge of the Hungry Ones were mostly overwhelmed, and the men who had been there lay battered to the ground. But enough of them still stood and fought to have prevented a breakout into the fortress proper, and the consistent rolling fire from the Umkhovu reserve began to alleviate the pressure that had crushed the Lifeguards.

  The regimental commander turned his eyes outwards, towards the darkness within which he could hear the chanting and the calling of the shamans, and the occasional sound of a bowstring. It would not do for him to gloat, but this particular aspect of the defensive arrangements was based on his suggestion, and he was rather proud of what was about to ensue.

  As Jacob watched from the safety of the ramparts, the 1st Royal Dragoons swept around from the west, the whole regiment at a canter before settling into a gallop for the final charge. Here and there amongst them he could hear the pop of carbines, but most of the riders were saving their single shot for closer work.

  A bugle called, easy to hear even above the sound of the fighting. The clatter of sabres drawn from their sheathes answered it.

  Arboreal arrows arced into the mass of horses and men. A few stumbled or fell, the Dragoons absorbing the losses with the barest of reactions. The shamans started to chant, staves lifted towards the thundering regiment, but whatever they sought to do was too slow, too weak, to overcome the mass of metal and flesh that bore down upon them.

  The noise as the dragoons struck the enemy encampment was horrendous, the sound of bodies being torn apart by the brute force of an angry giant. The charge broke upon the barbarians as a river would atop ants, and shaman and arboreal alike drowned in its fury and fire. Some attempted to fight back, shooting into the teeth of the dragoons until they were bowled over. Others fled, running as fast as their limbs would take them away from the carnage. But the cavalry merely wheeled, expanding the width of their front, and those scant few who were beyond even that were picked off by shots from the carbines or by squads riding them down.

  The death of the shamans had an immediate impact inside the ruin of the north gate. Where once it had taken handfuls of musketballs to kill any single Hungry One, now it started to take only one or two well-placed shots. The first to die staggered and collapsed, looks of surprise wrapping about their faces, but the next began to realize that their protection was gone, and they died howling in fear.

  Realization of their vulnerability spread through the ranks of the barbarians like wildfire, and even inside the berserk fury that shielded them from the world, they realized that the day, and the siege, was lost. Yet rather than turn and flee, like a human would have done, the Hungry Ones threw themselves upon the Lifeguards and their Umkhovu with a renewed vigour.

  What had been a battle suddenly became a bloody war of attrition, as soldiers on both sides died in droves. The Hungry Ones died faster, but they earned their deaths, going so far as to fling their weapons at Lifeguards or Umkhovu as the last breaths escaped their body. It was the rage and the anger of the fanatic, and it was bringing the Lifeguards to its knees.

  At last, the final pale giant slumped to the ground, his body riddled with enough lead that his form was barely recognizable. But with that calm came the realization that where once had stood a good third of the Lifeguards, there was perhaps a sixth, or a tenth, and Jacob knew that despite having 'won', he had lost more men in a single engagement than any commander since the destruction of the regiment. This victory would cost him his career, once the General Staff heard of the matter. It was one thing to take casualties to the lesser regiments, but to do so to the Lifeguards, the aristocrats who protected Queen Cyninge herself, that was another matter entirely. Too many nobles would make him to pay for their sons.

  It was with an iron mask over his face that he began to detail the actions to be taken in the aftermath, of cleaning away the dead, recording casualties, reissuing ammunition, and so on. The soldiers about him wore the same expression, their true emotions locked away. He couldn’t tell if they despised him for their losses, or if they commended him for keeping them alive, or somewhere in between. He would discover their feelings over the next days and weeks, until such time as the General Staff's appointed replacement made its way to these shores. Those gears ground exceedingly slowly, and exceedingly fine.

  ***

  “What do you mean, silent?”

  Thomason looked unhappy as he answered. “I mean silent. We have had no communication from Richard for a month. At first, given the difficulties that you had, we assumed it was more of the same. Certainly, the roadway to his fortress was torn up even worse than the one to yours. But we had almost cleared it by the time I left to come here, and there was still no word from Richard.”

  “So he could be perfectly healthy, or he could be dead and buried beneath an avalanche of those Hungry Ones.”

  “Precisely. However, by the time I return the matter should be settled. Unfortunately, that's hardly going to do you any good. Despite the licking you gave the natives, they are still engaged in tearing up the road and harassing our citizens wherever they find the opportunity.”

  “You'd think wiping out most of a tribe would be a considerable incentive to stand down, but none of these natives seem able to understand that. Despite whatever successes they might have had, they still lost both battles.”

  The natives had sent a force roughly equal in size against Matthias' fortress to the east of Jacob's, and where Jacob had had the support of a regiment of heavy cavalry, the second regiment in Matthias' fortress had been another footsoldier force, one that had not had the tactical flexibility to assist in the same way the 1st Royal Dragoons had done. As such, Matthias had taken a battering even worse than Jacob's.

  Presumably Richard had been attacked in the same manner, but without any word from him, there was always the possibility he'd lost to the natives, strange as that sounded. The natives were individually powerful, but their tactical thinking had bordered on the animal, and any regiment capable of getting one of the first six postings here should have been able to handle the matter.

  “Quite true, quite true, but I do suppose we have to entertain the thought that it was a different group of natives who attacked Richard. You and Matthias encountered substantially the same forces, but perhaps there was a different character to the one that engaged Richard. There is also the small matter of the secondary reserves that both you and Matthias were able to draw upon.”

  Jacob and Umholi had been surprised to learn that Matthias had made the Umkhovu who had originally been so rambunctious into something resembling decent servants, and even more surprised when it transpired that they had been armed and sent into the line of battle. To Umholi, it was yet more proof that the best chance his people were going to be given was amongst these human newcomers, and he had sent out messengers to that effect to the other tribes that remained. To Jacob, it meant matters had gotten just as desperate as they had in his fortress, and it made one wonder what Richard would have done without a third force to draw upon.

  “I do hope there are no arguments to be made on that score just yet, given the preliminary nature of the forces at hand.”

  “You mean you hope I will refrain from informing Colonel Sherman, and that the men under me will not hear of the matter.”

  “I could hardly have been said to have requested that.”

  “You were much more circumspect, Jacob, but I do have some capability for hearing the requ
ests underneath the polite verbiage. However, given that I am supposed to transmit the report of the actions as freely and accurately as I can, and in light of the fact that the Umkhovu, and especially the Uhlobo, have multiple action reports in which they performed with bravery under fire, I hardly think you need worry about that. If anything, the Colonel will use it as a motivating factor, pointing out that if natives who are only recent aspirants to civilization can defend it in such a way, perhaps the humans who have held it for so long might consider doing a better job of the matter.”

  “Well, that is something of a relief to hear. I must confess to being somewhat nervous whenever the Colonel is given new information, as he is rather difficult to predict. Especially when a traditionalist could see some of my actions as violating the boundaries of my position's capabilities.”

  “What traditionalists always fail to realize is that there are new situations that must be dealt with, and thus set the precedent. After all, in law there was always a first time for a given situation. Why can that not be the same in the much wider scope of human endeavours? Still, I am sure some of the ossified creatures that inhabit the General Staff will make a fair bit of noise. Do try and succeed at everything, in order that they have to keep quiet.”

  “That's rather easy for you to speak of, given you are the one who resides at the port and not on the frontier.”

  “Yes, because keeping the supply roads open to your fortresses has been a gentle stroll by the river. There hasn't been a single incident of native interference at all.” Thomason gave Jacob a look that verged on the rude.

  “Well, yes, there is that. But with some skilful manoeuvring, that could be placed at the feet of those of us in the fortresses. After all, our mandates are to protect the settlers living inside the ring we built. Never mind that the ring itself is too wide open. The fortresses a full day apart! I could march the Lifeguards through that gap in full parade order and no one on either side would see it coming.”

  “Given the patronage that won us these positions in the first place, I dare say that any blame-shifting attempt would engender a strong denial. After all, I am quite certain that your father could conjure all manner of other flaws in the development of this situation, ones that you had no influence over.”

  “My father could do such a thing even if I had signed a confession in my own blood.”

  “I was attempting to avoid being impolite to your esteemed parent, Jacob.”

  Jacob chuckled. “There's no need to do so on my behalf. I am quite well aware of the type of man he is, and am not above enlisting his aid when the moment seems appropriate. After all...” He trailed off and swept his arm about their surroundings, indicating his position, the Lifeguards, and the fortress, all in one grand gesture.

  “This does bring to mind a pertinent quotation.”

  “Which is?”

  “Be careful what you wish for, you may regret it. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.”

  “In light of the current circumstances, I think we're all in that particular convoy.”

  Thomason indicated his agreement, and they settled down to a more genteel conversation, only returning to the situation at hand when Thomason finally rose to depart.

  “There is one last thing, Jacob.”

  The Lifeguards commander looked expectant.

  “If Richard has passed, and his command with him, we have a gaping hole in our defensive structure. And we don't have any soldiers in reserve to fill it. I suppose we could pull a regiment each from Willaby and David, but in light of the current strategic situation, I believe we're going to leave that gap open, and send an urgent request for reinforcements. Possibly up to ten regiments.”

  “Ten? We'd be doubling the Queen's commitment. Can the Crown afford it?”

  “Matters at home are quite peaceful, and this land promises to be an economic windfall if we can hold onto it. Just think of the lushness of that first round of crops. And we know there are rich veins of metals. The goods for which the Umkhovu were trading are enough proof of that. So, provided we hold this land, the Queen can certainly afford it. But we have to hold it, otherwise the loss of prestige for everyone involved will be dramatic. And that always flows upward.”

  “Meaning the Queen might direct the General Staff to look upon those who ruined her good name with extreme displeasure. Although she'd hardly need to remind them to do such a thing, vindictive old coots that they are.”

  Thomason nodded in agreement. “I want you to be careful, Jacob. Whatever struck Richard is still out there, and it's either coming straight for New Town, for David, or for you. And you're the weakest of the three.”

  “Why thank you. But what about New Town? Almost a third of her troops are here, or out ferrying supplies around.”

  “There's a fortress overlooking the town, and it's mounting artillery borrowed from the Royal Navy. Plus, there are almost always several vessels in port, with whatever Royal Marines and cannon they are able to provide. Because of that, our throw weight is probably several times anyone else, even when much of my regiment is out on duty.”

  “Are they going to send defensive guns out to the fortresses?”

  “Not that I've heard of, but if there are some spare thirty-twos, I'll see if I can convince someone to let them wander up here.”

  “They'll be beastly to get through those woods, you know.”

  “If we're going to hold these forts, then we need to do so with the very best we've got. And currently, your biggest is a twelve, is it not?”

  “Mostly sixes, but a few twelves here and there. We didn't use them during the battle because we were worried about gunpowder rationing, but a few rounds of properly placed canister would have made all sorts of difference. In the future, I'll do just that.”

  “And as for reinforcements?”

  Jacob sighed. “The Lifeguards will be understrength for a time. We'll have to use the Umkhovu to make up the difference. Thankfully, the 1st Royal Dragoons escaped almost unscathed, even in that last charge of theirs, so on the whole I think it's safe to say we're still at our nominal two regiment strength. However, any spare forces you can swing our way would be most appreciated.”

  Thomason thought for a moment. “There is one force I might be able to. It's only a company, but they can probably give even your men a bit of a challenge. They certainly have the reputation for it.”

  “I suddenly have a premonition that the next statement you make will not at all be to my liking.”

  “I shall inform you of the company in question if I am able to convince the good Colonel to detach it. However, I don't believe he has the authority to overrule their orders, so you're probably on your own.”

  “I shall endeavour to do my best with the situation.”

  “Best of luck to you.”

  “And you.”

  Doffing his cap, Thomason strode from the tent, while Jacob was left to ponder what could have overwhelmed Richard. Despite the polite fiction that he could be merely bottled up in his fortress, Thomason had seemed sure Richard and his regiments were lost. The question of what could have done it would circle round Jacob's mind night after night.

  ***

  With the new stores of gunpowder that Thomason had brought, it was possible for Jacob to reinstate the musket training of the Umkhovu, and that was precisely what he did. He neglected to give any reason for it, but pressed them into training twice a day, just as frequently as the soldiers under his command.

  Those same soldiers were displeased to find that their servants had been commandeered for so much of the day, but accepted it as a fact of army life, especially when it became apparent that officers were undergoing the same privation. What they did not accept, and which more than a few of them, especially Upton, raised direct concerns with, was the Umkhovu insistence on having their women trained.

  To these aristocrats whose women never took an action more strenuous than a gentle horseback ride through the country, the thought of Umkhovu w
omen standing in the line was appalling. To the Umkhovu, who had long had to struggle for every last scrap of food they could find, the thought of women who did nothing was equally appalling. The resultant conflict was not helped along by those Uhlobo who felt it was their duty to suddenly become much less capable as servants. Of course, this strange plague only afflicted those servants whose masters spoke up against Umkhovu women being trained.

  Jacob watched the whole situation with a disappointed eye, knowing that within days, it would land on his desk. Which it did, and quite promptly too. Barely two days had passed from when the Lifeguards had discovered they were training women as well as men to Upton storming into Jacob's tent and demanding the meaning of this.

  “Upton, I understand that you feel strongly about the matter, but unfortunately, I was informed directly by Thomason when he was here that any reinforcements for the Lifeguards are to be a long time in coming, and that we are to make the best of the situation as it stands. Given the danger that we were under during the previous assault, and that we are now weaker than we were then, I felt we needed to utilize the one force available to us.”

  “You mean you wanted to see natives, and their women, with guns in their hands!”

  “My responsibility is to the Lifeguards, and above that, directly to the Queen herself. Lest you forget, we are not a regular Royal Army regiment. We are one of the Queen's Own, beholden to her and no other, and I will do my utmost to ensure that the soldiers she placed under my command are as safe as can be, given the situation at hand. If that means arming natives who have repeatedly shown bravery and courage under fire in protecting us, then I will do so.”

  “Very well, sir, I will grant you that their menfolk have sacrificed enough to have earned the right to fight on our behalf. But their women? Are you mad? You would send women against towering barbarians twice their size!”