Doon grabbed his sister and pulled her into a ferocious hug, knowing she was right. Taking her hand, he slid into the water and waited while she slipped in next to him. Joon knew what to do next and took a deep breath. The cold rush of water woke every nerve in her body. She slowly descended, passed through the entrance, and ascended to the surface. Doon knew to break the surface quietly and held his sister back, pulling her to him and toward the river bank.
Where there was once the sound of life, a forest alive with creatures, now there was the steady rumble of the giant machine boring into the earth. They ran, holding hands. Doon led and gripped his sister’s hand like a vice. They were only feet from the tree line when weapon fire erupted all around them. Doon felt his sister jerk and groan. “Keep running, it just grazed my leg. I’ll be all right,” Joon said through gritted teeth. They used the trees and bushes as much as possible, never slowing, running for their lives.
“Keep going, Doon. I don’t think they are following.” They ran until Doon could see a clearing and he stopped short. He put his finger over his sister’s mouth and shook his head. They stood together, watching and listening, catching their breath. It would be faster to run straight across the grassy field to the other side instead of going around. Doon listened intently, concentrating on every sound, trying to pick out anything other than the drone of the machinery. There was nothing else. Satisfied they couldn’t stand there all night, he tugged his sister’s hand and started across the clearing. They stooped, staying low, letting the tall grass provide some cover as they ran.
Doon heard the grass shaking and pulled up short. The sound stopped as he turned his head slowly from left to right. He was ready to run in a direction opposite the sound when he felt his sister jerked from his hand. The force pulled him backward and he turned to find his sister hanging in the air, terrified. Tentacles wrapped around her and pulled her farther out of his reach, higher into the air. Looking up, Doon failed to see the two tentacles until he felt them wrap around his ankles. He tried to pull free as it jerked him off his feet. He knew his captors were the beasts the Khalnalax controlled. A moment later, two others emerged, their beaklike mouths snapping open and closed. Joon didn’t struggle. She was defeated and hoped it would be over quickly. She wondered if her prayers had fallen on deaf ears. So many others had died before and now they would die.
“Put them down!” A voice of authority rang out in the night. “I’ll not ask twice.”
The monsters lowered Doon and Joon to the ground. It was clearly unhappy with the order. A Khalnalax soldier followed by two others stood above the twins. They looked up at him, his features giving up no hint of what his next order might be.
“They are sometimes hard to control when they are hungry. Stand up and follow me, and do not disobey. It would pain me after walking all the way out here to have to kill you.”
Joon wasn’t sure if this would qualify as an answer to her prayers, but she would reserve her thanks for later just in case and continue to pray for deliverance.
“You are my prisoners. If you do as I instruct, it will make your remaining time on Kanlost bearable.”
The twins said nothing. “I see no defiance in your silence. It is good; you already know not to speak without permission. You will serve me as my personal attendants. None of the others have lasted long in the position. Your resilience avoiding capture is commendable. As Overseer of this planet, I deserve some of the comforts of home, and if you serve well you will be treated just as well.”
Joon caught her brother’s eye and mouthed, “We wait.” He nodded and followed their new master.
****
“Dad, Taz wants to talk to you!”
“Entertain her for a few minutes. I’m helping with the last part of the repair on the coolant line,” I said, hoping it wouldn’t turn into some fiasco.
“You’re shitting me, right? I really like her and all, but she is in full-on queen mode in a time of war and so far getting her ass handed to her. Why are you helping them?”
“Because I’m tall. Maybe you’re right, but you think she is going like sitting on hold any better? Just talk to her.”
“She won’t be on hold long if you hurry the hell up. So hurry the hell up.”
“We need to have a serious talk.” Click. “Natalia, Natalia! Damnit, if you cut me off . . .”
“Benjamin, what are you doing?” Taz asked.
“Oh hey, I’m holding a coolant line in place while they seal it up. Natalia was supposed to keep you entertained until I could get there,” I said, hoping she would cut the com short and let me finish.
“I don’t need to look at you to talk to you, or at least that’s what your daughter said. How much more work does that ship need before I can take it to Xanlos for a refit?”
“I think this will do it, but we will know more once we wring it out on the trip to Kanlost.”
“You mean Xanlos,” Taz corrected.
“No, that’s not what I mean. We going to have a problem, Your Highness? I would be very disappointed if we’ve just started this venture and you’re already pulling rank.”
“We need all the ships we can get; you know that.”
“I do, and I will help you obtain as many as I can, but I need better equipment, better people, and better ships to pull that off. I explained that to you.”
“What is it you say? ‘Not my problem, this is your baby’? And you work for me.”
“Ok, I’ll give it to you if you leave with the ship and set course for a safer location. Also, get Crnana, Romoc and Lemra. Now isn’t the time to be traveling without them.” I knew they couldn’t be happy with her leaving without them again. They had been with her since birth and were all three very smart women.
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“You’re the queen of a warring empire. If you’re caught it will throw your empire into chaos. Don’t ask stupid questions.”
“Benjamin! I love you, but take care how you speak to me.”
“I know. But you risk too much. Now is not the time to be with me or to be anywhere but Xanlos. You need to be in front of your generals and admirals. Everyone, all the way down to your first-year crewmen and soldiers, all of your people need you now,” I said, a little exasperated. “See you soon, then. I want to see you on your way home at full speed. Hold on, be right back.” I switched over to my daughter.
“Natalia, message Sash and tell her she took the bait. Meet us and keep everything hot because we are leaving as soon as we get Taz and her new ship pointed toward Xanlos. Also, get a message to Dakkon and tell him that we will be on our way shortly. And please, please, just disable the two ships that are inbound on the intercept course before he blows them to hell.”
“Would you like me to order you lunch? Maybe line up a massage for later?”
“Funny. Just do it, all of it, including what you said.”
“Does he need a massage? I know of a few volunteers amongst the crew,” Sashet interjected, answering Natalia’s com request and overhearing.
“I would advise you, Captain, to keep your volunteers away from him. Benjamin, never put me on hold. Thank you, Natalia,” Taz said, joining in the com and tagging all three of us.
“Daughter, I will speak to you later. . .in private!” What a little shit, I thought, disconnecting. I wonder if there is a military boarding school or a monastery where I could send her.
I looked at the engineers as they finished up the coolant line. It seemed like a good time to have a talk. “Most of you are going with this ship when it departs. If you cooperate, you will be treated better than a prisoner of war. If you don’t cooperate, well, I don’t need to explain what will happen, do I?”
“You will kill us,” one answered.
“No, she will kill you. Just giving you some advice. Don’t do anything to piss her off. Clean this mess up and get ready.”
“But you killed so many. Some had no chance at all,” he added.
“What did you expect to happen in a
war?” I asked. “It was me against your whole crew. You people were not prepared. Your captain was over-confident, and over-confidence leads to an early grave. If this ship had been full of naval and marine personnel, then I would have been locked up or dead within minutes. Well, not really, but at some point possibly. Look I came here to kill you all. Stop talking or I’ll finish what I started.”
****
“Natalia, I’m on my way. What’s the ETA on both of our ships?”
“Five minutes. Did you wash all the crew off your armor?”
“Nope.” I had forgotten I was going to do that.
“This should be good. You know you still have time.”
“I think this will be better. It should deter Taz from considering a prolonged stay.”
“The Allond marines have all the surviving crew and I have all the volunteers who are staying with the ship in separate areas, except for your engineers. I noticed your concern for Taz and also asked Dakkon in the message if two of his marines could accompany her as bodyguards back to Xanlos, then transport them back on an outbound warship.”
“I don’t think he will object.” I said. “The engineers are packing their tools and should report to you at any time.” So the whole time she is messing with me she is coordinating and thinking ahead. Maybe military boarding school is a little rash.
The Allond marines guarding Natalia nodded when I arrived. Natalia was engrossed in a screen with the young Khalnalax acting captain. The former captain still lay on the floor, awake and angry but gagged. Someone had cut away part of her uniform and shoved it in her mouth. The crewman that I had choked out was awake but sitting quietly.
“What’s so interesting, Natalia?”
“They have two shuttles, and each will be at double the capacity if all of the remaining crew is to leave.”
“Captain, leave these two troublemakers for sure, and any others I may not be aware of. You know this crew better than me. Will you have enough air and water to reach Kanlost if you take the rest?”
“No, that’s what we are trying to figure out—what the maximum number will be.”
“Are you counting your servants, those long-armed bastards?”
“Yes, they are my responsibility.”
“Leave them behind also. How do your numbers look now?”
“We can survive the trip if we leave them,” he said. I could see his internal struggle.
“Dad, Sash and company just arrived and Taz is right behind them.”
“Captain, go to the hold and wait with your people. I will have the Allond marines separate the others from the group. Begin loading, and double-check everything.”
“What will happen to those we leave behind?” he asked. I looked him in the eye.
“You’ll never see them again, and it won’t be the hardest decision you’ll face if you stay in this war. Just concentrate on the crewmembers you are saving, and Captain, pray you don’t run into me or my people again. This is a one-time deal; you understand?”
“You should resupply on Kanlost and keep going. Stay just long enough to get what you need, then leave,” Natalia told the young captain. She pleaded, but only with her eyes.
“Why? We hold that planet and our military is there.”
“Listen to my daughter. It is going to take you at least three full duty cycles in those shuttles. A lot can happen in that time.” I saw in his face that he understood as he left to join the others.
“Can we take the planet back that fast?”
“Don’t know, but we’re going to find out. You like that kid, don’t you?” My question threw her for a loop.
“Yes, but only because he wasn’t some brainwashed asshole. He cared about the crew, even the Etash warriors. He is smart enough to listen and comply, as long as it kept them alive. I don’t have to hate them, right?”
“No, Natalia, you don’t. We have a job to do, and with that in mind we’re not in a position to beat them over the head with kindness. We have to shoot first and give no quarter, but not all the time. When the smoke clears, we might offer a wary hand. We are going to be out-manned and out-gunned on all fronts, and if we face that kid and his crew again, we may have to kill them. It’s that simple. We have a job to do and it’s better that we don’t hate anyone enough to cloud our judgement. Although, by the time this war is over, we will hate them with a passion.”
“The voice of experience is speaking, Natalia,” Sashet said, joining us on the bridge. I had my back to her and didn’t turn around.
“I cut my teeth killing pirates for the Alliance, so don’t think I’ll hesitate one second doing it for the Cjittan government. You know what, screw Cjittan. I’ll do it for my own personal pleasure. You feel me, Sash? Or you want to go ahead and provide more commentary and see how it works out for you? Don’t think you know me just because we spent a few days breathing the same air.”
“Dad, you’re kind of a train wreck, and lecturing me on hating anything or anyone is hypocritical, don’t you think?” Natalia asked. “Sash isn’t that far off. No need to threaten her.”
“I just don’t want you turning into me. You’re surrounded by reminders. There have to be days when it’s hard to look at Sash and the crew or Lorelei and not want to take out that hatred you have for pirates and wear it like a weapon.”
“I’m already like you, just younger and much more attractive. Not all pirates are rapists or murderers, and while we are all working together I will be watching them. Captain Sash, make a mental note that there are lines, and if they are crossed, I will end the person who crosses them. I am not going to bring it to anyone’s attention or wait on a vote. We are going to raid and steal and even kill, as my blood-covered father clearly demonstrates, but we are not going to be savages.”
“We will discuss this in more detail later, but my daughter has the gist of it,” I said, noticing the screen. “It looks like the Cjittan frigate has arrived. Sash, there are prisoners we need to move to our ship. Make the arrangements and tell the crew to stay out of the cargo hold until you or I give the order to enter.”
****
Zora read every report and update on every system that came in. A new one caught her eye. Tormaline and Idaline were both located close to the Trillond border. While Tormaline had a small population of hearty individuals who had grown acclimated to the cold over the years, Idaline maintained a much larger population, boosted by the part-time visitors who came to enjoy all the amenities of its beautiful landscape and vacation resorts. It was not solely the Cjittan who took advantage of their world; many Trillond loved to get away and spend time relaxing and enjoying all it had to offer.
It also didn’t matter to the Khalnalax who liked Idaline. If you weren’t of their race, then you were subject to capture and slavery. Trillond citizens were chained along with Cjittan and loaded for transport. The planet fell, but the price was costlier to the Khalnalax than it had been on the other systems. Idaline defenses couldn’t withstand the thirty warships that descended on it, but the assigned seven gave a valiant effort, destroying three of the enemy and damaging two others. After the battle, fifteen split off for Tormaline and destroyed the three ships it had protecting it.
The governors of Cjittan were in full crisis mode and began making demands of Xanlos for more protection, but the truth was that no system except Xanlos was prepared to do battle with a thirty-ship armada, and the empire as a whole had an unverified amount of Khalnalax warships prowling out on the fringe systems, destabilizing and disenfranchising the government of Cjittan. The war had just started.
Zora was hoping the Princess Regent E’Aria of Trillond would answer the messages sent to her containing information that the Khalnalax was using Trillond space to mount attacks on the Cjittan border worlds. Zora’s thoughts drifted to something more pleasant—the human Genius. It was a shame he had to follow and that her queen had to be in love with Benjamin. The plan Benjamin had come up with, the privateers, was intriguing to her and seemed to have already born
e fruit. If they could take ten more of the Khalnalax warships, with the addition of the Allond warships they could turn the tide of war to their favor. If the Trillond would get off their asses and join them, at least in patrolling the border, it would be helpful. Maybe she could secure a pardon for Genius. There was just something about him; it evoked too many feelings and she couldn’t think clearly. It was not time for those cloudy thoughts; it was time to contact Tazleaha and inform her of the two most recent worlds to fall.
Chapter 15
Binda monitored the Khalnalax ship movement and decided they could not put off attacking any longer. The recent departure by the enemy had left only two ships patrolling the area around Naloon. She couldn’t see the last two leaving. While it wasn’t much of a planet, it was a strategic waypoint for resupply of their ships.
“Lorelei, I need you to send a message,” she said. “I believe our location is about as close as we will get to Trillond space, so I want to do this now. Address it to the Warhammer Captain O’Shaughnessy, Prime Minister Alona Aok, and Assistant to the Prime Minister Emily Brous.”
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking we could really use the Warhammer and its crew as part of our enterprising operation, and I also want to make the two other people aware of the situation. I am sure Minister Zora has sent messages to the King and Regent, but E’Aria has been an ass of late and I’m going around her.”
“You’re playing on their emotions too, aren’t you?”
“Tthe fact that Benjamin has saved all three of their lives has nothing to do with this,” Binda said, doing her best not to smile.
“He saved E’Aria’s too, but you don’t see her getting off her ass and doing anything.”
“She is very new to politics, and Benjamin did more than save her life—he saved her way of life. The coup might have succeeded, had it not been for him. I think the Regent of Trillond is examining and reexamining her every decision. She will not rush to the aid of Cjittan.”
“I get Aisling, there’s nothing stopping her from aiding us, but if E’Aria is undecided, what can the other two do that won’t get them in hot water?”
Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison 4: Empires at War (Part One) Page 23