All The Frail Futures: A Science Fiction Box Set

by J Battle

  The leader went into the palace, accompanied by a couple of other apes. The crowd stayed behind at the gates, restless and growing as he watched, with additional apes being attracted to the group as if by gravity.

  After what seemed liked hours, the upright ape reappeared, to a cheer from the crowd. Walking right beside him was Beschlick, a wide grin on his half naked face. Without a thought, Lus brought his bow up and set the arrow in a single fluid motion. This was his moment. He centred the arrow on Beschlick’s chest and took a deep breath to steady himself. Then the crowd shifted and all he could see of his target was his head. He held his position, waiting for a suitable opportunity to present itself.

  Slowly he lowered the bow. There were too many apes around him; he didn’t want to risk killing the wrong one. He’d have to wait for a better chance. And what was going on anyway?

  He watched as Beschlick and the upright ape lead the crowd across the street to the army HQ building. The pair entered the building together, leaving the restless crowd behind them. After a few moments the crowd began to chant. Lus leaned closer to catch what they were chanting.

  ‘Save us. Save us.’

  **********

  Helen, Miles and Pascal marched ahead of the Thousand, their strides long and unrelenting; five leagues behind them and another two before the barrier of the river. Suddenly Helen stopped, holding one hand up above her head to signal the troops behind her.

  Pi was standing at the swamp side of the road, his gaze fixed on the shallow green sea.

  ‘This is the place,’ he said, without turning.

  Helen stood beside him for a moment; her eyes on the sea, her attention on him.

  ‘How do we know they will land here? Couldn’t they land somewhere else?’ She asked as her eyes scanned the horizon.

  ‘This is the only suitable landing place for them. There are no other large beaches on this side of this continent. Apart from a few small coves, the whole coastline is defended by high cliffs.‘

  ‘If you’re sure this is the right place…’

  ‘This is where they will land. I can sense them already; beyond the horizon. They are feeding; I can taste their hunger. When they are sated, they will come ashore.’

  ‘How do we get down to the beach? Do we just wade through the swamp?’

  ‘The swamp is treacherous. If you are not wary, it will swallow half of your army before you reach the beach. But there is a path. It is narrow, but wide enough to pass two by two, side by side.’ He indicated a small tree with three vertical branches. ‘By there.’

  Standing by the side of the road, the rotting stench of the swamp assaulted Helen’s nose. The ground was covered in a layer of noxious water, gray and oily, with unhealthy patches of purple and green moss floating on its surface. Short sickly trees emerged from the water at irregular intervals, their twisted branches rheumatoid fingers reaching hopelessly for the sky. No obvious safe path was clear to her.

  ‘Shouldn’t we take the road as our defensive position? That way, they’ll have to pass through the swamp, and we’ll have the advantage of height.’

  ‘No, we have to fight them on the beach, for reasons that will become clear later, unless we are very fortunate.’

  ‘It doesn’t make sense not to make use of such an effective barrier.’

  He turned his beautiful brown eyes on her. ‘Trust me,’ he said, his fingertips brushing her cheek.

  Helen found that she lacked the will to resist him.

  ‘What can you tell us about the Succ-y-Rist?’she asked, changing the subject, ‘what weapons will they have? We have only swords. Is that going to be enough?’

  ‘We know the Succ-y-Rist. They have a process which they always follow. They find a technological world and attack it with the full force of their own advanced military technologies. Then they allow the subdued race to send a ship to a low tech world they have already selected, on which they piggy back their own colony ship. It’s probably a cost saving measure, but it also fits in with the way they prefer to wage war. That is what they have done here. Due to space restrictions, they will not have brought very much at all in the way of weapons. They really don’t need them on a world without advanced weapons; they are very physically capable.’

  ‘Can we kill them with just a sword?’

  ‘It is entirely possible that the blade of a sword, used in the correct manner, and with considerable good fortune, could kill one of them.’

  ‘Great! That’s so reassuring!’

  Chapter 50

  Beschlick felt good leading his army into battle, walking upright with his long arms held out at his side for balance and dignity. Behind him there were nearly five thousand apes, lined up in less than immaculate rows behind the twenty super-apes, who each sported a brand new, top of the range blocker, courtesy of their generous leader.

  Strictly speaking, Beschlick was not actually leading the army; that honour befell the strange creature named Millett. But Beschlick was the first of the apes, and that had to count for something.

  It was hard to keep up with the long striding Millett, who didn’t seem to realise that there was a large mismatched army behind him.

  They’d crossed the river without any problems and were now a couple of leagues along the road towards Hellion. When Millett suddenly burst into a run accompanied by an unintelligible yell, Beschlick indicated to his troops that they should halt.

  The instruction was received clearly by the super-apes, who stopped immediately, but less clearly by the troops behind, who concertinaed into the back of them. There were some harsh words and less than friendly shoves; eventually the army came to a halt.

  By then Beschlick was not paying them any attention. He was looking down at the cat army, arrayed along the beach, their backs to the road, facing the open sea.

  The last of them were just leaving the road, in single file, obviously along a safe route across the swamp. Beschlick made a mental note of the three pronged tree. He judged that there were only a thousand cats down there, lined up, with their backs to him. And he had five thousand apes in his own personal army.

  He looked out to sea, but there was no evidence of the coming threat. As he stood there, alone, silence seemed to befall him, and a light breeze ruffled his brightly hued fur. It was obvious what he had to do; but could he really do such a thing? It would be an act of such devastating potency, and would change the course of history forever. If only he had the nerve, the courage to give the order. As if from leagues away, he heard the officers giving orders to his men.

  He turned back to them and nodded. Yes, he was the hero that the moment required, and these were the tools of his destiny. History demanded this of him. If he was to be the future king, then his responsibility was clear. A glance at Millett, who was now on the beach talking to some other humans, told him that he would have to be quick, so he called the leader of the super-apes to him and gave him his instructions. The big ape’s grin was as wide as his face as he went back to pass on the orders.

  Beschlick stepped off the road to allow the troops to pass. Aldrich joined him. He’d been trotting along the side of the road, keeping pace with the army.

  ‘Where are they going?’ he asked, adjusting his bow to a more comfortable position across his back.

  ‘They are taking up their defensive position on the beach, to prepare for the attack.’

  Aldrich watched them for a while.

  ‘They are lining up behind the cats,’ he said slowly.

  ‘Yes. It would be rude to stand in front of them, don’t you think? They were there first, after all.’

  ‘I would have thought that the super-apes would have been kept to one side, as a shock troop whenever they were needed.’

  ‘No, I want them there on the beach, in the thick of it. That’s where they’ll be most useful.’

  ‘Well, you’re in command, Sir.’

  ‘Yes, I am, aren’t I?’ He drew his sword from its scabbard and held it high in the air, his eyes on the
beach. ‘This will be a glorious day for us, Aldrich. Mark my words well. We will have victory today, and it will be victory over all of our enemies. There are five thousand of us. Five thousand apes gathered together in combat for the first time in our history. Who can withstand such a force?’

  ‘All of our enemies, Sir?’

  Beschlick looked down at him and laughed. Then he swung his sword down in a great arc; his signal to the super-apes.

  On the beach, the cats were tense as they faced the threat from the sea; the unknown threat that filled them with fear. Behind them were the apes, lined up in four rows, with many more apes still on the road.

  At the signal from Beschlick, the leader of the super-apes drew his sword and, with a single swing, decapitated the cat in front of him. Half a second behind, the other nineteen super-apes followed his move. Before the cats could even turn to see what was going on behind them, the first line of the apes was upon them, hacking and jabbing, silent and deadly. The cats that turned and tried to draw their weapons died with barely a struggle, falling to the bloody beach in their hundreds, their desperate cries outliving them in the cool salty air. The cats that allowed their instincts to override their martial training survived the initial onslaught as they leapt away from their attackers and raced towards the water’s edge, past the stunned figures of the humans.

  D turned and began to run towards the atrocity being executed before his eyes; but he was too late. The attack had been devastatingly quick; there was very little to be done, except to grieve the dead.

  The apes stood victorious over the corpses, bloody but unhurt. Some squatted and began to pluck at the bodies and the beach was filled with the soggy tearing sound of dismemberment. Others stood upright and brought their fists against their heavy chests, the sound reverberating across the scene.

  D looked up and saw Beschlick on the road, his long arms folded across his chest as he watched the show.

  ‘What have you done?’ he whispered, half to himself. He was about to walk forward and deal with the treacherous fool when he saw a cat streaking along the road towards Beschlick. As it approached, he noticed the small ape that had been standing beside Beschlick suddenly scoot across the road towards the barren lands. Only metres away, the cat leapt; blades in each forepaw, vicious fangs on display.

  Chapter 51

  Lus had followed the army as it marched towards the sea; sometimes running along the side of the road, other times jogging along behind the force with the older and the less well motivated apes.

  As he walked beside an ancient orange individual, the creature stopped him and asked to have a look at the stick he was carrying.

  Without giving it a thought, he handed the bow over. The ape sniffed noisily at it and held it close to his myopic eyes. Then he snapped it into two and handed the pieces back to Lus.

  ‘Honour, boy; honour,’ he croaked, and carried on walking.

  Lus watched him go, then laughed. He’d left the bows he’d retrieved from Lizack’s home in the city, but it was probably for the best anyway. He’d never get a clean shot at Beschlick, not now that he was leading an army into battle. He tossed his arrows into the swamp, followed by the broken bow.

  He wasn’t giving up on his intentions; not at all. It was just that it was going to be much more up close and personal. He had his sword, his knife, his teeth and his claws; all that he had to do was pick the right time and place. In the midst of battle, there would surely be opportunity.

  And surely it was better to kill him with honour in the name of his friend.

  When they reached the beach and he saw the much larger army of apes lined up behind the cats, he felt sick to the stomach. He could see Beschlick’s plan as if it was written before his face. Then he saw him lift his sword and he began to run, his face twisted by the snarl that had begun low in his throat. But he was too far away. He watched as the sword swung down in slow motion.

  He braked then and turned to the beach, screaming as he saw the assault begin against his defenceless litterkin. Though he wanted to leap through the swamp and save them all, he could see that he was far too late. He saw a pitifully few escape and run to the water, but the rest were dead within seconds. Snarling, he rushed towards Beschlick, who was watching the action with only Aldrich alongside him.

  Beschlick heard him at the last moment. He didn’t have time to raise his heavy sword, so he swung one multi-coloured fist and ducked his head. The fist caught the cat on the side of the head and sent him falling sideways. The duck caused the sword to swing past and miss his precious throat.

  Knocked to the side, Lus twisted and landed on his hind legs, his weapons up and ready to defend himself. Suddenly hungry for blood, Beschlick swung his heavy broadsword two handed. But the cat back flipped out of reach. With a roar, the ape followed with another swing, then another. The last one came close to taking off his head; only a desperate parry with his sword saved the cat. The sword didn’t survive the encounter. Lus was left with just his knife, up against an ape that was suddenly much bigger than he’d seemed from afar. Hoping for an element of surprise, he dived at the ape, keeping low as possible, and jabbed his knife at the centre of the brightly coloured skirt. He felt it bite home in the same instant as the side of the sword struck his head and blackness descended on him.

  His escape from reality was only brief. He came to only to find Beschlick standing above him. He had one foot firmly planted in the middle of his chest and his sword was hovering above his head, preparing for his final blow. There was nothing he could do; he had no strength to resist the weight pressing down on him. All he could do was watch the sword as it shook slightly. His head was still ringing from the blow and it was difficult for him to think clearly. When the change came, it was hard for him to spot the difference immediately. The ape was still there, and so was the sword. And the foot was still pressing down on him. But something had changed. What was it? What had changed? What was there now that hadn’t been there before?

  Then he got it; just before the big red ape toppled over. It was an arrow, sticking out of his chest in very much the same way as the one that had killed Handus.

  He rolled to his feet in time to see Aldrich drop his bow behind a rock and stroll back on to the road.

  ‘Thank you, friend,’ he said.

  ‘What for?’ asked Aldrich, ‘I was only watching.’

  ‘Well, thanks for watching, then.’

  **********

  Pi was furious. D observed, silently, that she wasn’t nearly as beautiful without her radiant smile.

  ‘How did you let this happen?’ she snapped.

  ‘I didn’t see it until it was too late. It was so quick. I didn’t have a chance to stop them.’ He found it hard not to sound as if he was whining.

  ‘We’ve lost a thousand soldiers. We can’t afford that sort of loss. Not against the Succ-y-Rist.’

  ‘It’s too late now. We have to plan what we are going to do. There will be more cats coming along soon.’

  ‘And what are they going to do when they see their dead? Will they line up meekly beside their killers?’

  ‘We should send a message to tell them to wait further down the road, until we need them, for backup.’

  ‘That might work,’ Replied Pi, ‘if the cats that evaded slaughter hadn’t disappeared. Where do you think they might go?’

  ‘This is not my fault, Pi. You knew the people involved better than I did; you should have predicted this.’

  ‘That may be the case,’ Pi gave a small sad smile, ’and now we may have to take a course of action that we would not have wished.’

  ‘What does that mean?’

  What her answer would have been will never be known as she was interrupted by a call from Helen.

  ‘They’re here, I think.’

  Pi and D joined her at the edge of the sea, the water lapping at their feet. As they watched a white shape appeared in the water, about two hundred metres out. Even in the failing daylight, they could see it clearl
y. Just to its left, another appeared. Then, as their eyes scanned the middle distance, more and more appeared. Soon, it seemed that the sea itself was turning white, there were so many of them.

  As if frozen, they stood there on the beach and watched them come. Behind them there was absolute silence, as the rest of the army stood transfixed.

  The silence was broken by a low, rhythmic hum, rolling over the water towards them.

  Chapter 52

  Milligan had given up trying to catch the army before it reached its destination, whatever that was. He wasn’t naturally built for speed, and the years in space hadn’t helped, so he slowed his pace to a steady walk, the plasma rifle balanced on one shoulder, his belt heavy with the plasma handguns. He had no idea of how far he would have to travel before he could join them. As he walked, and the afternoon waned, he began to think that, unless he was very lucky, it would probably be dark well before he finished his lonely journey. He couldn’t help wishing that he’d waited for the second army; at least he’d have had company.

  Although the day was dull and cool, he felt hot and thirsty. He hadn’t eaten since his frugal breakfast on the AEC, and he had forgotten to bring something to drink.

  ‘I’m not cut out for this sort of thing,’ he said, his voice croaky.

  The weak daylight was beginning to fail, in much the same way as he was, when he saw the first of them. Down on the beach, there were thousands of cats and apes, lined up in five long rows, facing the empty sea. As he watched, the first two lines came together and, seconds later, separated again.

  He slipped the rifle from his shoulder and looked through its sights. The first row was lying still in the dull grey sand. They were all dead. He gasped. What had happened? Had the Succ-y-Rist killed them? There was no sign of an attack from the sea.