"2566-12" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bigge Jerome - Warlady 4 - 2566 Ad)2566 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Twelve "Let's just hope this works," Valerie spoke to me out of the darkness. It was a moonless night, with only the stars for light now. We showed no lights, our masts bare of sails. The ship now rolling gently in the swell. I could see from the stars and the dim shadows of the masts overhead that we were now slowly swing- ing about with the bow pointing towards shore perhaps a dozen miles distant. I had sent up all three officers with night glasses to sweep the horizon for any sign of a ship. The men were at their assigned battle stations. If we sighted the North Star it would be a nasty fight. Ship to ship, one of "mine" and its men against the North Star and its men. Queen Maris versus Valerie and me perhaps if we got "lucky". I reflected for brief moment upon the "interesting" idea that both she and Maris were of the same ancestry. Both were "Dularnian"! Both Warrioresses. I had my five first rates stretched out in a line from about a mile from shore to well beyond the horizon. The two third rates hanging back, ready to come to the assistance of any who happened to "engage" Maris. This time she would not "escape" my squadron! ***************************************************************** "You're taking a hell of a chance `following' Lorraine like this!" the first officer protested as he faced his emerald eyed Queen there in the darkness. "We're no `match' for any of her first rates if she decides to send some back to search for us." An opinion shared by everyone aboard the swift Dularnian raider. The general "consensus" being that it would be best to sail to the south, and away from Lorraine Richard's awesome new squadron. "I think she will send one of her scouting vessels back," Maris answered, "And that we are quite capable of dealing with!" Maris being also well aware that there might be other "prey" that the North Star could "take" almost "underneath" Lorraine's nose! It being Maris' own intention to prove to the fearsome Imperial Warlady that she was not one who could be so easily "scared off"! Such actions would prove to the Californians that she was not a woman who might be easily "scared off" by their fearsome Warlady! Such might even convince Darlanis to return to Dularn those lands that Dularn had been forced to give up to the Empire earlier on! That part of western North American once the State of Washington. "A fight in the darkness when we can't hardly see our hands before our faces?" the first officer protested back. Maris hav- ing forbidden the use of any lights, even below deck for fear that they might just show as a gleam off the sails there above! "No doubt Lorraine is quite willing to take that risk," Ma- ris answered, well aware of what she would do had the situation been the opposite of what it was. The beautiful blonde having a high opinion of her awesome waspish brunette opponent in this battle of wits here on the high seas. "And she is the best that the Empire has," the Queen of Dularn then pointed out needlessly. "I'll tell the lookouts to keep an eye out for a scout like the one that was chasing us today," he answered. Although in the darkness it was impossible to tell one ship from another. Maris had hoisted just enough sail to now keep the ship under some sort of control. Ahead of them somewhere up ahead laid the "enemy"! "Tell them to watch for `anything'," Maris snapped back! "Lorraine could spring a surprise on us like anything right now!" The thought of having to face me in hand to hand combat making a cold hand of fear clutch at her young heart. She knew what the "outcome" of that would be! My reputation now so awesome that it now took the very "heart" out of any 26th Century warrior woman! It being said by some that the woman had never been yet born who could face me in a duel to the death and survive the experience! "We can load your firebombs in the catapults," Valerie Dann said to me as we stood side by side there in the darkness. I was strongly tempted to do, knowing fully well what just one good hit would do to a wooden ship of this era. There is little defense against fire at sea. I do not know why fire was not used in the days of the old square riggers. It would have been far more ef- fective than their muzzle loading cannon firing solid iron shot. I have my "suspicions" that it was not used for reasons of "fair play". Such tends to be considered "important" by those of the male sex. That is also why I believe wars when fought by women tend to be more "brutal" and "ruthless" than wars fought by men. There is some reason to believe this when one reads of the "acts" of Janet Rogers in the 21st Century. She could be, and was, ut- terly "ruthless" when she considered it "necessary" to be such!!! "No," I answered. I would meet Maris blade to blade, bolt to bolt. Cross my blade with hers, if such was to be, and bring her to Darlanis, naked and in chains, to "answer" for her crimes! "It is perhaps better that way," Valerie agreed, having the sailor's instinctive fear of fire at sea. I suspected that was also why fire weapons had not been used back in the time of the old time square riggers. The same reason why chemical and bio- logical weapons were seldom used in warfare back in my own era. Why neither the United States or the U.S.S.R ever built a "dooms- day machine" despite both possessing the "technology" to "do" it. Such things are not "easy" to explain without going into long and detailed explanations. It has to do, I think, with "codes" that have existed long before men ever sailed in ships on the oceans.* * I have for years been "interested" in such "questions". (LR) "We will keep the `caste codes'," I smiled back there in the darkness, staring out into the darkness of the star sprinkled night. I wondered if we were on a "wild goose chase" after the North Star. Maris could be dozens of miles away by now, I knew! "It is what separates us from the beasts," Valerie answered. Such is one of the "sayings" that Warrioresses often use. It is, I think, true. It is why young boys in primitive societies, when they reach their teens, are taken from their mothers and then put through painful "initiation" ceremonies so that they may become "men". This is also why the philosophy of feminism is "flawed". Why young girls on Mars, knowing not men, still yet are taught a system of "morality" and "honor" that at first puzzled me muchly! Now I understand that no society, human or otherwise, can survive for long without a "code of honor". Without a sense of "self- discipline". The proof lies in our own history. In the eventual collapse of American democracy at the end of the 20th Century and its eventual "replacement" by the "NEW ORDER" of Janet Rogers.* * The major "mistake" made by those of the past was to allow such "truths" to be "discredited" by those who were "discomforted" by them. Such seems to be a consequence of a political system where the right and privileges of citizenship were not "earned". Where those who paid no taxes yet had the right to vote. Such a "mis- take" caused the eventual "destruction" of American society. (LR) "We are of the Warrioresses," I smiled, touching her arm. "An `honorable' caste," Valerie answered, perhaps smiling. "But one sometimes `difficult'," I answered her back then. "That which is `easy' is seldom 'valued'," Valerie spoke. "You speak of `truths' not often understood," I smiled. "Perhaps more often not `liked'," Valerie Dunn replied. "You are `wise' for a sea-officer," I answered back then. "I have read of the past," Valerie answered from beside me. "There were those who attempted to deny the biological real- ities of their existence," I answered, recalling certain events. The writings of women who obviously should have "known better". "Some who believed that one did not have to make hard decisions." "There are `fools' in all societies," Valerie Dunn observed. "I am glad I flew through that `Gateway'," I told her then. "I am honored to have `known' you," Captain Dunn replied. "I am pleased to have had this `conversation'," I said. "You are `more' than what I first believed," she said. ***************************************************************** Maris Jord stared out into the darkness until her eyes wa- tered from the strain. Somewhere "out there" she knew laid another ship, perhaps one of the big Imperial first-rates. One perhaps even commanded by that awesome Imperial Warlady herself! She watched a meteor burn itself out there overhead in the star spotted sky, a faint glow there on the eastern horizon perhaps a village on the shore miles away. The North Star rolling gently beneath her in the gentle swell, almost as if it was a living thing she stood upon, and not just a device of wood and canvas. ***************************************************************** The slave girl briefly unshuttered the lantern, the glass of the Corsica's cabin gleaming back at her. Suddenly a soft warm hand pulled her around, the lantern swiftly shuttered once again! "You fool!" Yvette hissed in the darkness, well aware of how far such a light could be seen at sea! And this foolish girl had perhaps allowed their enemy to spot them by her unthinking act!!! 2566 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Twelve "Let's just hope this works," Valerie spoke to me out of the darkness. It was a moonless night, with only the stars for light now. We showed no lights, our masts bare of sails. The ship now rolling gently in the swell. I could see from the stars and the dim shadows of the masts overhead that we were now slowly swing- ing about with the bow pointing towards shore perhaps a dozen miles distant. I had sent up all three officers with night glasses to sweep the horizon for any sign of a ship. The men were at their assigned battle stations. If we sighted the North Star it would be a nasty fight. Ship to ship, one of "mine" and its men against the North Star and its men. Queen Maris versus Valerie and me perhaps if we got "lucky". I reflected for brief moment upon the "interesting" idea that both she and Maris were of the same ancestry. Both were "Dularnian"! Both Warrioresses. I had my five first rates stretched out in a line from about a mile from shore to well beyond the horizon. The two third rates hanging back, ready to come to the assistance of any who happened to "engage" Maris. This time she would not "escape" my squadron! ***************************************************************** "You're taking a hell of a chance `following' Lorraine like this!" the first officer protested as he faced his emerald eyed Queen there in the darkness. "We're no `match' for any of her first rates if she decides to send some back to search for us." An opinion shared by everyone aboard the swift Dularnian raider. The general "consensus" being that it would be best to sail to the south, and away from Lorraine Richard's awesome new squadron. "I think she will send one of her scouting vessels back," Maris answered, "And that we are quite capable of dealing with!" Maris being also well aware that there might be other "prey" that the North Star could "take" almost "underneath" Lorraine's nose! It being Maris' own intention to prove to the fearsome Imperial Warlady that she was not one who could be so easily "scared off"! Such actions would prove to the Californians that she was not a woman who might be easily "scared off" by their fearsome Warlady! Such might even convince Darlanis to return to Dularn those lands that Dularn had been forced to give up to the Empire earlier on! That part of western North American once the State of Washington. "A fight in the darkness when we can't hardly see our hands before our faces?" the first officer protested back. Maris hav- ing forbidden the use of any lights, even below deck for fear that they might just show as a gleam off the sails there above! "No doubt Lorraine is quite willing to take that risk," Ma- ris answered, well aware of what she would do had the situation been the opposite of what it was. The beautiful blonde having a high opinion of her awesome waspish brunette opponent in this battle of wits here on the high seas. "And she is the best that the Empire has," the Queen of Dularn then pointed out needlessly. "I'll tell the lookouts to keep an eye out for a scout like the one that was chasing us today," he answered. Although in the darkness it was impossible to tell one ship from another. Maris had hoisted just enough sail to now keep the ship under some sort of control. Ahead of them somewhere up ahead laid the "enemy"! "Tell them to watch for `anything'," Maris snapped back! "Lorraine could spring a surprise on us like anything right now!" The thought of having to face me in hand to hand combat making a cold hand of fear clutch at her young heart. She knew what the "outcome" of that would be! My reputation now so awesome that it now took the very "heart" out of any 26th Century warrior woman! It being said by some that the woman had never been yet born who could face me in a duel to the death and survive the experience! "We can load your firebombs in the catapults," Valerie Dann said to me as we stood side by side there in the darkness. I was strongly tempted to do, knowing fully well what just one good hit would do to a wooden ship of this era. There is little defense against fire at sea. I do not know why fire was not used in the days of the old square riggers. It would have been far more ef- fective than their muzzle loading cannon firing solid iron shot. I have my "suspicions" that it was not used for reasons of "fair play". Such tends to be considered "important" by those of the male sex. That is also why I believe wars when fought by women tend to be more "brutal" and "ruthless" than wars fought by men. There is some reason to believe this when one reads of the "acts" of Janet Rogers in the 21st Century. She could be, and was, ut- terly "ruthless" when she considered it "necessary" to be such!!! "No," I answered. I would meet Maris blade to blade, bolt to bolt. Cross my blade with hers, if such was to be, and bring her to Darlanis, naked and in chains, to "answer" for her crimes! "It is perhaps better that way," Valerie agreed, having the sailor's instinctive fear of fire at sea. I suspected that was also why fire weapons had not been used back in the time of the old time square riggers. The same reason why chemical and bio- logical weapons were seldom used in warfare back in my own era. Why neither the United States or the U.S.S.R ever built a "dooms- day machine" despite both possessing the "technology" to "do" it. Such things are not "easy" to explain without going into long and detailed explanations. It has to do, I think, with "codes" that have existed long before men ever sailed in ships on the oceans.* * I have for years been "interested" in such "questions". (LR) "We will keep the `caste codes'," I smiled back there in the darkness, staring out into the darkness of the star sprinkled night. I wondered if we were on a "wild goose chase" after the North Star. Maris could be dozens of miles away by now, I knew! "It is what separates us from the beasts," Valerie answered. Such is one of the "sayings" that Warrioresses often use. It is, I think, true. It is why young boys in primitive societies, when they reach their teens, are taken from their mothers and then put through painful "initiation" ceremonies so that they may become "men". This is also why the philosophy of feminism is "flawed". Why young girls on Mars, knowing not men, still yet are taught a system of "morality" and "honor" that at first puzzled me muchly! Now I understand that no society, human or otherwise, can survive for long without a "code of honor". Without a sense of "self- discipline". The proof lies in our own history. In the eventual collapse of American democracy at the end of the 20th Century and its eventual "replacement" by the "NEW ORDER" of Janet Rogers.* * The major "mistake" made by those of the past was to allow such "truths" to be "discredited" by those who were "discomforted" by them. Such seems to be a consequence of a political system where the right and privileges of citizenship were not "earned". Where those who paid no taxes yet had the right to vote. Such a "mis- take" caused the eventual "destruction" of American society. (LR) "We are of the Warrioresses," I smiled, touching her arm. "An `honorable' caste," Valerie answered, perhaps smiling. "But one sometimes `difficult'," I answered her back then. "That which is `easy' is seldom 'valued'," Valerie spoke. "You speak of `truths' not often understood," I smiled. "Perhaps more often not `liked'," Valerie Dunn replied. "You are `wise' for a sea-officer," I answered back then. "I have read of the past," Valerie answered from beside me. "There were those who attempted to deny the biological real- ities of their existence," I answered, recalling certain events. The writings of women who obviously should have "known better". "Some who believed that one did not have to make hard decisions." "There are `fools' in all societies," Valerie Dunn observed. "I am glad I flew through that `Gateway'," I told her then. "I am honored to have `known' you," Captain Dunn replied. "I am pleased to have had this `conversation'," I said. "You are `more' than what I first believed," she said. ***************************************************************** Maris Jord stared out into the darkness until her eyes wa- tered from the strain. Somewhere "out there" she knew laid another ship, perhaps one of the big Imperial first-rates. One perhaps even commanded by that awesome Imperial Warlady herself! She watched a meteor burn itself out there overhead in the star spotted sky, a faint glow there on the eastern horizon perhaps a village on the shore miles away. The North Star rolling gently beneath her in the gentle swell, almost as if it was a living thing she stood upon, and not just a device of wood and canvas. ***************************************************************** The slave girl briefly unshuttered the lantern, the glass of the Corsica's cabin gleaming back at her. Suddenly a soft warm hand pulled her around, the lantern swiftly shuttered once again! "You fool!" Yvette hissed in the darkness, well aware of how far such a light could be seen at sea! And this foolish girl had perhaps allowed their enemy to spot them by her unthinking act!!! |
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