"2566-16" - 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 Sixteen "I wonder what `she's' thinking right now," Janice mused, her dark eyes glowing into mine as she stood at my side. The North Star now swinging back about to face us perhaps three eights of a mile distant. I had ordered the now blood-stained deck cleared of bodies, the wounded taken below for treatment by the ship's physician. There would soon be more for her atten- tion. I might be one of them. Perhaps to watch my own arm or leg being removed after it had been smashed by a catapult shot! "Probably just as `scared' as we are as we stand here," I smiled back as Janice nodded in reply. I knew that the Huntress couldn't "outrun" the North Star, although their advantage in speed would not be very great. That "option" was denied me now. Janice suddenly knelt and handed me her sword. I kissed the hilt and handed it back to her. Such is "meaningful" to my own caste. ***************************************************************** "She's a `crafty bitch', that Imperial Warlady," the first officer mused to his beautiful young golden haired Queen. Maris nodding, while wondering what "trick" I might pull on her this time! She was now also concerned as to the possible damage that her ship might suffer this far from Dularn, as well as the loss of life that could render it almost impossible for her to contin- ue on without first returning to Dularn. And to return to Dularn with the knowledge that she had not "beaten" the Imperial Warlady was something she didn't like to think about for long. Certainly not when there might well be "those" who would doubtlessly call into question her painful decision to declare war upon the Empire of California! Especially not when it was public knowledge that Darlanis herself was actually opposed to the war between them! "I think we all underestimated her," Maris smiled back. ***************************************************************** "Helm to starboard," I snapped, studying the wind. Calcu- lating the "vector of forces" both for the Huntress and for the North Star. There was a point to which the enemy craft could not sail even with its "handy" fore and aft rig. Whether or not the Huntress could lie any "closer" to the wind than the North Star was doubtful considering what I knew about the design of Maris' own ship, the "North" class being a new design with one main keel and two smaller ones on either side that came into play when the ship was heeled into the wind. The Huntress' movement forcing Maris to either chase me around in a great circle or attempt to tack to a position where I would be. In any case I planned to "tease" Maris until she did something "foolish" that I could take "advantage" of. She was a highly "competent" captain, but young and inexperienced. I had to admire the woman however, despite my own feelings about her. She was cautious, but able to exploit any "chance" she got to carry the battle to me. Sort of a female version of my own Jon, I thought to myself, recalling that he and Maris had once been lovers. The thought of Jon with her, of the two of them being together, of making love, irritating me consid- erably just then, although just "why" I really couldn't say then! "She's `cautious'," Janice said with a smile, having spoken to the first officer. Another man now at the helm. The thought occurring that Janice looked a lot like me. That probably con- fused the "enemy" a bit. We were dressed pretty much the same. Black silken flowing skirts to below the knee, leather trappings. Quite practical attire for fighting women aboard a sailing ship. A woman who "exposes" too much of herself "distracts" the sailor. "She's making her move," I said, the North Star now sailing close hauled to a point somewhat ahead of us. I had suspected that Maris would do something like that, tiring of this "cat and mouse" game that I was now "playing" with her. "Helm hard to port!", I snapped, "Let fly the spanker, haul up the jib!" The Huntress wheeling about, leaving Maris to pursue as she might! "She's coming about," Janice breathed, standing by my side. Maris had let fly her jib, swinging her ship around through the "eye" of the wind, then resetting it as she came about after us! "I want our longest ranged ballistae mounted on the quarter- deck," I ordered then, regarding the North Star there behind us. "You can't do much `damage' with just one ballistae," Janice pointed out to me. I nodded. I probably couldn't, but I thought I might just make Maris' crew a bit "nervous" being fired upon! I did not think that Maris' ballistae were quite the equal of our own, as we carried fewer, but somewhat "heavier" weapons than did the Dularnian warship. I having "standardized" upon the same type of ballistae and catapult for both my small ships and my large ships. The weapons having a range of about a quarter mile. The North Star carried somewhat "smaller" weapons, but more of them. In a broadside to broadside battle it is the number of missiles that count, not so much the force by which they are "de- livered" upon the enemy. However, I do not like to "fight" such sorts of battles, and thus had armed my own ships differently. I put more "value" upon the lives of my people than do some others. "We'd better make more sail," Janice added, glancing back at the North Star, which was now slowly pulling up on us a bit now. I was heading towards Sarn, the coast just a haze there in the distance. Maris no doubt aware of the "dangers" that awaited her there. I suspected too that she was wondering what to "do" now. "Pass the word I want the crew to `moon' the North Star," I smiled to a rather "shocked" Janice. She nodded, and carried out my orders. Dularnians are a "strait-laced" people. They are in many ways like those of the Nineteenth Century. I wanted Maris to be "angry". I wanted her not to think too clearly right now! "And tell our ship's girls to strip and flaunt themselves before the North Star," I added with a smile. I wanted to make those Dularnians aboard Maris' ship just a bit "distracted". It is too easy on a sailing ship to make "mistakes". I was hoping for one! "Fire!" I snapped, judging the roll of the ship beneath us. The ballistae snapping forward, the javelin flying forth, a dark dash against the azure of the sky. Janice at my side, watching through our best telescope. The range was about a quarter mile. We were driving the Huntress hard to keep ahead of the enemy. I hoped that nothing would carry away, or we'd be helpless before the bigger and heavier Dularnian. Maris might "win" her victory over me by "default", and I certainly didn't want that to happen! "I think we hit, judging from their reactions," the brunette said from beside me, the black of her attire leaving little doubt that she was of the Warrioresses. We looked almost like mother and daughter although Janice was "prettier" in the face than me. "Maris is ordering up `more sail'," I smiled, barking orders to our men to do the same. Both ships were being driven "hard"! "She doesn't make as much `leeway' as we do," Janice noted. The North Star's tri-keel no doubt accounted for that, I thought. "We are a `sloop of war' and she's a `frigate'," I smiled. Janice giving me a puzzled look for a moment before nodding back. "I didn't know that you knew of such things," she said to me as we stood together. We had sheathed our swords, the men now skylarking on deck despite the closeness of the North Star there behind us. I had given orders that such was to be done just to upset Maris a little. I wanted her not to feel "confident" about what might happen should we actually engage in a "ship to ship"! "Fire!" I snapped, a second javelin being launched towards the North Star. It takes about thirty seconds to recock such a weapon. The ballistae greatly resembling a gigantic crossbow. "You hit their forestay!" Janice cried with delight! The heavy cordage swinging there in the wind. Maris swinging her ship up into the wind to take some of the strain off her masts! "Let fly the jib! Helm hard to port! Battle Stations!!" I cried, ordering the Huntress about. We had "evened" the odds!!! ***************************************************************** "We are going to fight, and may Lys be merciful to us," Ma- ris breathed in low tones, her first officer nodding. The young midshipman who had taken the second's place looked terrified, she thought to herself. The damage, while easily repaired, did for a few moments greatly handicap her own ship's abilities. Just long enough she suspected for me to put a couple good broadsides into her beloved North Star! And there wasn't a thing she could do!!! "Fire as your weapons bear!" the beautiful golden haired young Queen cried, her sword gleaming there in the sunlight. She had been called a "Valkyrie" by some aboard the North Star. Her golden beauty, her royal status, all made her like some "goddess" to them. For her they would sail to the gates of hell if she so commanded. Others busy repairing the damage, well aware of the enemy's archers, of the Huntress' own missile weapons firing now! "Oh Lys!" Maris breathed, seeing the enemy fire! So aware that her young soft tender feminine body might be their "target"! ***************************************************************** "Fire as your weapons bear!" Janice snapped, glancing over at Lorraine standing there next to her "first". The woman having shown them all that she was everything "they" said that she was!! The Huntress coming about, pounding the yet crippled North Star! Janice saw the enemy fire, saw a man next to her flung back, his body transfixed by the enemy javelin like a fly pierced on a pin! Then to her horror she saw her "first" there on the deck, a javelin piercing his body, and Lorraine on her knees beside him! The woman's dark eyes burning into hers as she shook her head! An bolt, unnoticed by either, suddenly flying across the rail to take the Warlady in the left thigh, making her stumble and stag- ger as she then grasped the framework of a ballistae for support! "We `got' Maris," Lorraine gasped through gritted teeth. "I watched her `fall'." Janice nodded, her mind numbed with horror. 2566 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Sixteen "I wonder what `she's' thinking right now," Janice mused, her dark eyes glowing into mine as she stood at my side. The North Star now swinging back about to face us perhaps three eights of a mile distant. I had ordered the now blood-stained deck cleared of bodies, the wounded taken below for treatment by the ship's physician. There would soon be more for her atten- tion. I might be one of them. Perhaps to watch my own arm or leg being removed after it had been smashed by a catapult shot! "Probably just as `scared' as we are as we stand here," I smiled back as Janice nodded in reply. I knew that the Huntress couldn't "outrun" the North Star, although their advantage in speed would not be very great. That "option" was denied me now. Janice suddenly knelt and handed me her sword. I kissed the hilt and handed it back to her. Such is "meaningful" to my own caste. ***************************************************************** "She's a `crafty bitch', that Imperial Warlady," the first officer mused to his beautiful young golden haired Queen. Maris nodding, while wondering what "trick" I might pull on her this time! She was now also concerned as to the possible damage that her ship might suffer this far from Dularn, as well as the loss of life that could render it almost impossible for her to contin- ue on without first returning to Dularn. And to return to Dularn with the knowledge that she had not "beaten" the Imperial Warlady was something she didn't like to think about for long. Certainly not when there might well be "those" who would doubtlessly call into question her painful decision to declare war upon the Empire of California! Especially not when it was public knowledge that Darlanis herself was actually opposed to the war between them! "I think we all underestimated her," Maris smiled back. ***************************************************************** "Helm to starboard," I snapped, studying the wind. Calcu- lating the "vector of forces" both for the Huntress and for the North Star. There was a point to which the enemy craft could not sail even with its "handy" fore and aft rig. Whether or not the Huntress could lie any "closer" to the wind than the North Star was doubtful considering what I knew about the design of Maris' own ship, the "North" class being a new design with one main keel and two smaller ones on either side that came into play when the ship was heeled into the wind. The Huntress' movement forcing Maris to either chase me around in a great circle or attempt to tack to a position where I would be. In any case I planned to "tease" Maris until she did something "foolish" that I could take "advantage" of. She was a highly "competent" captain, but young and inexperienced. I had to admire the woman however, despite my own feelings about her. She was cautious, but able to exploit any "chance" she got to carry the battle to me. Sort of a female version of my own Jon, I thought to myself, recalling that he and Maris had once been lovers. The thought of Jon with her, of the two of them being together, of making love, irritating me consid- erably just then, although just "why" I really couldn't say then! "She's `cautious'," Janice said with a smile, having spoken to the first officer. Another man now at the helm. The thought occurring that Janice looked a lot like me. That probably con- fused the "enemy" a bit. We were dressed pretty much the same. Black silken flowing skirts to below the knee, leather trappings. Quite practical attire for fighting women aboard a sailing ship. A woman who "exposes" too much of herself "distracts" the sailor. "She's making her move," I said, the North Star now sailing close hauled to a point somewhat ahead of us. I had suspected that Maris would do something like that, tiring of this "cat and mouse" game that I was now "playing" with her. "Helm hard to port!", I snapped, "Let fly the spanker, haul up the jib!" The Huntress wheeling about, leaving Maris to pursue as she might! "She's coming about," Janice breathed, standing by my side. Maris had let fly her jib, swinging her ship around through the "eye" of the wind, then resetting it as she came about after us! "I want our longest ranged ballistae mounted on the quarter- deck," I ordered then, regarding the North Star there behind us. "You can't do much `damage' with just one ballistae," Janice pointed out to me. I nodded. I probably couldn't, but I thought I might just make Maris' crew a bit "nervous" being fired upon! I did not think that Maris' ballistae were quite the equal of our own, as we carried fewer, but somewhat "heavier" weapons than did the Dularnian warship. I having "standardized" upon the same type of ballistae and catapult for both my small ships and my large ships. The weapons having a range of about a quarter mile. The North Star carried somewhat "smaller" weapons, but more of them. In a broadside to broadside battle it is the number of missiles that count, not so much the force by which they are "de- livered" upon the enemy. However, I do not like to "fight" such sorts of battles, and thus had armed my own ships differently. I put more "value" upon the lives of my people than do some others. "We'd better make more sail," Janice added, glancing back at the North Star, which was now slowly pulling up on us a bit now. I was heading towards Sarn, the coast just a haze there in the distance. Maris no doubt aware of the "dangers" that awaited her there. I suspected too that she was wondering what to "do" now. "Pass the word I want the crew to `moon' the North Star," I smiled to a rather "shocked" Janice. She nodded, and carried out my orders. Dularnians are a "strait-laced" people. They are in many ways like those of the Nineteenth Century. I wanted Maris to be "angry". I wanted her not to think too clearly right now! "And tell our ship's girls to strip and flaunt themselves before the North Star," I added with a smile. I wanted to make those Dularnians aboard Maris' ship just a bit "distracted". It is too easy on a sailing ship to make "mistakes". I was hoping for one! "Fire!" I snapped, judging the roll of the ship beneath us. The ballistae snapping forward, the javelin flying forth, a dark dash against the azure of the sky. Janice at my side, watching through our best telescope. The range was about a quarter mile. We were driving the Huntress hard to keep ahead of the enemy. I hoped that nothing would carry away, or we'd be helpless before the bigger and heavier Dularnian. Maris might "win" her victory over me by "default", and I certainly didn't want that to happen! "I think we hit, judging from their reactions," the brunette said from beside me, the black of her attire leaving little doubt that she was of the Warrioresses. We looked almost like mother and daughter although Janice was "prettier" in the face than me. "Maris is ordering up `more sail'," I smiled, barking orders to our men to do the same. Both ships were being driven "hard"! "She doesn't make as much `leeway' as we do," Janice noted. The North Star's tri-keel no doubt accounted for that, I thought. "We are a `sloop of war' and she's a `frigate'," I smiled. Janice giving me a puzzled look for a moment before nodding back. "I didn't know that you knew of such things," she said to me as we stood together. We had sheathed our swords, the men now skylarking on deck despite the closeness of the North Star there behind us. I had given orders that such was to be done just to upset Maris a little. I wanted her not to feel "confident" about what might happen should we actually engage in a "ship to ship"! "Fire!" I snapped, a second javelin being launched towards the North Star. It takes about thirty seconds to recock such a weapon. The ballistae greatly resembling a gigantic crossbow. "You hit their forestay!" Janice cried with delight! The heavy cordage swinging there in the wind. Maris swinging her ship up into the wind to take some of the strain off her masts! "Let fly the jib! Helm hard to port! Battle Stations!!" I cried, ordering the Huntress about. We had "evened" the odds!!! ***************************************************************** "We are going to fight, and may Lys be merciful to us," Ma- ris breathed in low tones, her first officer nodding. The young midshipman who had taken the second's place looked terrified, she thought to herself. The damage, while easily repaired, did for a few moments greatly handicap her own ship's abilities. Just long enough she suspected for me to put a couple good broadsides into her beloved North Star! And there wasn't a thing she could do!!! "Fire as your weapons bear!" the beautiful golden haired young Queen cried, her sword gleaming there in the sunlight. She had been called a "Valkyrie" by some aboard the North Star. Her golden beauty, her royal status, all made her like some "goddess" to them. For her they would sail to the gates of hell if she so commanded. Others busy repairing the damage, well aware of the enemy's archers, of the Huntress' own missile weapons firing now! "Oh Lys!" Maris breathed, seeing the enemy fire! So aware that her young soft tender feminine body might be their "target"! ***************************************************************** "Fire as your weapons bear!" Janice snapped, glancing over at Lorraine standing there next to her "first". The woman having shown them all that she was everything "they" said that she was!! The Huntress coming about, pounding the yet crippled North Star! Janice saw the enemy fire, saw a man next to her flung back, his body transfixed by the enemy javelin like a fly pierced on a pin! Then to her horror she saw her "first" there on the deck, a javelin piercing his body, and Lorraine on her knees beside him! The woman's dark eyes burning into hers as she shook her head! An bolt, unnoticed by either, suddenly flying across the rail to take the Warlady in the left thigh, making her stumble and stag- ger as she then grasped the framework of a ballistae for support! "We `got' Maris," Lorraine gasped through gritted teeth. "I watched her `fall'." Janice nodded, her mind numbed with horror. |
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