"2566-21" - 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 Twenty One Serena Novak stared out over the polished wooden railing at the gently rolling dark ocean beyond, the stars bright in the sky overhead. She was familiar with large bodies of water, Muskegon having been built on the shores of Lake Michigan centuries ago, but there was a "different" feel to the ocean than to that great lake. Especially since her own people had nothing like these ships she was now sailing on, or civilization worth noting. Her own society just barely out of the "Stone Age" in a lot of ways, and subject to the predation of half-human savages like those who had tried to kill her for "food" before Darlanis' intervention! "Niggers" infected with that horrible disease Aurora called AIDS! There had been "rumors" and "tales" of more "advanced" soci- eties far to the west, but Serena had merely smiled at the tales, believing that they were in the same category as the stories told about "creatures" that walked erect like men, but had horns and scales instead of skin. Now she knew that such tales were true! She enjoyed her life at the great palace in Sarn, the bright lights, the handsome men who came "courting". The tall golden Empress who had told her so much. The teenage Imperial Princess with whom she had shared so much of her own life in Muskegon, Serena herself being but three years older than was Sharon Duval! Serena herself was a woman with a "talent", hers being the ability to transmit her own thoughts to others of her people at times. It was not a "reliable" ability, but it did come in "use- ful" at times for the young Princess to possess such "abilities". "Talents" such as hers not being unknown among her own people.* * I suspect that Serena's people practice hypnosis as a part of their own cultural rites. Such was also done by the American In- dians and other groups in the past. From my own experiments with such things back in the 20th Century with Janet Rogers, I believe that hypnosis is the "key" to unlocking the secrets of the mind. The utter "hostility" of the Priestesses of Lys to any such "ex- periments" in this field is but further proof I feel. (Lorraine) "Look!" the woman who was captain of the Sea Breeze gasped, the great gleaming shape of the Starfire now floating down to- wards them. A faint glow about the craft speaking of its drive. "I'll inform Darlanis that we are going to have `visitors'," Serena smiled, recalling that the Starfire was Darlanis' Anna's. "There's no need for that," Darlanis spoke, strolling up be- side them, a warm cloak wrapped around her briefly clad figure. The Empress a magnificent woman, tall and golden, a true beauty. "Impressive," Serena smiled, looking up at the Starfire. It was a considerably "bigger" ship too than most Martian "saucers". "It is commanded by my daughter, my `true' daughter." the Empress of Imperial California smiled back. Serena nodding back. "You must be proud of her," Serena spoke as they watched the Starfire hovering just astern perhaps a hundred feet up from the roiled waters of the Sea Breeze's wake. The craft glowing softly as it hovered now over the ocean below, a great silvery cylinder. "Very much so," Darlanis then smiled back in reply as they watched the keel bay now opening to release a small silvery slip- per shaped craft which quickly dropped to their quarterdeck, the blonde woman at the controls giving them a friendly wave of her hand as she stepped from the craft! For the first time in a long time Darlanis felt true feelings of love towards this young woman who had lived most of her life on another world seen only as a spot of reddish light in the sky. A world ruled for fifty thou- sand years by gigantic ant-like aliens from another star system! "I'm glad that you're here," Darlanis said softly to An'na, taking her hands in hers. "There is much that we should share." "They told me in Sarn that you have declared war on Dularn," An'na answered softly in reply, well aware of what "that" had "cost" her mother! Darlanis nodding, giving her daughter a smile in reply. An'na's own silvery attire reminded her much of Leith. Of that hidden city beneath the mountains where "Martians" lived! "A war of `defense', not of `aggression'," Darlanis smiled. An'na's beauty leaving no doubts as to her true parentage either. "Staying `south of '48'," An'na smiled in reply. Such being the northern most boundary of the Empire of California. Darlanis having always claimed that the Empire was the "successor" to the original United States of America, which had bordered Canada on the 49th parallel. Dularn's "claims" however going down to '46. Almost to the seaport city of Tarth (possibly Seaside, OR), which Darlanis had always rejected. This being the area in "dispute". "If we could use `that'," Serena breathed, regarding the Starfire as it floated there in the sky directly behind them. A smile curving An'na's lips as she nodded in the negative, well aware of what would "happen" should she agree to such a thing!!! "I'm `bound' by our version of `The Edict'," An'na smiled. "Perhaps it's just as well," Darlanis smiled back in reply. Possessing the "powers" of a "god" didn't make one any "smarter". ***************************************************************** "I long for the `good old days' when we had an Empress who was `out to conquer the world'," Janice said to me as we finished our wine and snacks. "This `new Darlanis' of ours bothers me a lot." I nodded, completely in agreement. I was "bothered" too!! "I think Queen Tulis' death effected her more than anyone realized," I smiled back in reply, although my own personal opin- ion of the matter was now "different". I suspected myself that Darlanis had now let her own relationship with Aurora effect her! She was becoming more "like" Aurora day by day, I thought too. I suspected that Darlanis was now trying to prove to her mother that she wasn't the "barbarian" that Aurora had once spoken of! "I think you would be a better Empress than Darlanis," Ja- nice said to me. "With you there would be no `fooling around'." "On the other hand `peace' is usually preferred to `war'," I smiled. I am "Warlady" of the Empire. The position "suits" me. "There is a time for `peace', a time for `war'," she said. "And it is time for us to `tend to our duties'," I smiled, hearing the chime of the ship's bell as the "watch" was changed. ***************************************************************** Sela Dai was a sweaty hot squirming "delight" there beneath the blanket, the sort of a woman who demanded "more" of a man than just "intercourse" as Mark quickly found there in his cabin. The regal calm cool Princess that she appeared to others conceal- ing utterly sexy "delights" there beneath that lovely exterior! "Yes, yes, let me be `yours'," she whimpered, kissing and biting, her nails clawing at him as she shuddered in climax there beside him, three of his fingers filling her hot drooling sheath! A hot little tongue eagerly licking in his open mouth as Sela's moist hot lips covered his. The wench a true "delight" in bed!!! ***************************************************************** I stepped out on to the deck, Janice nodding to me as she stood there beside the helmsman. The sails pale shadows above. The North Star gleaming with lights there ahead and to starboard. I had put down my observations in my personal diary for future reference. I often find it "helpful" too in dealing with others. "How goes it?" I asked, putting my hand on her shoulder. "I just don't feel `right' about it," Janice answered. "No doubt `they' feel much the same about us," I smiled. "My `first' had a wife and baby girl in Trella," she said. He had been young, "eager", perhaps dreaming of command someday! "The human race has yet never learned to live in peace," I answered. The only times there is has been "peace" on Earth has been when it has been "imposed" upon people. One may speak of a "Pax Roma", of imposition of "peace" upon Mankind under Janet Rogers. No doubt the Priestesses could do the same if they wished. On the other hand "civilized" societies like those of the Lorr "lack" something "vital". Mankind needs a challenge. Something to keep life "interesting". I am perhaps a barbarian. Darlanis once accused me of being one. I suppose she is right. On the other hand I am glad I live in a society where one might hold a sword in their hand. Face a foe blade to blade. Then I think life has far more "meaning" to you than it would otherwise. "Perhaps it is just as well then that `The Edict' exists," she answered me there in the darkness, her features lit up by the light there in the compass as she checked the ship's heading. I nodded, smiled to myself, recalling the C.S. Forester stories I'd read as a girl. As a "french girl" who didn't "like it" too much that "my country" was always "losing" to the British! I used to make up my own "stories" where France "won" against the English! "Otherwise this would have been a sixteen gun sloop against a `twenty two'," I smiled back, guessing at the number of guns that a ship the size of the North Star could have carried on it. "Whatever," Janice answered, a puzzled note in her voice. Apparently she wasn't "acquainted" with Mr. Forester's novels, I mused, smiling to myself, recalling the adventures of his famous "Captain Hornblower" there back in the late Eighteenth Century. ***************************************************************** "I wish `she' was on `our side'," Maris Jord said as she stood at the stern windows, looking out over the rolling black- ness of the ocean. The lights of the Huntress visible there. "If our `Princess' hadn't gotten herself killed.....," the first officer smiled, secretly admiring the figure of his Queen. "Lorraine `beat' me," Maris spoke, looking out the windows. "We couldn't `beat' her, and she couldn't `beat' us," he an- swered, sitting there, admiring the rounded curves of her rump. Maris wearing the common tunic and hose of the Dularnian woman. "Huntress is a `third rate' and we are a `second rate'," the Queen of Dularn answered, turning, facing him. "And Lorraine was `beating' us regardless of what anyone thinks about it now." The young Queen well aware of what the realities were in this matter! "She's `older', more `experienced'," the officer smiled. A vision of Maris naked going through his mind as he looked at her. "Less than a year ago she was living back in her own time," Maris answered. "A time where a ship like this didn't exist." "She's `learned a lot' then," the officer smiled back. "She's the `Lorraine Duval' of legend," Maris said. "She's the `enemy' of our people," he replied. ***************************************************************** "`Bother' you riding one of these?" An'na asked as Darlanis clung to her on the little slipper shaped "floater" as it flew over the dark chilly waters below. An'na being well aware that a lot of people were "bothered" riding on a "floater" with nothing but open space around them, the lack of any "enclosure" often be- ing quite "disturbing" to anyone in the least fearful of heights. "I didn't realize how `cold' it would be," Darlanis replied, the little craft racing through the air at perhaps seventy or eighty miles per hour. The Starfire following somewhat behind. Her bare legs being exposed to the onrushing air passing by them. "We can go back to the Starfire if you want," An'na said. "I can `stand' a little cold," Darlanis laughed in reply, ducking her head down so that it laid alongside An'na's and was thus more out of the wind that blasted past the low windshield. The craft itself being quite similar to some "flying motorcycle". "I love you, mother," An'na spoke softly then in reply. "And I love you, my daughter," Darlanis spoke softly. 2566 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Twenty One Serena Novak stared out over the polished wooden railing at the gently rolling dark ocean beyond, the stars bright in the sky overhead. She was familiar with large bodies of water, Muskegon having been built on the shores of Lake Michigan centuries ago, but there was a "different" feel to the ocean than to that great lake. Especially since her own people had nothing like these ships she was now sailing on, or civilization worth noting. Her own society just barely out of the "Stone Age" in a lot of ways, and subject to the predation of half-human savages like those who had tried to kill her for "food" before Darlanis' intervention! "Niggers" infected with that horrible disease Aurora called AIDS! There had been "rumors" and "tales" of more "advanced" soci- eties far to the west, but Serena had merely smiled at the tales, believing that they were in the same category as the stories told about "creatures" that walked erect like men, but had horns and scales instead of skin. Now she knew that such tales were true! She enjoyed her life at the great palace in Sarn, the bright lights, the handsome men who came "courting". The tall golden Empress who had told her so much. The teenage Imperial Princess with whom she had shared so much of her own life in Muskegon, Serena herself being but three years older than was Sharon Duval! Serena herself was a woman with a "talent", hers being the ability to transmit her own thoughts to others of her people at times. It was not a "reliable" ability, but it did come in "use- ful" at times for the young Princess to possess such "abilities". "Talents" such as hers not being unknown among her own people.* * I suspect that Serena's people practice hypnosis as a part of their own cultural rites. Such was also done by the American In- dians and other groups in the past. From my own experiments with such things back in the 20th Century with Janet Rogers, I believe that hypnosis is the "key" to unlocking the secrets of the mind. The utter "hostility" of the Priestesses of Lys to any such "ex- periments" in this field is but further proof I feel. (Lorraine) "Look!" the woman who was captain of the Sea Breeze gasped, the great gleaming shape of the Starfire now floating down to- wards them. A faint glow about the craft speaking of its drive. "I'll inform Darlanis that we are going to have `visitors'," Serena smiled, recalling that the Starfire was Darlanis' Anna's. "There's no need for that," Darlanis spoke, strolling up be- side them, a warm cloak wrapped around her briefly clad figure. The Empress a magnificent woman, tall and golden, a true beauty. "Impressive," Serena smiled, looking up at the Starfire. It was a considerably "bigger" ship too than most Martian "saucers". "It is commanded by my daughter, my `true' daughter." the Empress of Imperial California smiled back. Serena nodding back. "You must be proud of her," Serena spoke as they watched the Starfire hovering just astern perhaps a hundred feet up from the roiled waters of the Sea Breeze's wake. The craft glowing softly as it hovered now over the ocean below, a great silvery cylinder. "Very much so," Darlanis then smiled back in reply as they watched the keel bay now opening to release a small silvery slip- per shaped craft which quickly dropped to their quarterdeck, the blonde woman at the controls giving them a friendly wave of her hand as she stepped from the craft! For the first time in a long time Darlanis felt true feelings of love towards this young woman who had lived most of her life on another world seen only as a spot of reddish light in the sky. A world ruled for fifty thou- sand years by gigantic ant-like aliens from another star system! "I'm glad that you're here," Darlanis said softly to An'na, taking her hands in hers. "There is much that we should share." "They told me in Sarn that you have declared war on Dularn," An'na answered softly in reply, well aware of what "that" had "cost" her mother! Darlanis nodding, giving her daughter a smile in reply. An'na's own silvery attire reminded her much of Leith. Of that hidden city beneath the mountains where "Martians" lived! "A war of `defense', not of `aggression'," Darlanis smiled. An'na's beauty leaving no doubts as to her true parentage either. "Staying `south of '48'," An'na smiled in reply. Such being the northern most boundary of the Empire of California. Darlanis having always claimed that the Empire was the "successor" to the original United States of America, which had bordered Canada on the 49th parallel. Dularn's "claims" however going down to '46. Almost to the seaport city of Tarth (possibly Seaside, OR), which Darlanis had always rejected. This being the area in "dispute". "If we could use `that'," Serena breathed, regarding the Starfire as it floated there in the sky directly behind them. A smile curving An'na's lips as she nodded in the negative, well aware of what would "happen" should she agree to such a thing!!! "I'm `bound' by our version of `The Edict'," An'na smiled. "Perhaps it's just as well," Darlanis smiled back in reply. Possessing the "powers" of a "god" didn't make one any "smarter". ***************************************************************** "I long for the `good old days' when we had an Empress who was `out to conquer the world'," Janice said to me as we finished our wine and snacks. "This `new Darlanis' of ours bothers me a lot." I nodded, completely in agreement. I was "bothered" too!! "I think Queen Tulis' death effected her more than anyone realized," I smiled back in reply, although my own personal opin- ion of the matter was now "different". I suspected myself that Darlanis had now let her own relationship with Aurora effect her! She was becoming more "like" Aurora day by day, I thought too. I suspected that Darlanis was now trying to prove to her mother that she wasn't the "barbarian" that Aurora had once spoken of! "I think you would be a better Empress than Darlanis," Ja- nice said to me. "With you there would be no `fooling around'." "On the other hand `peace' is usually preferred to `war'," I smiled. I am "Warlady" of the Empire. The position "suits" me. "There is a time for `peace', a time for `war'," she said. "And it is time for us to `tend to our duties'," I smiled, hearing the chime of the ship's bell as the "watch" was changed. ***************************************************************** Sela Dai was a sweaty hot squirming "delight" there beneath the blanket, the sort of a woman who demanded "more" of a man than just "intercourse" as Mark quickly found there in his cabin. The regal calm cool Princess that she appeared to others conceal- ing utterly sexy "delights" there beneath that lovely exterior! "Yes, yes, let me be `yours'," she whimpered, kissing and biting, her nails clawing at him as she shuddered in climax there beside him, three of his fingers filling her hot drooling sheath! A hot little tongue eagerly licking in his open mouth as Sela's moist hot lips covered his. The wench a true "delight" in bed!!! ***************************************************************** I stepped out on to the deck, Janice nodding to me as she stood there beside the helmsman. The sails pale shadows above. The North Star gleaming with lights there ahead and to starboard. I had put down my observations in my personal diary for future reference. I often find it "helpful" too in dealing with others. "How goes it?" I asked, putting my hand on her shoulder. "I just don't feel `right' about it," Janice answered. "No doubt `they' feel much the same about us," I smiled. "My `first' had a wife and baby girl in Trella," she said. He had been young, "eager", perhaps dreaming of command someday! "The human race has yet never learned to live in peace," I answered. The only times there is has been "peace" on Earth has been when it has been "imposed" upon people. One may speak of a "Pax Roma", of imposition of "peace" upon Mankind under Janet Rogers. No doubt the Priestesses could do the same if they wished. On the other hand "civilized" societies like those of the Lorr "lack" something "vital". Mankind needs a challenge. Something to keep life "interesting". I am perhaps a barbarian. Darlanis once accused me of being one. I suppose she is right. On the other hand I am glad I live in a society where one might hold a sword in their hand. Face a foe blade to blade. Then I think life has far more "meaning" to you than it would otherwise. "Perhaps it is just as well then that `The Edict' exists," she answered me there in the darkness, her features lit up by the light there in the compass as she checked the ship's heading. I nodded, smiled to myself, recalling the C.S. Forester stories I'd read as a girl. As a "french girl" who didn't "like it" too much that "my country" was always "losing" to the British! I used to make up my own "stories" where France "won" against the English! "Otherwise this would have been a sixteen gun sloop against a `twenty two'," I smiled back, guessing at the number of guns that a ship the size of the North Star could have carried on it. "Whatever," Janice answered, a puzzled note in her voice. Apparently she wasn't "acquainted" with Mr. Forester's novels, I mused, smiling to myself, recalling the adventures of his famous "Captain Hornblower" there back in the late Eighteenth Century. ***************************************************************** "I wish `she' was on `our side'," Maris Jord said as she stood at the stern windows, looking out over the rolling black- ness of the ocean. The lights of the Huntress visible there. "If our `Princess' hadn't gotten herself killed.....," the first officer smiled, secretly admiring the figure of his Queen. "Lorraine `beat' me," Maris spoke, looking out the windows. "We couldn't `beat' her, and she couldn't `beat' us," he an- swered, sitting there, admiring the rounded curves of her rump. Maris wearing the common tunic and hose of the Dularnian woman. "Huntress is a `third rate' and we are a `second rate'," the Queen of Dularn answered, turning, facing him. "And Lorraine was `beating' us regardless of what anyone thinks about it now." The young Queen well aware of what the realities were in this matter! "She's `older', more `experienced'," the officer smiled. A vision of Maris naked going through his mind as he looked at her. "Less than a year ago she was living back in her own time," Maris answered. "A time where a ship like this didn't exist." "She's `learned a lot' then," the officer smiled back. "She's the `Lorraine Duval' of legend," Maris said. "She's the `enemy' of our people," he replied. ***************************************************************** "`Bother' you riding one of these?" An'na asked as Darlanis clung to her on the little slipper shaped "floater" as it flew over the dark chilly waters below. An'na being well aware that a lot of people were "bothered" riding on a "floater" with nothing but open space around them, the lack of any "enclosure" often be- ing quite "disturbing" to anyone in the least fearful of heights. "I didn't realize how `cold' it would be," Darlanis replied, the little craft racing through the air at perhaps seventy or eighty miles per hour. The Starfire following somewhat behind. Her bare legs being exposed to the onrushing air passing by them. "We can go back to the Starfire if you want," An'na said. "I can `stand' a little cold," Darlanis laughed in reply, ducking her head down so that it laid alongside An'na's and was thus more out of the wind that blasted past the low windshield. The craft itself being quite similar to some "flying motorcycle". "I love you, mother," An'na spoke softly then in reply. "And I love you, my daughter," Darlanis spoke softly. |
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