"2566-42" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 4 - 2566 Ad)2566 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Forty Two "Princess Tara has escaped from the Nevadas," Darlanis said as her own personal Physician finished up with her check up of me. The woman having made the "comment" earlier that I was doing quite well for a woman my "age", apparently believing I was at least a century old instead of the forty that I actually am! I had been through a lot, and I suppose I didn't look that good... "No doubt with `help'," I growled, well aware of the prob- lems she could cause for us. True, with Darl Jord dead she had lost an "ally" there in Dularn, but doubtlessly there were others who would be eager to "serve" the evil "Princess of Darkness". I could see the bay outside the windows of the Imperial Palace, the ships there at anchor. Tara would stir up trouble wherever she could, I knew, and there were certainly enough places for her to do so. Her criminal underworld had been something we'd been una- ble to stamp out despite our best efforts, and she doubtlessly had "friends" almost everywhere, I suspected, recalling our ear- lier efforts against her. She was an intelligent woman, perhaps as intelligent as I am, certainly more so than Darlanis, I knew. "Captain Dunn of the Corsica stands ready to take you back to Trella," Darlanis said. The other ships had already sailed at my order back home. I saw no good reason to hold them here at Sarn when they might be needed elsewhere. Darlanis had her own navy and I had mine. We were having a problem with Mexican pi- rates right now, and I suspected Princess Tara's "hand" in this. "Think we'll ever know `peace' in our life times?" I asked with a smile, dressing myself with the Physician's help. I was able to sit up and everything now, but walking was yet a problem. I recalled my earlier conversations with Darlanis some days be- fore. We were almost as far from peace as ever here, it seemed. "That's what keeps us young," Darlanis smiled back at me. "You are truly of the Warrioresses," I said to her then. "As you are, regardless of what you say," she smiled. "I trust everything is ship shape," I smiled to Valerie. "I think it will stand your inspection," she smiled back. "I understand that Sela left with the Squala," I observed, quickly glancing at the men, the rigging, the masts and yards. I had no doubts that Valerie was well aware of my "requirements"... "Her finger was `ringed'," Valerie smiled back, taking me from Darlanis, who had been supporting me during this small talk. I had not wished to be carried aboard the ship, or wheeled aboard in a wheel chair. I had managed to walk on my own two feet, with my right arm over Darlanis' broad shoulders. It had taken almost everything I had to walk up that gangplank, but I had done it... "And her neck will doubtlessly soon be `chained'," I smiled. "Trella," Valerie said, lowering the telescope. I could just see the ruins of Los Angeles there to the north of the city. To most inhabitants of Trella and Trelandar such a place was a "no man's land". A place where strange beasts and even stranger men roamed. I had once encountered such a creature the year be- fore. I recalled Sa-she-ra, her bravery, her courage. My eyes a bit moist as the memories came flooding back. She had died tak- ing the bullet that Princess Tara had meant for me. Sanda Talen was a mother now, her son now six weeks old. He'd been born just after I'd left with the squadron for Dularn. Carl Talen's last "gift" to his wife, who I think he had truly loved despite Maris. "Home," I answered, getting painfully out of my deck chair, and walking over to the rail, staring out over the restless sea. I was able to walk now, stand, although I tired quickly yet now. It would be weeks yet before I would be fully recovered from the bullet that Darl Jord's pistol had placed so close to my heart. "Sail Ho!" the call came down from the masthead. "Due West!" the man called down to us, pointing with his telescope. From the deck we could see nothing. Valerie glanced at me, her thoughts showing on her attractive face. I nodded back. Trella was a major seaport. Anyone that far "out" was not likely to be a "friend". "Two masts!", the man yelled down. "A schooner!" "General quarters, battle stations," I snapped back. "Dularnian schooner, maybe Swiftstar," Valerie said, sliding down the rigging in a way that told much of her own experience. The large brass telescope slung over her shoulder like a carbine. Such instruments are usually used on a tripod, but can be used from a crows nest if properly "braced". This one was a 25x75, an instrument of the sort that costs perhaps several golden crowns. "Set every bit of sail you have," I answered in level tones. "If we can catch them there will be a fight," she answered. "The `least' of my worries," I smiled. It was true that I would not be able to lead an assault from our deck to theirs, but I wasn't in any "doubt" that Corsica could "take" any third rate. "I trust you will `advise' me," Valerie said, then barking orders. Men dashing up the rigging to set the top sails, the stay sails and the stun sails. Corsica coming "alive" beneath us as she now smashed through the waves like a living thing in pur- suit of this enemy ship just visible now on the horizon. Its own blue green sails making it almost impossible to see yet with the naked eye. That lookout had been damm "good", I mused to myself! "Enemy is setting more sail," the lookout called down to us. "A wise move considering the odds," I smiled back at Valerie as she nodded, standing there beside me. At least I'd reduce the enemy's strength by "one", regardless of "who" had Swiftstar now! "Their speed will match ours, and they are more `handy'," she said to me. I was well aware of that fact. On the other hand I had a newly refitted ship, a good crew, a capable and com- petent captain, and my own abilities at command to consider here. I am a better sea-officer than any who serve me. Only Maris of Dularn is my "equal" at seamanship, and she lacks fighting wits. As has been noted by others, I am truly a "WARLADY" in the full sense of the term, not just in the "title" bestowed by Darlanis. "Life was getting a bit `boring'," I answered with a smile. "You are `different' now than before," Valerie said to me. "This `old Warlady' still's got some fight in her," I said, recalling the comment that Darlanis' Physician had made to me then a week ago that I was doing pretty good for an "old woman". "Your eyes are `brighter', more `alert'," Valerie observed. "This `old warhorse' still has a few `charges' left in her," I smiled. Valerie giving me a "funny look" for just a second. I supposed my use of an "idiom" from another era now history had confused her just a bit. Unicorns are always used by the cavalry now. Horses are only ridden by those too poor to buy a unicorn. Such things do not have "rational explanations", I might note. "Whatever," Valerie answered, turning, yelling at a luckless seaman there below on the main deck. The ballistae and catapults now being wound up, our missiles being readied for firing at the enemy now visible just hull up there on the horizon where the sea met the sky. A number of white puffy clouds sprinkling the blue. "Enemy is now sailing due west," the lookout called down. I glanced astern. Only a bluish haze marked the shore behind us. "Their wives are going to have to wait another day," I said. Valerie nodding, looking backwards over the wake towards Trella. "We're not gaining on them," Valerie told me. I was well aware of that fact. We had been doing a good ten knots for the last hour with the enemy ship still only a speck on the horizon!! "Have the crew stand on the windward side of the ship," I said. That would reduce slightly our "heel" in the wind now and give us perhaps another tenth of a knot or so. I heaved myself out of the chair, walked the width of the quarterdeck, looking up at the sails. Valerie was "good", but I could see a few "flaws". "Loosen up your main and spanker just a bit," I said to her. "We're seventy miles out from land now," Valerie said to me. The sun was a glowing red ball there on the horizon about to dip beneath the sun. There would be a full Moon tonight, I recalled. "We have supplies for at least sixty days," I said to her. The "look" on her face made me smile despite myself. Like most people of this era, sailing beyond the sight of land was some- thing few ever did. Some of the Dularnians did, but they were more a sea faring race than those of California. "At our rate of speed we should reach Hawaii in about three weeks," I added, giv- ing her a "smile". It was doubtful that we could keep track of the enemy ahead of us that long, but I didn't tell Valerie that!! "Is there such a place?" Valerie asked, unaware that I was "pulling her leg" a bit here. Like most people of the 26th Cen- tury the idea of "land" on the other side of the Earth was almost like hearing that there was life on the Moon. There were even people who claimed that the Earth was as "flat" as a pancake yet! "I'm rather sure of it," I smiled. It was doubtful that The War of 2047 had destroyed the islands, although they might be now only inhabited by uncivilized barbarian savages quite similar to those first found by Captain Cook in the Eighteenth Century. I saw no reason why the Corsica couldn't reach Hawaii in some three weeks of sailing, the ship being both fast and well fitted for a long voyage of that nature. While there was still an "Edict" against sailing to Asia, I didn't that would apply in this case. "We are now two hundred miles from land," Valerie said to me as I ate breakfast the next morning. All through the night we had chased after the other ship, gaining not a mile on them now!! "All the more `incentive' to keep the ship `ship-shape'," I smiled back. I supposed eventually I'd have to forgo a breakfast like this one in another few weeks, but until then I had every intention of enjoying them. I tried to remember if there were any islands between here and Hawaii, but geography has never been my strong suit, and I couldn't remember just now if there were... "The men are `nervous'," Valerie said to me, standing there. "Hoist my flag over every mast head," I said, looking up. I saw her nod, a "puzzled" expression on her face. "The men should see then that they are sailing under the Warlady of California." "There may be `discipline' problems in a few days," she said, voicing thoughts that no doubt had been preying on her now. "Ships `inferior' in design to this one sailed around the world, which is round, I can assure," I answered, chewing on my bacon, which tasted just delicious, I might note for the reader. "Put the men to work, keep them busy, and tell your officers to see that there is absolutely `nothing' wrong with this ship!" I then added that I would be making an very "thorough" inspection later on in the afternoon, and I didn't want to find "anything"! It was a beautiful day, the sails drawing well, the breeze off the sea fresh and clean, without nothing to be seen but the Pacific ocean in all directions now. Valerie had said that ac- cording to her best calculations we were now nearly three hundred miles from Trella. She claimed we had gained perhaps a quarter of a mile on the enemy ahead of us, although I rather doubted it! I had ordered stores shifted, the ship rebalanced. One could see the other ship as a speck there just before the horizon. So far we'd been able to keep them ahead of us. I wondered "who" its captain was. Who was in command of that vessel we were chasing? 2566 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Forty Two "Princess Tara has escaped from the Nevadas," Darlanis said as her own personal Physician finished up with her check up of me. The woman having made the "comment" earlier that I was doing quite well for a woman my "age", apparently believing I was at least a century old instead of the forty that I actually am! I had been through a lot, and I suppose I didn't look that good... "No doubt with `help'," I growled, well aware of the prob- lems she could cause for us. True, with Darl Jord dead she had lost an "ally" there in Dularn, but doubtlessly there were others who would be eager to "serve" the evil "Princess of Darkness". I could see the bay outside the windows of the Imperial Palace, the ships there at anchor. Tara would stir up trouble wherever she could, I knew, and there were certainly enough places for her to do so. Her criminal underworld had been something we'd been una- ble to stamp out despite our best efforts, and she doubtlessly had "friends" almost everywhere, I suspected, recalling our ear- lier efforts against her. She was an intelligent woman, perhaps as intelligent as I am, certainly more so than Darlanis, I knew. "Captain Dunn of the Corsica stands ready to take you back to Trella," Darlanis said. The other ships had already sailed at my order back home. I saw no good reason to hold them here at Sarn when they might be needed elsewhere. Darlanis had her own navy and I had mine. We were having a problem with Mexican pi- rates right now, and I suspected Princess Tara's "hand" in this. "Think we'll ever know `peace' in our life times?" I asked with a smile, dressing myself with the Physician's help. I was able to sit up and everything now, but walking was yet a problem. I recalled my earlier conversations with Darlanis some days be- fore. We were almost as far from peace as ever here, it seemed. "That's what keeps us young," Darlanis smiled back at me. "You are truly of the Warrioresses," I said to her then. "As you are, regardless of what you say," she smiled. "I trust everything is ship shape," I smiled to Valerie. "I think it will stand your inspection," she smiled back. "I understand that Sela left with the Squala," I observed, quickly glancing at the men, the rigging, the masts and yards. I had no doubts that Valerie was well aware of my "requirements"... "Her finger was `ringed'," Valerie smiled back, taking me from Darlanis, who had been supporting me during this small talk. I had not wished to be carried aboard the ship, or wheeled aboard in a wheel chair. I had managed to walk on my own two feet, with my right arm over Darlanis' broad shoulders. It had taken almost everything I had to walk up that gangplank, but I had done it... "And her neck will doubtlessly soon be `chained'," I smiled. "Trella," Valerie said, lowering the telescope. I could just see the ruins of Los Angeles there to the north of the city. To most inhabitants of Trella and Trelandar such a place was a "no man's land". A place where strange beasts and even stranger men roamed. I had once encountered such a creature the year be- fore. I recalled Sa-she-ra, her bravery, her courage. My eyes a bit moist as the memories came flooding back. She had died tak- ing the bullet that Princess Tara had meant for me. Sanda Talen was a mother now, her son now six weeks old. He'd been born just after I'd left with the squadron for Dularn. Carl Talen's last "gift" to his wife, who I think he had truly loved despite Maris. "Home," I answered, getting painfully out of my deck chair, and walking over to the rail, staring out over the restless sea. I was able to walk now, stand, although I tired quickly yet now. It would be weeks yet before I would be fully recovered from the bullet that Darl Jord's pistol had placed so close to my heart. "Sail Ho!" the call came down from the masthead. "Due West!" the man called down to us, pointing with his telescope. From the deck we could see nothing. Valerie glanced at me, her thoughts showing on her attractive face. I nodded back. Trella was a major seaport. Anyone that far "out" was not likely to be a "friend". "Two masts!", the man yelled down. "A schooner!" "General quarters, battle stations," I snapped back. "Dularnian schooner, maybe Swiftstar," Valerie said, sliding down the rigging in a way that told much of her own experience. The large brass telescope slung over her shoulder like a carbine. Such instruments are usually used on a tripod, but can be used from a crows nest if properly "braced". This one was a 25x75, an instrument of the sort that costs perhaps several golden crowns. "Set every bit of sail you have," I answered in level tones. "If we can catch them there will be a fight," she answered. "The `least' of my worries," I smiled. It was true that I would not be able to lead an assault from our deck to theirs, but I wasn't in any "doubt" that Corsica could "take" any third rate. "I trust you will `advise' me," Valerie said, then barking orders. Men dashing up the rigging to set the top sails, the stay sails and the stun sails. Corsica coming "alive" beneath us as she now smashed through the waves like a living thing in pur- suit of this enemy ship just visible now on the horizon. Its own blue green sails making it almost impossible to see yet with the naked eye. That lookout had been damm "good", I mused to myself! "Enemy is setting more sail," the lookout called down to us. "A wise move considering the odds," I smiled back at Valerie as she nodded, standing there beside me. At least I'd reduce the enemy's strength by "one", regardless of "who" had Swiftstar now! "Their speed will match ours, and they are more `handy'," she said to me. I was well aware of that fact. On the other hand I had a newly refitted ship, a good crew, a capable and com- petent captain, and my own abilities at command to consider here. I am a better sea-officer than any who serve me. Only Maris of Dularn is my "equal" at seamanship, and she lacks fighting wits. As has been noted by others, I am truly a "WARLADY" in the full sense of the term, not just in the "title" bestowed by Darlanis. "Life was getting a bit `boring'," I answered with a smile. "You are `different' now than before," Valerie said to me. "This `old Warlady' still's got some fight in her," I said, recalling the comment that Darlanis' Physician had made to me then a week ago that I was doing pretty good for an "old woman". "Your eyes are `brighter', more `alert'," Valerie observed. "This `old warhorse' still has a few `charges' left in her," I smiled. Valerie giving me a "funny look" for just a second. I supposed my use of an "idiom" from another era now history had confused her just a bit. Unicorns are always used by the cavalry now. Horses are only ridden by those too poor to buy a unicorn. Such things do not have "rational explanations", I might note. "Whatever," Valerie answered, turning, yelling at a luckless seaman there below on the main deck. The ballistae and catapults now being wound up, our missiles being readied for firing at the enemy now visible just hull up there on the horizon where the sea met the sky. A number of white puffy clouds sprinkling the blue. "Enemy is now sailing due west," the lookout called down. I glanced astern. Only a bluish haze marked the shore behind us. "Their wives are going to have to wait another day," I said. Valerie nodding, looking backwards over the wake towards Trella. "We're not gaining on them," Valerie told me. I was well aware of that fact. We had been doing a good ten knots for the last hour with the enemy ship still only a speck on the horizon!! "Have the crew stand on the windward side of the ship," I said. That would reduce slightly our "heel" in the wind now and give us perhaps another tenth of a knot or so. I heaved myself out of the chair, walked the width of the quarterdeck, looking up at the sails. Valerie was "good", but I could see a few "flaws". "Loosen up your main and spanker just a bit," I said to her. "We're seventy miles out from land now," Valerie said to me. The sun was a glowing red ball there on the horizon about to dip beneath the sun. There would be a full Moon tonight, I recalled. "We have supplies for at least sixty days," I said to her. The "look" on her face made me smile despite myself. Like most people of this era, sailing beyond the sight of land was some- thing few ever did. Some of the Dularnians did, but they were more a sea faring race than those of California. "At our rate of speed we should reach Hawaii in about three weeks," I added, giv- ing her a "smile". It was doubtful that we could keep track of the enemy ahead of us that long, but I didn't tell Valerie that!! "Is there such a place?" Valerie asked, unaware that I was "pulling her leg" a bit here. Like most people of the 26th Cen- tury the idea of "land" on the other side of the Earth was almost like hearing that there was life on the Moon. There were even people who claimed that the Earth was as "flat" as a pancake yet! "I'm rather sure of it," I smiled. It was doubtful that The War of 2047 had destroyed the islands, although they might be now only inhabited by uncivilized barbarian savages quite similar to those first found by Captain Cook in the Eighteenth Century. I saw no reason why the Corsica couldn't reach Hawaii in some three weeks of sailing, the ship being both fast and well fitted for a long voyage of that nature. While there was still an "Edict" against sailing to Asia, I didn't that would apply in this case. "We are now two hundred miles from land," Valerie said to me as I ate breakfast the next morning. All through the night we had chased after the other ship, gaining not a mile on them now!! "All the more `incentive' to keep the ship `ship-shape'," I smiled back. I supposed eventually I'd have to forgo a breakfast like this one in another few weeks, but until then I had every intention of enjoying them. I tried to remember if there were any islands between here and Hawaii, but geography has never been my strong suit, and I couldn't remember just now if there were... "The men are `nervous'," Valerie said to me, standing there. "Hoist my flag over every mast head," I said, looking up. I saw her nod, a "puzzled" expression on her face. "The men should see then that they are sailing under the Warlady of California." "There may be `discipline' problems in a few days," she said, voicing thoughts that no doubt had been preying on her now. "Ships `inferior' in design to this one sailed around the world, which is round, I can assure," I answered, chewing on my bacon, which tasted just delicious, I might note for the reader. "Put the men to work, keep them busy, and tell your officers to see that there is absolutely `nothing' wrong with this ship!" I then added that I would be making an very "thorough" inspection later on in the afternoon, and I didn't want to find "anything"! It was a beautiful day, the sails drawing well, the breeze off the sea fresh and clean, without nothing to be seen but the Pacific ocean in all directions now. Valerie had said that ac- cording to her best calculations we were now nearly three hundred miles from Trella. She claimed we had gained perhaps a quarter of a mile on the enemy ahead of us, although I rather doubted it! I had ordered stores shifted, the ship rebalanced. One could see the other ship as a speck there just before the horizon. So far we'd been able to keep them ahead of us. I wondered "who" its captain was. Who was in command of that vessel we were chasing? |
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