"2567-33" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 5 - The Warlady Of Dularn)"THE WARLADY OF DULARN" 2567 A.D.! By Jerome Bigge Chapter Thirty Three "Situation under control?" Carol asked, walking up behind me. Maris nodding, the nervous exhaustion from everything she'd been through showing as she supervised the crew in opening boxes. It being rather obvious that most of the ship's food supplies had been seriously damaged by being wetted there in the flooded hold. "I think we took a hit below the waterline last night," the Queen of Dularn answered, my wife nodding back, glancing at me. I noticed that Carol had neglected to wear "clips" underneath her tunic, the outline of her nipples being clearly visible beneath. While such would have caused no comment back in the 20th Century, I knew that in this era such was considered rather "provocative" and not something that a woman of "breeding" ever did in public. On the other hand Carol is a woman who is naturally provocative. "Lorraine said she took a shot at the North Star," I said. ***************************************************************** "Must be `hard' on a woman like that," Jon Richards spoke as Lorraine stood there on the Athena's quarterdeck, the bright sun- light gleaming off her golden tiara as the Queen of Trelandar. He had noticed the exhaustion showing there in her face, in the "shortness" of her hot temper should anyone dare "cross" her now. The "strain" was "telling" on her now. And something else too! The crew of the ship dashing about, getting things ready for sea. "I didn't `catch' that," Lorraine "snapped", turning about. "That young captain of ours," Jon answered, recalling her. "She's sailed under my command before," the Warlady said. "I mean having to leave her husband, her son like this," Jon spoke, wondering if anyone here would ever see their homes again. "You didn't have to come with me," Lorraine answered back. "Janice," her husband spoke, holding her close, looking down into the darkness of her eyes. She was an attractive woman, not a "beautiful" woman as such. Tall, slender, almost a "clone" of the Warlady in some respects. The golden links of her neck chain glistening around her throat. His son's hand there now in his. Their child, formed from the loving union of their bodies. And now she might never return from this voyage. Her body wrapped in a hammock with a catapult shot at her feet tossed over the side or more likely burned to a crisp as two ships now died in flames. "I have `trust' in `Her'," Janice spoke softly. She had been in command of the "outclassed" Huntress when Lorraine had taken it up against the more powerful North Star. And beaten the Queen of Dularn in a ship to ship battle! Janice had no doubts that Lorraine, given the firepower of the Athena, would be able to put "paid" to the North Star regardless of whatever these peo- ple from the 20th Century could dream up for the Queen of Dularn! "She is fighting one of her own kind from the `time of leg- ends'," he answered, thinking of the ruins there north of Trella. Ruins of a great city so large that Trella itself would have been only a small part of what once had been the city of Los Angeles. "She is our Queen, our Warlady," Janice answered, kissing him, and then giving her beloved son a last long loving hug. Her vision blurring a bit then as she moved away, the tears now fill- ing her eyes. She had kept to herself what Lorraine had said about the "dangers" of this voyage. It would be a "battle" like that of the old legends. There would probably be few survivors even if the Athena did have the steel plates that could be raised like shields to protect the crew from enemy ballistae bolts. She had no doubt that Maris Marn would fight like a cornered wildcat! She wasn't so "sure" either that Maris might not use "fire" when she knew she was going to lose this battle. Or if she died in the conflict, which was quite likely, would Carol then use fire? ***************************************************************** I watched Maris give the orders, the North Star coming about on its new course almost due south. Back towards Trella, and the tall black clad Warlady who I had once known in a time now myth. "Now to find that damm hole!" Maris Marn growled, tying the rope about herself and lowering herself over the side, the memory of sharks filling my mind as I stood beside Carol and watched the Queen of Dularn working her way along the side of the ship, the waves often splashing up, wetting her as she carefully checked the hull for the hole in it we now knew much be somewhere about. "A rather `competent' woman," Carol smiled in a soft voice. "Probably would have made me a good wife," I smiled back. "Was she `good in bed'?" Carol suddenly asked me then. "Never `tried' her," I answered, giving her a smile. "You were hit pretty hard," my wife smiled back then. "I think she's found the puncture hole," I answered her. ***************************************************************** "The last supplies are coming aboard now, your majesty," Ja- nice Hill said, bowing to the Queen of Trelandar as the Warlady nodded back. She looked "haggard", "worn out", but yet her eyes were "bright", "eager" as if she could not wait to set sail now! The small boats clustered around the Athena almost so thick that one could have easily jumped from the deck down on to any one of them. The awesome power of Trelandar's ruler was well displayed! "The lamp oil, the fire pumps?" Lorraine smiled, her face in shadow against the bright glow coming through the stern windows of the cabin. The Prince-Consort of Trelandar there beside her. The Athena was being "stuffed" with food, weapons, and supplies. The heavy steel bolts for its thirty two ballistae, the eight heavy catapults that the ship carried as an Imperial first rate. The first "iron clad" of the 26th Century, the inch thick steel plates inside the hull rendering the ship impervious to missiles. "And those `odd' looking little ballistae of yours," Janice added. The design of the weapons like nothing she'd ever seen! The weapons built like big compound crossbows, but fitted with big crank wheels and a sort of "hopper" that fed bolts one after another every time the bow string was drawn back to full cock by means of the crank wheels! Weapons that would fire a dozen bolts or more in as many seconds! Six such weapons now being set up on the deck on their swivel mounts where they might be put to use! "A little `invention' of my wife's," Jon Richards smiled. ***************************************************************** "That's done!" Maris spoke, giving me a smile while Carol stood there beside me. The water dripped off her soaked body. I think Maris had "done" what she had just because Carol was "there". I suspected too that Maris had wished to "prove" to my wife that she was not just another "dumb" blonde like Darlanis. I wondered too why Maris was so "terrified" of Lorraine. Not so much of the Warlady's own military capabilities, but of the woman in person. I had watched Lorraine's "interrogation" of her. I had been surprised by how "weak" Maris had seemed. Almost as if she was a slave girl and Lorraine her mistress. Yet otherwise I had seen no reason to doubt Maris' courage and bravery under fire or her competency to command a ship of war. As long as she did- n't have to face Lorraine herself Maris seemed quite "capable". I had also noticed how Maris "deferred" to Carol, who was also a "dominant" woman, although in a different way than was Lorraine. "An Imperial ballistae bolt," Maris said, lying it there on the desk before her, Lars nodding there at my side. Carol smil- ing a bit to herself. I think she too now realized how "effec- tive" the weapons of this era might be. She had told me about the dinosaur, about that "strange" feeling she had about it now. I wondered how much of a "thumb" the Priestesses of Lys did have in this "pie". They were, I sensed, almost infinitely powerful. And, I now suspected to myself, almost as "alien" as any Lorr!!! "Lorraine said she took a shot at the North Star," I said. The shimmering light from the stern windows behind Maris now highlighting her hair almost like a golden halo around her head. "It went right through the side of the ship, and was found sticking into the hull on the other side there in the bilge," the Queen of Dularn added. Such a missile weighs about four pounds, and has a velocity of nearly a hundred yards a second with a "range" of a quarter mile if fired at a forty five degree angle. Such a missile fired at close range will pass completely through a unicorn lengthwise and pierce a man standing behind the animal. "How thick is the hull of the ship?" my wife asked then. Maris explaining that the North Star was built of layers of one inch thick planks laminated together with a layer of pitch be- tween them. Such makes for a very "watertight" vessel, and also one that will take a considerable "sea" without any damage due to its "flexibility". The ship is actually built with a "skeleton" that forms the basic framework on which the hull is then laminat- ed with three layers of one inch planks, each separated by a lay- er of pitch between them. Imperial ships are heavier hulled, and while "stronger", also weigh more and thus are a hair "slower" for the same amount of sail to hull ratio. Such things are, of course, a matter of "compromise" between a number of "factors". "What you need to do is build a `ironclad'," Carol smiled. "The Imperials, or rather Lorraine, has," Maris answered. "The Athena now about ready for sea carries steel shields for the crew," the Queen of Dularn smiled. Obviously she had her spies. "The hull itself is reinforced by inch thick armor plate inside." "Why don't you do the same thing?" Carol challenged her. "Such armor is heavy, and `slows' the ship," Maris replied. "But such would save lives," my wife persisted then in turn. "And make this ship less `effective' in battle," Maris said. "Lorraine can afford to sacrifice a bit of speed, we cannot now." ***************************************************************** "I wish to get out of the harbor by nightfall," Lorraine said. Janice nodding, well aware of the nature of the order and what it would entail for those aboard. "You will put the slaves to work that I have ordered sent out to `assist' the crew." Cap- tain Hill nodded, bowed to her Queen, and then left the cabin. A hundred half naked slaves adding their own muscle to the labors. The entire resources of Trella now at work "readying" the Athena. "This isn't going to be as `fast' a ship as others of this `class'," Jon noted as Lorraine busied herself with preparations. The steel plates there on deck that would be raised as shields in battle would slow the ship as would the steel armor inside the hull. He doubted that it was even anywhere as swift as the North Star might be with its own recent modifications. On the other hand it was now nearly "invincible". Only fire weapons could be effective against it, and Lorraine's new rapid fire ballistae along with Athena's other heavy weapons would make closing the ship almost suicide for the crew of any ship that attempted it... "It will `serve'," Lorraine answered, her eyes burning hot! ***************************************************************** The merchant captain had failed to take wait for escort. The North Star had come dashing over the horizon, her blue green sails making her almost invisible against the meeting of sea and sky. A quick shot across his bow with a catapult had been enough to make him heave to. He had not been "cooperative" with Maris. A bad mistake on his part. Carol had "assisted" in the "matter". An iron had been heated in a brazier. Maris had then asked her questions again. He had proved stubborn for a short time until a red hot iron had been pressed against his flesh. Then he decided to be a bit more "cooperative" with us. We learned much then... "What sort of `defenses' does a city like Trella have?" my wife then asked, regarding the Queen of Dularn there before her. We had stripped the merchant of what we "wanted", and let him go. "Carol, you can't be `serious'," I breathed, turning a bit. "We wouldn't stand a chance," Maris answered in awed tones. "If there was a fog?" Carol challenged. Often there was. "You're going after the Athena?" Lars now ventured in turn. "We either `lick' Lorraine now or later on," Carol said. Maris giving my wife a "look" that left no doubt that Carol's use of the term "lick" meant something quite "different" in this era. "And I think it is time that we let the people of Trelandar know that `there is a war on'," my wife added, giving Maris a "smile". "You are `truly' a `WARLADY'," Maris answered my wife back. "Maybe I just `understand' a few things you don't," Carol came back in a level voice, Maris' "sarcasm" not being "missed". "Yours was an era of war like never before or after," Maris said. I recalled that she had told me that only the day before. "Better than these `chess games' of yours," Carol snapped. "THE WARLADY OF DULARN" 2567 A.D.! By Jerome Bigge Chapter Thirty Three "Situation under control?" Carol asked, walking up behind me. Maris nodding, the nervous exhaustion from everything she'd been through showing as she supervised the crew in opening boxes. It being rather obvious that most of the ship's food supplies had been seriously damaged by being wetted there in the flooded hold. "I think we took a hit below the waterline last night," the Queen of Dularn answered, my wife nodding back, glancing at me. I noticed that Carol had neglected to wear "clips" underneath her tunic, the outline of her nipples being clearly visible beneath. While such would have caused no comment back in the 20th Century, I knew that in this era such was considered rather "provocative" and not something that a woman of "breeding" ever did in public. On the other hand Carol is a woman who is naturally provocative. "Lorraine said she took a shot at the North Star," I said. ***************************************************************** "Must be `hard' on a woman like that," Jon Richards spoke as Lorraine stood there on the Athena's quarterdeck, the bright sun- light gleaming off her golden tiara as the Queen of Trelandar. He had noticed the exhaustion showing there in her face, in the "shortness" of her hot temper should anyone dare "cross" her now. The "strain" was "telling" on her now. And something else too! The crew of the ship dashing about, getting things ready for sea. "I didn't `catch' that," Lorraine "snapped", turning about. "That young captain of ours," Jon answered, recalling her. "She's sailed under my command before," the Warlady said. "I mean having to leave her husband, her son like this," Jon spoke, wondering if anyone here would ever see their homes again. "You didn't have to come with me," Lorraine answered back. "Janice," her husband spoke, holding her close, looking down into the darkness of her eyes. She was an attractive woman, not a "beautiful" woman as such. Tall, slender, almost a "clone" of the Warlady in some respects. The golden links of her neck chain glistening around her throat. His son's hand there now in his. Their child, formed from the loving union of their bodies. And now she might never return from this voyage. Her body wrapped in a hammock with a catapult shot at her feet tossed over the side or more likely burned to a crisp as two ships now died in flames. "I have `trust' in `Her'," Janice spoke softly. She had been in command of the "outclassed" Huntress when Lorraine had taken it up against the more powerful North Star. And beaten the Queen of Dularn in a ship to ship battle! Janice had no doubts that Lorraine, given the firepower of the Athena, would be able to put "paid" to the North Star regardless of whatever these peo- ple from the 20th Century could dream up for the Queen of Dularn! "She is fighting one of her own kind from the `time of leg- ends'," he answered, thinking of the ruins there north of Trella. Ruins of a great city so large that Trella itself would have been only a small part of what once had been the city of Los Angeles. "She is our Queen, our Warlady," Janice answered, kissing him, and then giving her beloved son a last long loving hug. Her vision blurring a bit then as she moved away, the tears now fill- ing her eyes. She had kept to herself what Lorraine had said about the "dangers" of this voyage. It would be a "battle" like that of the old legends. There would probably be few survivors even if the Athena did have the steel plates that could be raised like shields to protect the crew from enemy ballistae bolts. She had no doubt that Maris Marn would fight like a cornered wildcat! She wasn't so "sure" either that Maris might not use "fire" when she knew she was going to lose this battle. Or if she died in the conflict, which was quite likely, would Carol then use fire? ***************************************************************** I watched Maris give the orders, the North Star coming about on its new course almost due south. Back towards Trella, and the tall black clad Warlady who I had once known in a time now myth. "Now to find that damm hole!" Maris Marn growled, tying the rope about herself and lowering herself over the side, the memory of sharks filling my mind as I stood beside Carol and watched the Queen of Dularn working her way along the side of the ship, the waves often splashing up, wetting her as she carefully checked the hull for the hole in it we now knew much be somewhere about. "A rather `competent' woman," Carol smiled in a soft voice. "Probably would have made me a good wife," I smiled back. "Was she `good in bed'?" Carol suddenly asked me then. "Never `tried' her," I answered, giving her a smile. "You were hit pretty hard," my wife smiled back then. "I think she's found the puncture hole," I answered her. ***************************************************************** "The last supplies are coming aboard now, your majesty," Ja- nice Hill said, bowing to the Queen of Trelandar as the Warlady nodded back. She looked "haggard", "worn out", but yet her eyes were "bright", "eager" as if she could not wait to set sail now! The small boats clustered around the Athena almost so thick that one could have easily jumped from the deck down on to any one of them. The awesome power of Trelandar's ruler was well displayed! "The lamp oil, the fire pumps?" Lorraine smiled, her face in shadow against the bright glow coming through the stern windows of the cabin. The Prince-Consort of Trelandar there beside her. The Athena was being "stuffed" with food, weapons, and supplies. The heavy steel bolts for its thirty two ballistae, the eight heavy catapults that the ship carried as an Imperial first rate. The first "iron clad" of the 26th Century, the inch thick steel plates inside the hull rendering the ship impervious to missiles. "And those `odd' looking little ballistae of yours," Janice added. The design of the weapons like nothing she'd ever seen! The weapons built like big compound crossbows, but fitted with big crank wheels and a sort of "hopper" that fed bolts one after another every time the bow string was drawn back to full cock by means of the crank wheels! Weapons that would fire a dozen bolts or more in as many seconds! Six such weapons now being set up on the deck on their swivel mounts where they might be put to use! "A little `invention' of my wife's," Jon Richards smiled. ***************************************************************** "That's done!" Maris spoke, giving me a smile while Carol stood there beside me. The water dripped off her soaked body. I think Maris had "done" what she had just because Carol was "there". I suspected too that Maris had wished to "prove" to my wife that she was not just another "dumb" blonde like Darlanis. I wondered too why Maris was so "terrified" of Lorraine. Not so much of the Warlady's own military capabilities, but of the woman in person. I had watched Lorraine's "interrogation" of her. I had been surprised by how "weak" Maris had seemed. Almost as if she was a slave girl and Lorraine her mistress. Yet otherwise I had seen no reason to doubt Maris' courage and bravery under fire or her competency to command a ship of war. As long as she did- n't have to face Lorraine herself Maris seemed quite "capable". I had also noticed how Maris "deferred" to Carol, who was also a "dominant" woman, although in a different way than was Lorraine. "An Imperial ballistae bolt," Maris said, lying it there on the desk before her, Lars nodding there at my side. Carol smil- ing a bit to herself. I think she too now realized how "effec- tive" the weapons of this era might be. She had told me about the dinosaur, about that "strange" feeling she had about it now. I wondered how much of a "thumb" the Priestesses of Lys did have in this "pie". They were, I sensed, almost infinitely powerful. And, I now suspected to myself, almost as "alien" as any Lorr!!! "Lorraine said she took a shot at the North Star," I said. The shimmering light from the stern windows behind Maris now highlighting her hair almost like a golden halo around her head. "It went right through the side of the ship, and was found sticking into the hull on the other side there in the bilge," the Queen of Dularn added. Such a missile weighs about four pounds, and has a velocity of nearly a hundred yards a second with a "range" of a quarter mile if fired at a forty five degree angle. Such a missile fired at close range will pass completely through a unicorn lengthwise and pierce a man standing behind the animal. "How thick is the hull of the ship?" my wife asked then. Maris explaining that the North Star was built of layers of one inch thick planks laminated together with a layer of pitch be- tween them. Such makes for a very "watertight" vessel, and also one that will take a considerable "sea" without any damage due to its "flexibility". The ship is actually built with a "skeleton" that forms the basic framework on which the hull is then laminat- ed with three layers of one inch planks, each separated by a lay- er of pitch between them. Imperial ships are heavier hulled, and while "stronger", also weigh more and thus are a hair "slower" for the same amount of sail to hull ratio. Such things are, of course, a matter of "compromise" between a number of "factors". "What you need to do is build a `ironclad'," Carol smiled. "The Imperials, or rather Lorraine, has," Maris answered. "The Athena now about ready for sea carries steel shields for the crew," the Queen of Dularn smiled. Obviously she had her spies. "The hull itself is reinforced by inch thick armor plate inside." "Why don't you do the same thing?" Carol challenged her. "Such armor is heavy, and `slows' the ship," Maris replied. "But such would save lives," my wife persisted then in turn. "And make this ship less `effective' in battle," Maris said. "Lorraine can afford to sacrifice a bit of speed, we cannot now." ***************************************************************** "I wish to get out of the harbor by nightfall," Lorraine said. Janice nodding, well aware of the nature of the order and what it would entail for those aboard. "You will put the slaves to work that I have ordered sent out to `assist' the crew." Cap- tain Hill nodded, bowed to her Queen, and then left the cabin. A hundred half naked slaves adding their own muscle to the labors. The entire resources of Trella now at work "readying" the Athena. "This isn't going to be as `fast' a ship as others of this `class'," Jon noted as Lorraine busied herself with preparations. The steel plates there on deck that would be raised as shields in battle would slow the ship as would the steel armor inside the hull. He doubted that it was even anywhere as swift as the North Star might be with its own recent modifications. On the other hand it was now nearly "invincible". Only fire weapons could be effective against it, and Lorraine's new rapid fire ballistae along with Athena's other heavy weapons would make closing the ship almost suicide for the crew of any ship that attempted it... "It will `serve'," Lorraine answered, her eyes burning hot! ***************************************************************** The merchant captain had failed to take wait for escort. The North Star had come dashing over the horizon, her blue green sails making her almost invisible against the meeting of sea and sky. A quick shot across his bow with a catapult had been enough to make him heave to. He had not been "cooperative" with Maris. A bad mistake on his part. Carol had "assisted" in the "matter". An iron had been heated in a brazier. Maris had then asked her questions again. He had proved stubborn for a short time until a red hot iron had been pressed against his flesh. Then he decided to be a bit more "cooperative" with us. We learned much then... "What sort of `defenses' does a city like Trella have?" my wife then asked, regarding the Queen of Dularn there before her. We had stripped the merchant of what we "wanted", and let him go. "Carol, you can't be `serious'," I breathed, turning a bit. "We wouldn't stand a chance," Maris answered in awed tones. "If there was a fog?" Carol challenged. Often there was. "You're going after the Athena?" Lars now ventured in turn. "We either `lick' Lorraine now or later on," Carol said. Maris giving my wife a "look" that left no doubt that Carol's use of the term "lick" meant something quite "different" in this era. "And I think it is time that we let the people of Trelandar know that `there is a war on'," my wife added, giving Maris a "smile". "You are `truly' a `WARLADY'," Maris answered my wife back. "Maybe I just `understand' a few things you don't," Carol came back in a level voice, Maris' "sarcasm" not being "missed". "Yours was an era of war like never before or after," Maris said. I recalled that she had told me that only the day before. "Better than these `chess games' of yours," Carol snapped. |
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