"2567-46" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 5 - The Warlady Of Dularn)"THE WARLADY OF DULARN" 2567 A.D.! By Jerome Bigge Chapter Forty Six "Signal the North Wind to keep Darlanis at bay," Maris snapped, the Athena now coming about, hoisting her battle flags. The North Wind already falling back, her own battle flags flying. I glanced up, saw that old familiar flag flying there over us. I suppose the early United States had a lot of "flaws", but at least they had believed in a sort of freedom unknown in this era! In a sort of "freedom" that some called "unrealistic" in my era!! The right to keep and bear arms, to live as you wished free of a government that sought only to oppress much like the Soviets had! At least the Lorr had put an "end" to that sort of "government"!! "Some of us still believe in the ideals of Washington, Jef- ferson, and the others," the Queen of Dularn said to me smiling. That was probably why she had picked the one that she had now... "Might have a little psychological effect on Lorraine too," I smiled. Like us, she was from the 20th Century. I recalled the conversations I'd had with her back then. She had said that America had "drifted" far from the ideals of its founders. Now she would be forced to fight against someone who held those same ideals. I wondered if it would have any "effect" upon her now... "You might want a few words with your wife," Maris smiled, her eyes meeting mine. I wondered if there was a "LYS" or not? I supposed so. Everyone including Lorraine believed in her now. "And tell the bosuns I want the most experienced men in the rig- ging ready to make sail at my order," the Queen of Dularn added!! ***************************************************************** "Beat to quarters, rig for battle, raise the shields!" the Warlady snapped, captain Janice Hill relaying her orders to the crew. The massive heavy inch thick shields being lifted up into position on either side of the ship. "We may end up fighting both of them, but lets hope Darlanis can hold that second one!" "Hardly seems `fair'," Janice "muttered", standing there. "Another `dumb blonde' like Darlanis," Lorraine snapped. "Maybe she's got `something' to fight for," Janice replied, the Imperial Warlady's eyes for a brief instant like those of a great predatory animal as Janice shuddered at the "look" in them! "Just `do' your `duty'!" the Queen of Trelandar now snapped! ***************************************************************** "Any ideas?" I asked Carol, holding her in my arms. We had armed everyone we could, stripping the North Wind of all its ex- tra small arms. Our only hope was to close with the Athena, and fight it out hand to hand. We couldn't lick the dreadnought in a ship to ship action, certainly not against Lorraine's own armor!! "I'm still a `crafty wench'," Carol smiled, kissing me then. "And we have `more' to fight for than `they' do," my wife added. I hoped so, the Athena being a "thirty two" to our "twenty four". The ship being a hundred and forty feet long, twenty more than the North Star. Broader beamed too, and considerably "heavier". The design reminding me much of an Eighteenth Century "frigate"!! "Bow to bow," Maris muttered from beside me, her eyes on the approaching dreadnought less than a mile or so away. The Athena was heavy, slow in the water. The sun gone below the horizon. The sunset was beautiful. Perhaps the last one I'd ever see, I knew. The old "Stars and Stripes" flew up there over our heads. A bit of "history" from an era to most now only myth and legend. "Think what she can do, and do what she can't," I said then. "Bob!" Carol suddenly cried, "What if we fire over her bow!" "Load darts instead of javelins or shot!" Maris cried out! Such missiles could be fired so that they would come falling down on the Athena in such a way that her shields would be worthless!! "Put your best gunners on the broadside you're going to use," I said to my brownette, her eyes gleaming with excitement! She is truly a "Warlady" in more than just her title, I know now! "The port broadside would be best," Maris "suggested" then. We would fire, and then spin the ship around as quickly as we could before Lorraine could turn hers and then fire back at us. The wind was not very strong. The Athena would be "sluggish" to respond to wind and helm. I wondered if Lorraine knew that now? ***************************************************************** "What would you `do' in her place?" Jon asked his wife as she stood there on the Athena's quarterdeck looking at the ap- proaching North Star through a telescope. The Athena did not handle well, Janice had told him, her ability to maneuver faulty. While Lorraine seemed to be able to handle her fairly well, he was well aware that it took all of Lorraine's talents to do so... "Our positions are similar to those when I took the Huntress up against the North Star last year," the Warlady "smiled" in re- ply, looking over to where Janice Hill now restlessly paced the deck. She did not add that Maris now held the same position she had back then. The North Star could easily sail circles around the slow massive Athena. On the other hand the Athena's superior firepower and her armor plate made her truly a dreadnought now... "And Maris is a lot more `experienced' now," Jon pointed out to his black clad wife. She also had the pair from the 20th Cen- tury, although Lorraine had said they would be of little value to Maris in a battle like this, as such warfare was "alien" to them. "The `odds' are in our favor," the Warlady smiled back then. She hoped that Jon had not noticed that she had lied to him then. If the North Wind could come to the North Star's assistance, then they would be attacked from both sides at once, and the Athena did not have the crew to fight both sides of the ship at once... ***************************************************************** "When I give the word, everyone must fire at once," Maris said. Carol nodding, her sword gleaming there in the twilight. We had, I thought perhaps less than an hour of light to fight by. The Athena now less than half a mile ahead of us. Lorraine had hoisted only her main set of sails for better maneuverability, I had noticed there in the telescope. Maris had done the same. Two "legends" were going to sail to battle this day. Lorraine was the Empire's "best" by far, and Maris hopefully was Dularn's. "Swiftstar has broken free from Miles," I pointed out. We would soon have Darlanis to contend with again. She seemed to be in "command" of her own ship, which surprised me a bit. The big blonde had never impressed me too much with her intelligence, al- though I knew she wasn't really all that "stupid", just reckless! The North Wind was coming in pursuit, but Darlanis was pulling up on us, her battle flags flying bravely from both her mast heads! One thing Darlanis didn't lack, and that was "guts", I thought!!! "We will `deal' with that problem when the time comes," Ma- ris answered back, her voice a bit "short" just then, I noticed! The Queen turning to me and saying, "Remember we will be turning to starboard, and the spanker is the sail we will be using here." "My `trust' is in you," I said to the Queen, kissing her! I saw Carol's eyes, saw her smile. I was glad she "understood" it! Maris was regal in her full dress uniform, the tiara in her hair. We were Dularnians, all of us, and she was our own beloved Queen! ***************************************************************** "The North Star is starting to turn!" Janice Hill cried out. Lorraine wondered for a second what Maris Marn was "up" to, then she "understood", an icy hand of terror clutching at her heart!!! "Hard to port, let fly the spanker!" Lorraine snapped, her awesome mind hard at work! "Starboard battery, prepare to fire!" The Athena slowly turning, even the forces of wind and helm not enough to match the swiftness of the North Star's rapid turning!! ***************************************************************** "Fire!" Maris cried, Carol's sword swinging down as she re- peated the order. Our firing discipline was good, our weapons firing as almost one! Twelve sheaves of darts from our ballis- tae, and three full "patterns" of them from our three catapults!! I watched the Athena swinging slowly to present her own broadside to us, thought of those sixteen ballistae and four catapults that made up her broadside! The North Star still turning, coming around, almost stern on to the Athena now as I saw Lorraine fire! ***************************************************************** "Take her below!" Jon cried, holding Lorraine in his arms, the dart from the North Star there in her left shoulder! He wanted to pull it out, the blood already staining her blouse, but knew better. The Warlady's eyes burning up into his as she shook her head in the negative, her teeth gritted against the pain of the wound! "Janice, take command!" he snapped, the young woman captain of the Athena nodding, the terror showing in her eyes... Suddenly she was being placed in command in the midst of battle!! ***************************************************************** "Aiii!" Maris screamed, the ballistae bolt driven into her thigh pinning her to the quarterdeck railing. I could see the blood, a great red stain against the blue silk of her hose, al- ready running down her leg! "Pull it out!" she screamed in pain! I grabbed her leg, yanked with all my strength, the bolt slipping free, Maris collapsing to the deck, the blood spurting from her torn thigh! Kathi standing there, her eyes livid pools of horror as she saw what had happened! The midshipman staring at me from sightless eyes, the bolt pinning him against the aft mast like a fly, the blood still pooling there at his feet. To my horror I saw Carol down, Anis bending over her, several others lying on the deck tended by some of the crew, the Athena's awesome broad- side having raked down the length of the North Star from stern to bowsprit! The ship's Physician would have her hands full now!!! "Anis!" I cried as I wrapped a cord around Maris' leg to slow the bleeding, twisting it tight with a belaying pin! "Take Carol's position!" I saw her nod, now doing so. I saw two women now gather up the limp form of my wife, and carry her below. The North Star now sailing south, the Athena in pursuit, the North Wind sailing to meet us, now chasing after the rapidly closing Swiftstar! Anis now dashing about the deck, getting the star- board broadside ready to fire again, this time at the Swiftstar! "Try to remember what I told you," Maris breathed, looking up into my eyes. She had lost a lot of blood, a great puddle of it there on the deck. More oozing from her torn thigh with every beat of her heart! "Don't let them have an `easy victory' now!" "Anis!" I cried, lifting my head. "Ready the port battery!" I didn't think Darlanis was experienced enough to react quickly! "Take her below," I said, the women now coming for their Queen. "Lars!" I cried, standing there, my bloody hands on the quarterdeck railing, the puddle of blood from Maris, dark in the twilight, at my feet. "Get ready to let fly the jib!" I would fire a full broadside of darts right down the length of Darlanis' deck! If I could knock her out of the fight, then perhaps the North Wind and the North Star might be able to deal with Athena!! I saw Sandi at his side, her neck chain gleaming against the tan of her throat. Anis standing there on the main deck, her black hair and build reminding me then of Lorraine! Swiftstar coming up fast, Darlanis charging into battle like some angry pit bull!! ***************************************************************** "I have to get back up on deck, Janice will need me now," Jon said, holding Lorraine's hand in his. The Warlady's voice a soft whisper as she nodded, saying that she understood he was needed. The Physician and her slave girl helpers as bloody as butchers, he noticed. The Athena's sickbay filled with wounded!! The North Star's "trick" had been extremely effective, he knew... The swinging lamps, the moans and sobs of the wounded like a glimpse into hell, he thought to himself, then leaving his Queen. ***************************************************************** "Let fly the jib, helm hard to port!" I snapped, the North Star coming about like the sweet lady she is, the Swiftstar now a quarter of a mile away, closing rapidly, Darlanis doubtlessly now well "aware" of what I was trying to do, I suspected, seeing men dashing over her deck, her own jib suddenly flying free as Swift- star started too late to turn away. "Fire!" I cried, Anis good as Carol had been, I saw, several hundred darts tearing through the air towards the Swiftstar now some three hundred yards away!! "Let fly the spanker, swing her around to port!" I cried. I saw Anis grabbing men, women, sending them over to the other side of the ship. We did have a "big enough" crew to man both sides!! The North Star now turning back, Swiftstar turning away, present- ing her stern as the starboard battery now fired its own broad- side down the length of Darlanis' ship! The North Wind coming up, now broadside to broadside with Swiftstar, and firing another full broadside into Darlanis' ship as it passed on by her then... "THE WARLADY OF DULARN" 2567 A.D.! By Jerome Bigge Chapter Forty Six "Signal the North Wind to keep Darlanis at bay," Maris snapped, the Athena now coming about, hoisting her battle flags. The North Wind already falling back, her own battle flags flying. I glanced up, saw that old familiar flag flying there over us. I suppose the early United States had a lot of "flaws", but at least they had believed in a sort of freedom unknown in this era! In a sort of "freedom" that some called "unrealistic" in my era!! The right to keep and bear arms, to live as you wished free of a government that sought only to oppress much like the Soviets had! At least the Lorr had put an "end" to that sort of "government"!! "Some of us still believe in the ideals of Washington, Jef- ferson, and the others," the Queen of Dularn said to me smiling. That was probably why she had picked the one that she had now... "Might have a little psychological effect on Lorraine too," I smiled. Like us, she was from the 20th Century. I recalled the conversations I'd had with her back then. She had said that America had "drifted" far from the ideals of its founders. Now she would be forced to fight against someone who held those same ideals. I wondered if it would have any "effect" upon her now... "You might want a few words with your wife," Maris smiled, her eyes meeting mine. I wondered if there was a "LYS" or not? I supposed so. Everyone including Lorraine believed in her now. "And tell the bosuns I want the most experienced men in the rig- ging ready to make sail at my order," the Queen of Dularn added!! ***************************************************************** "Beat to quarters, rig for battle, raise the shields!" the Warlady snapped, captain Janice Hill relaying her orders to the crew. The massive heavy inch thick shields being lifted up into position on either side of the ship. "We may end up fighting both of them, but lets hope Darlanis can hold that second one!" "Hardly seems `fair'," Janice "muttered", standing there. "Another `dumb blonde' like Darlanis," Lorraine snapped. "Maybe she's got `something' to fight for," Janice replied, the Imperial Warlady's eyes for a brief instant like those of a great predatory animal as Janice shuddered at the "look" in them! "Just `do' your `duty'!" the Queen of Trelandar now snapped! ***************************************************************** "Any ideas?" I asked Carol, holding her in my arms. We had armed everyone we could, stripping the North Wind of all its ex- tra small arms. Our only hope was to close with the Athena, and fight it out hand to hand. We couldn't lick the dreadnought in a ship to ship action, certainly not against Lorraine's own armor!! "I'm still a `crafty wench'," Carol smiled, kissing me then. "And we have `more' to fight for than `they' do," my wife added. I hoped so, the Athena being a "thirty two" to our "twenty four". The ship being a hundred and forty feet long, twenty more than the North Star. Broader beamed too, and considerably "heavier". The design reminding me much of an Eighteenth Century "frigate"!! "Bow to bow," Maris muttered from beside me, her eyes on the approaching dreadnought less than a mile or so away. The Athena was heavy, slow in the water. The sun gone below the horizon. The sunset was beautiful. Perhaps the last one I'd ever see, I knew. The old "Stars and Stripes" flew up there over our heads. A bit of "history" from an era to most now only myth and legend. "Think what she can do, and do what she can't," I said then. "Bob!" Carol suddenly cried, "What if we fire over her bow!" "Load darts instead of javelins or shot!" Maris cried out! Such missiles could be fired so that they would come falling down on the Athena in such a way that her shields would be worthless!! "Put your best gunners on the broadside you're going to use," I said to my brownette, her eyes gleaming with excitement! She is truly a "Warlady" in more than just her title, I know now! "The port broadside would be best," Maris "suggested" then. We would fire, and then spin the ship around as quickly as we could before Lorraine could turn hers and then fire back at us. The wind was not very strong. The Athena would be "sluggish" to respond to wind and helm. I wondered if Lorraine knew that now? ***************************************************************** "What would you `do' in her place?" Jon asked his wife as she stood there on the Athena's quarterdeck looking at the ap- proaching North Star through a telescope. The Athena did not handle well, Janice had told him, her ability to maneuver faulty. While Lorraine seemed to be able to handle her fairly well, he was well aware that it took all of Lorraine's talents to do so... "Our positions are similar to those when I took the Huntress up against the North Star last year," the Warlady "smiled" in re- ply, looking over to where Janice Hill now restlessly paced the deck. She did not add that Maris now held the same position she had back then. The North Star could easily sail circles around the slow massive Athena. On the other hand the Athena's superior firepower and her armor plate made her truly a dreadnought now... "And Maris is a lot more `experienced' now," Jon pointed out to his black clad wife. She also had the pair from the 20th Cen- tury, although Lorraine had said they would be of little value to Maris in a battle like this, as such warfare was "alien" to them. "The `odds' are in our favor," the Warlady smiled back then. She hoped that Jon had not noticed that she had lied to him then. If the North Wind could come to the North Star's assistance, then they would be attacked from both sides at once, and the Athena did not have the crew to fight both sides of the ship at once... ***************************************************************** "When I give the word, everyone must fire at once," Maris said. Carol nodding, her sword gleaming there in the twilight. We had, I thought perhaps less than an hour of light to fight by. The Athena now less than half a mile ahead of us. Lorraine had hoisted only her main set of sails for better maneuverability, I had noticed there in the telescope. Maris had done the same. Two "legends" were going to sail to battle this day. Lorraine was the Empire's "best" by far, and Maris hopefully was Dularn's. "Swiftstar has broken free from Miles," I pointed out. We would soon have Darlanis to contend with again. She seemed to be in "command" of her own ship, which surprised me a bit. The big blonde had never impressed me too much with her intelligence, al- though I knew she wasn't really all that "stupid", just reckless! The North Wind was coming in pursuit, but Darlanis was pulling up on us, her battle flags flying bravely from both her mast heads! One thing Darlanis didn't lack, and that was "guts", I thought!!! "We will `deal' with that problem when the time comes," Ma- ris answered back, her voice a bit "short" just then, I noticed! The Queen turning to me and saying, "Remember we will be turning to starboard, and the spanker is the sail we will be using here." "My `trust' is in you," I said to the Queen, kissing her! I saw Carol's eyes, saw her smile. I was glad she "understood" it! Maris was regal in her full dress uniform, the tiara in her hair. We were Dularnians, all of us, and she was our own beloved Queen! ***************************************************************** "The North Star is starting to turn!" Janice Hill cried out. Lorraine wondered for a second what Maris Marn was "up" to, then she "understood", an icy hand of terror clutching at her heart!!! "Hard to port, let fly the spanker!" Lorraine snapped, her awesome mind hard at work! "Starboard battery, prepare to fire!" The Athena slowly turning, even the forces of wind and helm not enough to match the swiftness of the North Star's rapid turning!! ***************************************************************** "Fire!" Maris cried, Carol's sword swinging down as she re- peated the order. Our firing discipline was good, our weapons firing as almost one! Twelve sheaves of darts from our ballis- tae, and three full "patterns" of them from our three catapults!! I watched the Athena swinging slowly to present her own broadside to us, thought of those sixteen ballistae and four catapults that made up her broadside! The North Star still turning, coming around, almost stern on to the Athena now as I saw Lorraine fire! ***************************************************************** "Take her below!" Jon cried, holding Lorraine in his arms, the dart from the North Star there in her left shoulder! He wanted to pull it out, the blood already staining her blouse, but knew better. The Warlady's eyes burning up into his as she shook her head in the negative, her teeth gritted against the pain of the wound! "Janice, take command!" he snapped, the young woman captain of the Athena nodding, the terror showing in her eyes... Suddenly she was being placed in command in the midst of battle!! ***************************************************************** "Aiii!" Maris screamed, the ballistae bolt driven into her thigh pinning her to the quarterdeck railing. I could see the blood, a great red stain against the blue silk of her hose, al- ready running down her leg! "Pull it out!" she screamed in pain! I grabbed her leg, yanked with all my strength, the bolt slipping free, Maris collapsing to the deck, the blood spurting from her torn thigh! Kathi standing there, her eyes livid pools of horror as she saw what had happened! The midshipman staring at me from sightless eyes, the bolt pinning him against the aft mast like a fly, the blood still pooling there at his feet. To my horror I saw Carol down, Anis bending over her, several others lying on the deck tended by some of the crew, the Athena's awesome broad- side having raked down the length of the North Star from stern to bowsprit! The ship's Physician would have her hands full now!!! "Anis!" I cried as I wrapped a cord around Maris' leg to slow the bleeding, twisting it tight with a belaying pin! "Take Carol's position!" I saw her nod, now doing so. I saw two women now gather up the limp form of my wife, and carry her below. The North Star now sailing south, the Athena in pursuit, the North Wind sailing to meet us, now chasing after the rapidly closing Swiftstar! Anis now dashing about the deck, getting the star- board broadside ready to fire again, this time at the Swiftstar! "Try to remember what I told you," Maris breathed, looking up into my eyes. She had lost a lot of blood, a great puddle of it there on the deck. More oozing from her torn thigh with every beat of her heart! "Don't let them have an `easy victory' now!" "Anis!" I cried, lifting my head. "Ready the port battery!" I didn't think Darlanis was experienced enough to react quickly! "Take her below," I said, the women now coming for their Queen. "Lars!" I cried, standing there, my bloody hands on the quarterdeck railing, the puddle of blood from Maris, dark in the twilight, at my feet. "Get ready to let fly the jib!" I would fire a full broadside of darts right down the length of Darlanis' deck! If I could knock her out of the fight, then perhaps the North Wind and the North Star might be able to deal with Athena!! I saw Sandi at his side, her neck chain gleaming against the tan of her throat. Anis standing there on the main deck, her black hair and build reminding me then of Lorraine! Swiftstar coming up fast, Darlanis charging into battle like some angry pit bull!! ***************************************************************** "I have to get back up on deck, Janice will need me now," Jon said, holding Lorraine's hand in his. The Warlady's voice a soft whisper as she nodded, saying that she understood he was needed. The Physician and her slave girl helpers as bloody as butchers, he noticed. The Athena's sickbay filled with wounded!! The North Star's "trick" had been extremely effective, he knew... The swinging lamps, the moans and sobs of the wounded like a glimpse into hell, he thought to himself, then leaving his Queen. ***************************************************************** "Let fly the jib, helm hard to port!" I snapped, the North Star coming about like the sweet lady she is, the Swiftstar now a quarter of a mile away, closing rapidly, Darlanis doubtlessly now well "aware" of what I was trying to do, I suspected, seeing men dashing over her deck, her own jib suddenly flying free as Swift- star started too late to turn away. "Fire!" I cried, Anis good as Carol had been, I saw, several hundred darts tearing through the air towards the Swiftstar now some three hundred yards away!! "Let fly the spanker, swing her around to port!" I cried. I saw Anis grabbing men, women, sending them over to the other side of the ship. We did have a "big enough" crew to man both sides!! The North Star now turning back, Swiftstar turning away, present- ing her stern as the starboard battery now fired its own broad- side down the length of Darlanis' ship! The North Wind coming up, now broadside to broadside with Swiftstar, and firing another full broadside into Darlanis' ship as it passed on by her then... |
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