"2567-49" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 5 - The Warlady Of Dularn)"THE WARLADY OF DULARN" 2567 A.D.! By Jerome Bigge Chapter Forty Nine "Good bye, and good luck!" Maris Marn, the Queen of Dularn spoke as we held her hands in ours. It was a lovely late summer day. A day to laze on the beach, soak up some sun, work on a tan. Not a day to be sailing a warship out into a hostile ocean! "Just make sure that we have a `home' to come back to," my wife smiled, taking the Queen of Dularn in her arms, kissing her. Maris nodded, well aware of how "close" she'd come to losing all. I looked up at the flapping flag, the circle of white stars in the blue field, the thirteen red and white alternate stripes. The Senate had not raised that much "objection" to this new flag of ours. I wondered what the Imperial reaction to it would be? Darlanis maintained that she "represented" the old United States. "Swiftstar's got her anchor hove up short," Carol spoke, bringing me back to the reality of the present. Lars was a good competent captain despite his lack of experience at "command"... "Jib and spanker," I spoke, the first officer nodding. She was blonde haired, green eyed, and "capable" from what I knew of her. Sandra was her name, her last name "Steven". She was from the "disputed territories" as they are called, the northern part of the State of Washington back in the 20th Century. We also had Kathi aboard as our personal slave girl, I might note in passing. "Aye, Aye, Sir," Sandra answered, relaying my orders to the bosuns. The sails rapidly ascending the masts. The North Star now being drawn up to her anchor by a dozen men on the capstan. I hoped Maris would be happy with my seamanship. There were at least three or four thousand people watching. It would not "do" at all to allow the North Star to crash into another ship or be taken "all aback" right here in the harbor with a good part of Arsana watching! There was a big difference in sailing the ship with Maris there to correct my "mistakes" and sailing her with no one to turn to as its captain! True, I had my officers to rely upon, and I supposed Carol could "help", but it was my responsi- bility, and I wanted to be sure that I did it right this time... I saw the Swiftstar take the wind in her sails, her anchor suddenly coming out of the water, muddy and dripping, and I knew I could delay no longer now! I barked the order to hoist the an- chor, and suddenly the North Star was moving, the wind in her sails! Drifting backwards for a few seconds until I let her fall off a bit, then with her jib and spanker close hauled she became a living thing beneath my feet, and we were off to sea again now! "A good design," I said to Carol, who smiled back, standing there beside me. The crew at my order now hoisting the main sail as we followed the wake of the Swiftstar out of Arsana's harbor, its blue green hull and sails now the mark of a Dularnian raider. "You're a good first officer," I said to Sandra, my careful inspection of the ship having found little to complain about now. We were well out, perhaps thirty miles or more at sea. The sails of the Swiftstar visible there a few miles ahead. Carol standing there on the quarterdeck, watching, her eyes now missing little. We had left Arsana the day before, and I had left orders that the ship was to be brought up to fighting readiness immediately now. "I hope someday to have a command of my own," she smiled. She had been the only surviving officer from the North Wind, al- though her "command" was now only a wreck there in Arsana waiting to be dismantled for parts. I considered her highly competent... "We seem to have a lot of young girls on this ship," Carol said to me as we ate dinner in the stern cabin, Kathi serving us. All three of our midshipmen were young girls in their mid teens. I suspected that "politics" was involved here too to some degree. "Maris must have `owed' some `political debts'," I smiled. We really didn't have that many girls actually, but I did feel a bit "uncomfortable" with the thought of exposing sixteen year old girls to combat. We had no way of knowing if Darlanis wouldn't put one of her own second rates out on patrol, or even perhaps bring up one of the surviving first rates she had as a patrol. On the other hand all those belonged to Lorraine, who might have a different "view" of matters here due to our treaty with Sanda. "We need to `work' on our tactics," Carol said, changing the subject. She was most definitely starting to think like a "War- lady", I thought to myself. Another of the same cut as Lorraine! "There's no telling what we'll run into when we get further down the coast line." Maris' plan had been for us to "harass" the Im- perials as much as we could, while taking as little a "risk" as possible in the hope that this might force Darlanis to seriously reconsider her policies. So far as we knew, the "agreement" be- tween Dularn and Trelandar still held, although Lorraine could of course void it if she so wished. On the other hand it would not be to her "advantage" to do so, something I hoped to point out to her when we reached Trella, our current eventual destination now. In my view the key to peace laid with Lorraine, who had little to gain from continued warfare with Dularn. Much unlike Darlanis... "And we need to have training sessions," I pointed out in turn. Both Carol and I might get killed, or wounded, and someone would have to sail the ship then, perhaps handle her in battle... I watched the Swiftstar come up into the wind, now taken all aback. I suspected some poor midshipman was wishing right now that he or she hadn't ever been born! The one now standing there on my quarter deck nervously shifting from one foot to the other! "Remember Shari that you steer with the sails as well as the rudder," I told her, the girl's green eyes wide with terror now!! We had tied the wheel, forcing the girls to steer with the sails. "Aye, aye sir," she gasped, the wind blowing her dark hair. I considered her the best of the three, the other two daughters of aristocrats, both blondes, and while able to carry out orders, not of the "quality" I thought I'd want in command of the ship... "Jib and spanker," Carol added, giving Shari a smile then. "If we ever sail again, I'm picking the officers," Carol said to me that evening at supper, Kathi to one side eating hers. Shari was the only "competent" midshipman we had, with Sandra the only competent officer. I wondered how Lars was doing with his? The second officer was another "political appointee", I noticed. She was tall, blondish, and no more a "sailor" than some farmer! The elder daughter of a powerful Senator, unmarried at thirty. I noticed that she seemed to go about as if in deep thought most of the time, her mind in any case far from her "duties" on the ship! "Maris `owed' too many people," I replied, well aware of the issue here. Hopefully it would not impair our fighting ability. "Maybe we can make something of `what' we have," Carol sug- gested with a smile. I suspected those two midshipmen would be wishing they were back home with their mothers before long now... "Now, Denise, the enemy is approaching us bows on," Carol said, standing there, the bright sunlight striking highlights off her walnut hair, off the hilts of her sword and dagger, the gold trim of her uniform as the Warlady of Dularn. Denise, sixteen, blonde and beautiful looking at her with consider concern right now after having seen what had "happened" to her friend Monica. Carol having told that "unfortunate" that if she didn't "improve' and "soon" she was going to be "kissing the gunner's daughter"!* * It is a common practice to "discipline" midshipmen of both sex- es by bending them over the frame of an uncocked ballistae and then vigorously applying a good supple switch to their rear ends! A similar practice was carried out in the old sailing navies of the past with midshipmen (all male back then) I may note. (R.S.) "Lady Carol!" Shari interrupted, "Swiftstar is signaling!" "Signal `A'," I spoke to Carol. That was "Enemy in sight!" I could see the flashes of the light myself. The blue green sails of the ship blending in with the sea, the sky, the hull al- most invisible against the ocean. At night we could cover the hulls with canvas. I had made the "suggestion" to paint the two ships thus shortly after we first reached Dularn. "I'd like to call up the crew, go to battle stations," I told my Warlady then. Although I was married to Carol, she was my superior officer now and I tried to maintain "protocol" for the sake of "discipline". "That would doubtlessly be wise," Carol smiled back at me. "Imperial second rate," Carol said, lowering the telescope. That had been my first impression too, but why was he now turning away? Any Imperial would have hoisted battle flags at the sight of a Dularnian, especially as it was unlikely that he knew of the North Star as yet, the Swiftstar being considerably ahead of us. "I would like to investigate," I smiled, seeing her nod. "At least the crew is `competent'," Carol observed. They seemed to at least know the difference between a stay sail and a stun sail, which was more than I could say for Denise and Monica. The North Star now smashing through the waves, every sail set. I could see the enemy ship, fleeing towards the south, Swiftstar in hot pursuit. Why should an Imperial warship run from Lars' ship? "That's not an Imperial warship," I said to Carol then, her hazel eyes for an instant showing disbelief before she nodded in understanding. There was only one sort of a "merchant" who would be sailing these seas in that sort of a vessel. One built for speed, not carrying capacity. And there is only one "cargo" that is valuable enough to justify the expense of buying such a ship!! "We could use a ship like that," Carol said to me then. I nodded. We were Dularn's last second rate now with the North Wind gone and the Northland destroyed the year before by fire. I knew that the Senate felt that commissioning privateers made more sense in this sort of a war. Dularn had a number of third rates, ships more suitable for patrol against pirates and that sort now. Most of these were two masted schooners much like the Swiftstar. "The `cargo' is doubtlessly quite `lovely'," I smiled back. "Doesn't smell that `pretty'," Carol smiled at me, the cap- tured slaver now hove to, Swiftstar's shot across her bow suffi- cient for the slaver captain to be "reasonable" about matters. The slave girls would be of course chained below decks, no doubt on straw, which isn't changed very often on any slaver's ship... "THE WARLADY OF DULARN" 2567 A.D.! By Jerome Bigge Chapter Forty Nine "Good bye, and good luck!" Maris Marn, the Queen of Dularn spoke as we held her hands in ours. It was a lovely late summer day. A day to laze on the beach, soak up some sun, work on a tan. Not a day to be sailing a warship out into a hostile ocean! "Just make sure that we have a `home' to come back to," my wife smiled, taking the Queen of Dularn in her arms, kissing her. Maris nodded, well aware of how "close" she'd come to losing all. I looked up at the flapping flag, the circle of white stars in the blue field, the thirteen red and white alternate stripes. The Senate had not raised that much "objection" to this new flag of ours. I wondered what the Imperial reaction to it would be? Darlanis maintained that she "represented" the old United States. "Swiftstar's got her anchor hove up short," Carol spoke, bringing me back to the reality of the present. Lars was a good competent captain despite his lack of experience at "command"... "Jib and spanker," I spoke, the first officer nodding. She was blonde haired, green eyed, and "capable" from what I knew of her. Sandra was her name, her last name "Steven". She was from the "disputed territories" as they are called, the northern part of the State of Washington back in the 20th Century. We also had Kathi aboard as our personal slave girl, I might note in passing. "Aye, Aye, Sir," Sandra answered, relaying my orders to the bosuns. The sails rapidly ascending the masts. The North Star now being drawn up to her anchor by a dozen men on the capstan. I hoped Maris would be happy with my seamanship. There were at least three or four thousand people watching. It would not "do" at all to allow the North Star to crash into another ship or be taken "all aback" right here in the harbor with a good part of Arsana watching! There was a big difference in sailing the ship with Maris there to correct my "mistakes" and sailing her with no one to turn to as its captain! True, I had my officers to rely upon, and I supposed Carol could "help", but it was my responsi- bility, and I wanted to be sure that I did it right this time... I saw the Swiftstar take the wind in her sails, her anchor suddenly coming out of the water, muddy and dripping, and I knew I could delay no longer now! I barked the order to hoist the an- chor, and suddenly the North Star was moving, the wind in her sails! Drifting backwards for a few seconds until I let her fall off a bit, then with her jib and spanker close hauled she became a living thing beneath my feet, and we were off to sea again now! "A good design," I said to Carol, who smiled back, standing there beside me. The crew at my order now hoisting the main sail as we followed the wake of the Swiftstar out of Arsana's harbor, its blue green hull and sails now the mark of a Dularnian raider. "You're a good first officer," I said to Sandra, my careful inspection of the ship having found little to complain about now. We were well out, perhaps thirty miles or more at sea. The sails of the Swiftstar visible there a few miles ahead. Carol standing there on the quarterdeck, watching, her eyes now missing little. We had left Arsana the day before, and I had left orders that the ship was to be brought up to fighting readiness immediately now. "I hope someday to have a command of my own," she smiled. She had been the only surviving officer from the North Wind, al- though her "command" was now only a wreck there in Arsana waiting to be dismantled for parts. I considered her highly competent... "We seem to have a lot of young girls on this ship," Carol said to me as we ate dinner in the stern cabin, Kathi serving us. All three of our midshipmen were young girls in their mid teens. I suspected that "politics" was involved here too to some degree. "Maris must have `owed' some `political debts'," I smiled. We really didn't have that many girls actually, but I did feel a bit "uncomfortable" with the thought of exposing sixteen year old girls to combat. We had no way of knowing if Darlanis wouldn't put one of her own second rates out on patrol, or even perhaps bring up one of the surviving first rates she had as a patrol. On the other hand all those belonged to Lorraine, who might have a different "view" of matters here due to our treaty with Sanda. "We need to `work' on our tactics," Carol said, changing the subject. She was most definitely starting to think like a "War- lady", I thought to myself. Another of the same cut as Lorraine! "There's no telling what we'll run into when we get further down the coast line." Maris' plan had been for us to "harass" the Im- perials as much as we could, while taking as little a "risk" as possible in the hope that this might force Darlanis to seriously reconsider her policies. So far as we knew, the "agreement" be- tween Dularn and Trelandar still held, although Lorraine could of course void it if she so wished. On the other hand it would not be to her "advantage" to do so, something I hoped to point out to her when we reached Trella, our current eventual destination now. In my view the key to peace laid with Lorraine, who had little to gain from continued warfare with Dularn. Much unlike Darlanis... "And we need to have training sessions," I pointed out in turn. Both Carol and I might get killed, or wounded, and someone would have to sail the ship then, perhaps handle her in battle... I watched the Swiftstar come up into the wind, now taken all aback. I suspected some poor midshipman was wishing right now that he or she hadn't ever been born! The one now standing there on my quarter deck nervously shifting from one foot to the other! "Remember Shari that you steer with the sails as well as the rudder," I told her, the girl's green eyes wide with terror now!! We had tied the wheel, forcing the girls to steer with the sails. "Aye, aye sir," she gasped, the wind blowing her dark hair. I considered her the best of the three, the other two daughters of aristocrats, both blondes, and while able to carry out orders, not of the "quality" I thought I'd want in command of the ship... "Jib and spanker," Carol added, giving Shari a smile then. "If we ever sail again, I'm picking the officers," Carol said to me that evening at supper, Kathi to one side eating hers. Shari was the only "competent" midshipman we had, with Sandra the only competent officer. I wondered how Lars was doing with his? The second officer was another "political appointee", I noticed. She was tall, blondish, and no more a "sailor" than some farmer! The elder daughter of a powerful Senator, unmarried at thirty. I noticed that she seemed to go about as if in deep thought most of the time, her mind in any case far from her "duties" on the ship! "Maris `owed' too many people," I replied, well aware of the issue here. Hopefully it would not impair our fighting ability. "Maybe we can make something of `what' we have," Carol sug- gested with a smile. I suspected those two midshipmen would be wishing they were back home with their mothers before long now... "Now, Denise, the enemy is approaching us bows on," Carol said, standing there, the bright sunlight striking highlights off her walnut hair, off the hilts of her sword and dagger, the gold trim of her uniform as the Warlady of Dularn. Denise, sixteen, blonde and beautiful looking at her with consider concern right now after having seen what had "happened" to her friend Monica. Carol having told that "unfortunate" that if she didn't "improve' and "soon" she was going to be "kissing the gunner's daughter"!* * It is a common practice to "discipline" midshipmen of both sex- es by bending them over the frame of an uncocked ballistae and then vigorously applying a good supple switch to their rear ends! A similar practice was carried out in the old sailing navies of the past with midshipmen (all male back then) I may note. (R.S.) "Lady Carol!" Shari interrupted, "Swiftstar is signaling!" "Signal `A'," I spoke to Carol. That was "Enemy in sight!" I could see the flashes of the light myself. The blue green sails of the ship blending in with the sea, the sky, the hull al- most invisible against the ocean. At night we could cover the hulls with canvas. I had made the "suggestion" to paint the two ships thus shortly after we first reached Dularn. "I'd like to call up the crew, go to battle stations," I told my Warlady then. Although I was married to Carol, she was my superior officer now and I tried to maintain "protocol" for the sake of "discipline". "That would doubtlessly be wise," Carol smiled back at me. "Imperial second rate," Carol said, lowering the telescope. That had been my first impression too, but why was he now turning away? Any Imperial would have hoisted battle flags at the sight of a Dularnian, especially as it was unlikely that he knew of the North Star as yet, the Swiftstar being considerably ahead of us. "I would like to investigate," I smiled, seeing her nod. "At least the crew is `competent'," Carol observed. They seemed to at least know the difference between a stay sail and a stun sail, which was more than I could say for Denise and Monica. The North Star now smashing through the waves, every sail set. I could see the enemy ship, fleeing towards the south, Swiftstar in hot pursuit. Why should an Imperial warship run from Lars' ship? "That's not an Imperial warship," I said to Carol then, her hazel eyes for an instant showing disbelief before she nodded in understanding. There was only one sort of a "merchant" who would be sailing these seas in that sort of a vessel. One built for speed, not carrying capacity. And there is only one "cargo" that is valuable enough to justify the expense of buying such a ship!! "We could use a ship like that," Carol said to me then. I nodded. We were Dularn's last second rate now with the North Wind gone and the Northland destroyed the year before by fire. I knew that the Senate felt that commissioning privateers made more sense in this sort of a war. Dularn had a number of third rates, ships more suitable for patrol against pirates and that sort now. Most of these were two masted schooners much like the Swiftstar. "The `cargo' is doubtlessly quite `lovely'," I smiled back. "Doesn't smell that `pretty'," Carol smiled at me, the cap- tured slaver now hove to, Swiftstar's shot across her bow suffi- cient for the slaver captain to be "reasonable" about matters. The slave girls would be of course chained below decks, no doubt on straw, which isn't changed very often on any slaver's ship... |
|
|