"2568-02" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 6 - In Harms Way)"IN HARM'S WAY" AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Robert J. Simmons Chapter Two I watched the last lights of Arsana fade out in the blowing snow, Sandra barking orders as the main sail was then hoisted up. It was a lousy night for sailors, I thought to myself just then. The ropes were stiff, icy, the deck and yards slippery with wet snow. It is easy to injure yourself under such conditions or perhaps even die in a fall from the yards to the deck. Unlike "life" on land, aboard a ship you are much more dependent upon your companions, upon your officers, upon everyone doing just what they "should"! This is perhaps why naval discipline must be as strict as it is. Why "slackness" cannot be tolerated at sea. The ocean does not give you a "second chance" to correct errors! "This will probably last until morning," Sandra said to me. My teeth were chattering from the "chill" of this damp icy wind. "Carry on, call me if needed," I answered, leaving her then. While I was her superior officer, she was responsible for the day to day operations of the ship as its captain. It was up to her to navigate the ship, to sail it to wherever we were to go now... My sealed orders from Maris had merely said to sail to a certain point far to the north of Dularn and then open the orders there. The Queen had however told me that this was a "rescue mission". That the freedom, perhaps the life of Sharon Duval, the Queen of Orgon, now depended upon my being able to carry it out success- fully. Maris had not told me "why" this had to be carried out in secrecy, but I assumed she had good reason for her actions here. As for "why" we were doing this instead of an Imperial squadron was something she'd not answered, although I suspected that Maris doubtlessly had good reason for acting as she had in this matter. There are to the north of Dularn a number of small islands and coves along the coastline of north America, scattered groups of people living much as those of perhaps fifteen hundred years ago had lived. Their "culture", if you could call it that, was much like that of "Northmen" of the Twelfth Century. They made their living by fishing, farming during the summer months, and by carrying out raids from the sea on coastal villages to the south, both in Dularn and California, it not being unknown to find their small swift vessels as far south as Baja. These ships being usu- ally what we'd call a "fourth rate", that is a two masted schoon- er about eighty feet in length at the largest, most of them rang- ing from about seventy to eighty feet and carrying sixty foot masts with main and top sails. While such craft cannot fight any warship, they can outsail most. On the other hand the crews of such ships are trained fighting men, with a tradition of close hand to hand combat much like the "Vikings" of old. They also use among their own islands oared vessels much like the old Nor- dic "serpent", even to the dragon heads, and packed with men half drunk and full of fight, eager for "battle"! Fortunately for the "civilized" nations to the south of them they tend to fight so much among themselves now that they have never become a "serious" threat, although they are a "terror" to those who live in coastal fishing and lumbering villages to the south, who have good rea- sons to fear the "Northmen", especially so for any young women! "I have your dinner, master," Kathi smiled, the table set. I could smell the odor of the food, my stomach growling with hun- ger from having missed my supper. The roast beef, carrots and potatoes the sort of a dish any proper Dularnian might "enjoy"!!! None of this "rabbit food" that was popular in California either! "You even managed to warm it," I smiled, well aware that no doubt "the admiral's slave girl" was able to do things that oth- erwise would have taken an "order" from the captain to have done. "I have also washed and `shaved' if master would like to en- joy me afterwards," Kathi smiled, her eyes glowing hot into mine! She was a good looking wench, a bit "ripe" bodied, with gun metal gray eyes. Shorter than Carol, but built on a scale of 38-26-38. "I will take `that' under consideration," I smiled at her. Aboard any wooden sailing ship there is no way of "heating" it as such, which means that in weather like this the interior is much like that of some barn in the winter, both in temperature and in the odors that soon gather below deck from unwashed human bodies. One is always "cold", with "warmth" just a memory of other times. If you try to wash your clothing, they will not "dry" due to the damp below decks, which merely makes the "problem" even "worse". The only "heat" aboard such a ship being the "cookstove", which is built in a small room below decks, all shielded with metal to prevent the spread of fire. Other than this, the interior of a sailing ship such as the North Star is miserable in the winter... "I have taken the privilege of cutting master's food," Kathi said to me, taking the cover off the dish, the "steam" gently now floating up in the still musty air of the ship's stern cabin. I had no doubts either that the wench had hopes of sharing my meal. When alone Carol and I often let Kathi sit at the table with us, treating her more as a "servant" than as the slave girl she was. She was an extremely "female" gal, who knew just "what" she was. "Help yourself," I said, sitting down, Kathi quick to join me, her body warm against mine through the wool of our clothing. Just having her around just then was a comfort considering what this "mission" of ours could lead up to. It being obvious to me that we were going to try to "ransom" Sharon Duval from some den of pirates, and that Maris wanted to be the one to take the cred- it for doing so. The fact that none of us might come back from this "voyage" was something that I didn't think Maris had consid- ered. Men such as these often are totally untrustworthy, and we could all end up no better off than the Queen of Orgon herself... Assuming that the pirates bothered keeping any of us alive here! "I had something to eat before I came aboard," Kathi said, confirming my suspicions that Carol had quickly managed to put "2+2" together and come up with the proper answer. While she did not know "where" we were going, I supposed my wife was not fool enough to allow Queen Maris to keep such a "secret" to herself... "You're a good girl, the `best' any man could have," I said, giving her a "hug". I don't think Kathi really "understood" then why, and it wasn't my place to tell her. She had once been the "favorite" there on Lorraine's estate last year, and when Maris had "come" for us at the orders of First Priestess Tais, Carol had decided to take Kathi with us as our own personal slave girl. "You should eat more," Kathi said, giving me a smile back. "It's best not to make love on a full stomach," I told her. "I'll let you come first in my mouth, then you can `ride' me longer," Kathi smiled, the slave girl one who knew her "stuff"... I listened to the slow creak and groan of the ship as it took the long Pacific rollers, the gentle glow through the stern windows speaking of the dawn to come. During the night we had cleared the strait, Sandra having put the wind to good use, even to hoisting the stay sails, although I pitied the men who had to climb up to the yards and set them here in this sort of weather. Kathi was warm and a bit "moist" beside me, her hair a pale shad- ow there on the pillow. She was naked, wearing only her collar beneath the blanket and comforter, her body warmth "comforting". I had "used" her well before retiring, her soft cries of pleasure as she climaxed leaving no doubts as to her strong sexual drives. Like Carol, she was a woman who "needed" a man's "touch" often. Back home she was a "tease", often doing little things to let me know just what sort of "thoughts" were going through her mind... Carol having threatened more than once to put her in a "chastity belt" just to be "sure" that she wasn't giving out her "favors"!! Above me I could hear the footsteps of an officer, no doubt Shari, who as the "first" would be on deck when the captain wasn't. The "second" was an older man, who had reported aboard when I had. No doubt he'd been "selected" for his position here. I understood that he was "familiar" with the area we were going. I understood that he was married to a "brown" woman who had once been a Scribe in Trelandar before fleeing to Dularn years before. The term "brown" being used in this era to denote a person of Ne- gro ancestry. Such persons are not "commonplace" in Dularn, but there is little "racial discrimination" as such, "caste discrimi- nation" being far more commonplace here in the 26th Century now. I thought of Carol, wondered how she would "make out" with- out me. We've been "together" for so long that neither of us was "comfortable" without the other. I suspected had she not been three months pregnant Carol would be sleeping alongside me right now instead of Kathi. She was now bothered slightly by "morning sickness", but I supposed that she could always get a woman to stay with her until I either returned or the baby came in Septem- ber. The "implications" of the last was something I didn't like to think about, but I supposed had to be "faced" in this matter. "This is the first time I've had breakfast with an admiral," Sandra smiled, Shari's surprisingly green eyes glowing into mine. Her eye color a "contrast" to the dark walnut color of her hair. The second officer, a Carl Cabot, sitting there watching us all. His bright red hair and craggy features made me think of an old "Viking", which he did somewhat resemble. Kathi, like the well trained slave girl she was now seeing that our coffee cups re- mained filled and that we lacked for nothing in the way of food. The three midshipmen, a teenage girl of seventeen and two boys of sixteen sitting there nervously in fear of all the "rank" here... It is not unknown for parents to send a son or daughter to sea to put an "end" to an undesired teenage romance that is felt unwise. This is no doubt why so many girls end up as a naval midshipman. Considering the "risks" they take, I would think twice myself of sending a daughter of mine to sea, but I am after all not a true Dularnian and I suppose perhaps not one to judge these matters... "We might as well enjoy our fresh food while it lasts," I answered, well aware that all three believed that I knew exactly "where" we were going and what our "mission" would be in those waters far up to the north of Dularn. Icy waters where icebergs might be a far worse threat to the ship than any "enemy action". Despite the watertight bulkheads, ice posed a considerable risk, drifting ice floes being easily able to crush the wooden hull be- tween them if the ship was "caught" as others had been in years past. For this reason most polar expeditions used oared galleys. "We've just completed a refit, so the ship should be in good condition," captain Steven said, glancing at her first officer, who nodded back in reply. The second officer sitting there studying me, while the three midshipmen sat stiffly at attention and tried to eat at the same time, no doubt very conscious now of their table manners. As "Admiral of the Navy" I ranked just be- low my wife, the Warlady of Dularn, and probably was considered as being something of a "god" by such lowly beings as the three. "You will reinforce the rigging with all the spare cordage aboard the ship, have the sailmaker and all available hands sew reinforcing cords through the sails, and rebuild the top masts so that we can carry small top gallants if the wind permits," I said then. "I want this ship to be able to make thirteen and a half knots." This was a knot and a half beyond "rate" for the North Star, and would have made us one of the swiftest vessels afloat!! The "look" there on Sandra's face was something utterly "delight- ful" to see, not because she was "happy" about such orders, but because I think she utterly didn't know what to "say"! "Further, as we will be using nothing but flame weapons and darts, I want all the javelins and catapult shot now stored in the sand ballast over the keel. Then the crew of this ship will start training in the use of the sword, the bow, and the crossbow until every man, woman, boy, girl aboard this ship has been trained to the limits of their abilities. And when they are not practicing with weap- ons, we will carry out sail drill, weapons drill, until the nine- ty eight people aboard this ship, including our four slave girls, are prepared for what may occur when we reach our destination." "It rather sounds like our destination is `HELL'," the sec- ond smiled, sipping at his coffee. Sandra and Shari glancing at each other, while the three midshipmen just sat there "frozen"... The two boys with frozen "grins" on their faces, while the girl, a blonde like many Dularnians, looked much like a frozen statue. I had no doubts that she was well aware of what happened to girls her age if they got taken captive by such men as the "Northmen"!! "I think it will be a bit `colder' than that, but we may run into some people with `horns'," I smiled, letting Kathi refill my coffee cup. "But `hell' is a pretty good description of things." "And," I smiled, glancing at the women, "As my wife would say, for any woman who survives it could just be a `fate worse than death' ahead if this ship is ever taken in battle by an `enemy'." "Sir?" Sandra said, standing there at the doorway, the oth- ers now gone to carry out their duties. "Just what is going on?" "We are going to try to snatch a beautiful young woman from the hands of men who are frankly some of the `worst' who ever lived," I answered. "And now you know as much as I do," I added. "There was a `rumor' I heard just before we left Arsana that Sharon Duval, the Queen of Orgon, was captured by the `North- men'," she answered, her eyes burning hot into mine. I nodded... "The Queen is a `crafty wench'," she smiled, leaving me then. "IN HARM'S WAY" AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Robert J. Simmons Chapter Two I watched the last lights of Arsana fade out in the blowing snow, Sandra barking orders as the main sail was then hoisted up. It was a lousy night for sailors, I thought to myself just then. The ropes were stiff, icy, the deck and yards slippery with wet snow. It is easy to injure yourself under such conditions or perhaps even die in a fall from the yards to the deck. Unlike "life" on land, aboard a ship you are much more dependent upon your companions, upon your officers, upon everyone doing just what they "should"! This is perhaps why naval discipline must be as strict as it is. Why "slackness" cannot be tolerated at sea. The ocean does not give you a "second chance" to correct errors! "This will probably last until morning," Sandra said to me. My teeth were chattering from the "chill" of this damp icy wind. "Carry on, call me if needed," I answered, leaving her then. While I was her superior officer, she was responsible for the day to day operations of the ship as its captain. It was up to her to navigate the ship, to sail it to wherever we were to go now... My sealed orders from Maris had merely said to sail to a certain point far to the north of Dularn and then open the orders there. The Queen had however told me that this was a "rescue mission". That the freedom, perhaps the life of Sharon Duval, the Queen of Orgon, now depended upon my being able to carry it out success- fully. Maris had not told me "why" this had to be carried out in secrecy, but I assumed she had good reason for her actions here. As for "why" we were doing this instead of an Imperial squadron was something she'd not answered, although I suspected that Maris doubtlessly had good reason for acting as she had in this matter. There are to the north of Dularn a number of small islands and coves along the coastline of north America, scattered groups of people living much as those of perhaps fifteen hundred years ago had lived. Their "culture", if you could call it that, was much like that of "Northmen" of the Twelfth Century. They made their living by fishing, farming during the summer months, and by carrying out raids from the sea on coastal villages to the south, both in Dularn and California, it not being unknown to find their small swift vessels as far south as Baja. These ships being usu- ally what we'd call a "fourth rate", that is a two masted schoon- er about eighty feet in length at the largest, most of them rang- ing from about seventy to eighty feet and carrying sixty foot masts with main and top sails. While such craft cannot fight any warship, they can outsail most. On the other hand the crews of such ships are trained fighting men, with a tradition of close hand to hand combat much like the "Vikings" of old. They also use among their own islands oared vessels much like the old Nor- dic "serpent", even to the dragon heads, and packed with men half drunk and full of fight, eager for "battle"! Fortunately for the "civilized" nations to the south of them they tend to fight so much among themselves now that they have never become a "serious" threat, although they are a "terror" to those who live in coastal fishing and lumbering villages to the south, who have good rea- sons to fear the "Northmen", especially so for any young women! "I have your dinner, master," Kathi smiled, the table set. I could smell the odor of the food, my stomach growling with hun- ger from having missed my supper. The roast beef, carrots and potatoes the sort of a dish any proper Dularnian might "enjoy"!!! None of this "rabbit food" that was popular in California either! "You even managed to warm it," I smiled, well aware that no doubt "the admiral's slave girl" was able to do things that oth- erwise would have taken an "order" from the captain to have done. "I have also washed and `shaved' if master would like to en- joy me afterwards," Kathi smiled, her eyes glowing hot into mine! She was a good looking wench, a bit "ripe" bodied, with gun metal gray eyes. Shorter than Carol, but built on a scale of 38-26-38. "I will take `that' under consideration," I smiled at her. Aboard any wooden sailing ship there is no way of "heating" it as such, which means that in weather like this the interior is much like that of some barn in the winter, both in temperature and in the odors that soon gather below deck from unwashed human bodies. One is always "cold", with "warmth" just a memory of other times. If you try to wash your clothing, they will not "dry" due to the damp below decks, which merely makes the "problem" even "worse". The only "heat" aboard such a ship being the "cookstove", which is built in a small room below decks, all shielded with metal to prevent the spread of fire. Other than this, the interior of a sailing ship such as the North Star is miserable in the winter... "I have taken the privilege of cutting master's food," Kathi said to me, taking the cover off the dish, the "steam" gently now floating up in the still musty air of the ship's stern cabin. I had no doubts either that the wench had hopes of sharing my meal. When alone Carol and I often let Kathi sit at the table with us, treating her more as a "servant" than as the slave girl she was. She was an extremely "female" gal, who knew just "what" she was. "Help yourself," I said, sitting down, Kathi quick to join me, her body warm against mine through the wool of our clothing. Just having her around just then was a comfort considering what this "mission" of ours could lead up to. It being obvious to me that we were going to try to "ransom" Sharon Duval from some den of pirates, and that Maris wanted to be the one to take the cred- it for doing so. The fact that none of us might come back from this "voyage" was something that I didn't think Maris had consid- ered. Men such as these often are totally untrustworthy, and we could all end up no better off than the Queen of Orgon herself... Assuming that the pirates bothered keeping any of us alive here! "I had something to eat before I came aboard," Kathi said, confirming my suspicions that Carol had quickly managed to put "2+2" together and come up with the proper answer. While she did not know "where" we were going, I supposed my wife was not fool enough to allow Queen Maris to keep such a "secret" to herself... "You're a good girl, the `best' any man could have," I said, giving her a "hug". I don't think Kathi really "understood" then why, and it wasn't my place to tell her. She had once been the "favorite" there on Lorraine's estate last year, and when Maris had "come" for us at the orders of First Priestess Tais, Carol had decided to take Kathi with us as our own personal slave girl. "You should eat more," Kathi said, giving me a smile back. "It's best not to make love on a full stomach," I told her. "I'll let you come first in my mouth, then you can `ride' me longer," Kathi smiled, the slave girl one who knew her "stuff"... I listened to the slow creak and groan of the ship as it took the long Pacific rollers, the gentle glow through the stern windows speaking of the dawn to come. During the night we had cleared the strait, Sandra having put the wind to good use, even to hoisting the stay sails, although I pitied the men who had to climb up to the yards and set them here in this sort of weather. Kathi was warm and a bit "moist" beside me, her hair a pale shad- ow there on the pillow. She was naked, wearing only her collar beneath the blanket and comforter, her body warmth "comforting". I had "used" her well before retiring, her soft cries of pleasure as she climaxed leaving no doubts as to her strong sexual drives. Like Carol, she was a woman who "needed" a man's "touch" often. Back home she was a "tease", often doing little things to let me know just what sort of "thoughts" were going through her mind... Carol having threatened more than once to put her in a "chastity belt" just to be "sure" that she wasn't giving out her "favors"!! Above me I could hear the footsteps of an officer, no doubt Shari, who as the "first" would be on deck when the captain wasn't. The "second" was an older man, who had reported aboard when I had. No doubt he'd been "selected" for his position here. I understood that he was "familiar" with the area we were going. I understood that he was married to a "brown" woman who had once been a Scribe in Trelandar before fleeing to Dularn years before. The term "brown" being used in this era to denote a person of Ne- gro ancestry. Such persons are not "commonplace" in Dularn, but there is little "racial discrimination" as such, "caste discrimi- nation" being far more commonplace here in the 26th Century now. I thought of Carol, wondered how she would "make out" with- out me. We've been "together" for so long that neither of us was "comfortable" without the other. I suspected had she not been three months pregnant Carol would be sleeping alongside me right now instead of Kathi. She was now bothered slightly by "morning sickness", but I supposed that she could always get a woman to stay with her until I either returned or the baby came in Septem- ber. The "implications" of the last was something I didn't like to think about, but I supposed had to be "faced" in this matter. "This is the first time I've had breakfast with an admiral," Sandra smiled, Shari's surprisingly green eyes glowing into mine. Her eye color a "contrast" to the dark walnut color of her hair. The second officer, a Carl Cabot, sitting there watching us all. His bright red hair and craggy features made me think of an old "Viking", which he did somewhat resemble. Kathi, like the well trained slave girl she was now seeing that our coffee cups re- mained filled and that we lacked for nothing in the way of food. The three midshipmen, a teenage girl of seventeen and two boys of sixteen sitting there nervously in fear of all the "rank" here... It is not unknown for parents to send a son or daughter to sea to put an "end" to an undesired teenage romance that is felt unwise. This is no doubt why so many girls end up as a naval midshipman. Considering the "risks" they take, I would think twice myself of sending a daughter of mine to sea, but I am after all not a true Dularnian and I suppose perhaps not one to judge these matters... "We might as well enjoy our fresh food while it lasts," I answered, well aware that all three believed that I knew exactly "where" we were going and what our "mission" would be in those waters far up to the north of Dularn. Icy waters where icebergs might be a far worse threat to the ship than any "enemy action". Despite the watertight bulkheads, ice posed a considerable risk, drifting ice floes being easily able to crush the wooden hull be- tween them if the ship was "caught" as others had been in years past. For this reason most polar expeditions used oared galleys. "We've just completed a refit, so the ship should be in good condition," captain Steven said, glancing at her first officer, who nodded back in reply. The second officer sitting there studying me, while the three midshipmen sat stiffly at attention and tried to eat at the same time, no doubt very conscious now of their table manners. As "Admiral of the Navy" I ranked just be- low my wife, the Warlady of Dularn, and probably was considered as being something of a "god" by such lowly beings as the three. "You will reinforce the rigging with all the spare cordage aboard the ship, have the sailmaker and all available hands sew reinforcing cords through the sails, and rebuild the top masts so that we can carry small top gallants if the wind permits," I said then. "I want this ship to be able to make thirteen and a half knots." This was a knot and a half beyond "rate" for the North Star, and would have made us one of the swiftest vessels afloat!! The "look" there on Sandra's face was something utterly "delight- ful" to see, not because she was "happy" about such orders, but because I think she utterly didn't know what to "say"! "Further, as we will be using nothing but flame weapons and darts, I want all the javelins and catapult shot now stored in the sand ballast over the keel. Then the crew of this ship will start training in the use of the sword, the bow, and the crossbow until every man, woman, boy, girl aboard this ship has been trained to the limits of their abilities. And when they are not practicing with weap- ons, we will carry out sail drill, weapons drill, until the nine- ty eight people aboard this ship, including our four slave girls, are prepared for what may occur when we reach our destination." "It rather sounds like our destination is `HELL'," the sec- ond smiled, sipping at his coffee. Sandra and Shari glancing at each other, while the three midshipmen just sat there "frozen"... The two boys with frozen "grins" on their faces, while the girl, a blonde like many Dularnians, looked much like a frozen statue. I had no doubts that she was well aware of what happened to girls her age if they got taken captive by such men as the "Northmen"!! "I think it will be a bit `colder' than that, but we may run into some people with `horns'," I smiled, letting Kathi refill my coffee cup. "But `hell' is a pretty good description of things." "And," I smiled, glancing at the women, "As my wife would say, for any woman who survives it could just be a `fate worse than death' ahead if this ship is ever taken in battle by an `enemy'." "Sir?" Sandra said, standing there at the doorway, the oth- ers now gone to carry out their duties. "Just what is going on?" "We are going to try to snatch a beautiful young woman from the hands of men who are frankly some of the `worst' who ever lived," I answered. "And now you know as much as I do," I added. "There was a `rumor' I heard just before we left Arsana that Sharon Duval, the Queen of Orgon, was captured by the `North- men'," she answered, her eyes burning hot into mine. I nodded... "The Queen is a `crafty wench'," she smiled, leaving me then. |
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