"2568-04" - 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 Four "You wish to take command?" Sandra said to me a low voice as the pirate ship rapidly approached, the Sea Star a mile or so be- hind. That the pirate was "fast" was without doubt, since a Du- larnian third rate of the "Star" class is now "rated" at thirteen knots. This is, of course, under ideal conditions and so forth. "If I `fell' in battle what would you do?" I challenged her. Just this had happened last year in a somewhat different context. Lorraine had "fell" in the first salvo from the North Star, leav- ing her husband Admiral Jon Richards and captain Janice Hill in command of the dreadnought. Jon Richards had been "unfamiliar" with the heavy armored battleship, and Janice, while a good sail- or, was not really a top notch fighting captain. Both of them had I think depended too much upon Lorraine to see them through. The fact they had also been depending upon Darlanis, who is some- thing of a "loose cannon", probably didn't help matters any here. "The `best' I could," she smiled back, barking her orders. The North Star swinging up into the wind, close hauled, the sails pulled in fore and aft, drum tight as we smashed into the waves! The spray flying up over the bow in gloriously glittering sheets there in the sunlight, the chill breeze flapping the flags above! I thought all we needed was a brass band to strike up a tune now. One of those old marching tunes that they used to have long ago in an era that is now just myths and legends to most Dularnians!! I watched the pirate closing the gap, the two masted schoon- er now swinging out a bit to seaward as I would have if I'd been facing such "odds" to hold the wind gage against us. He didn't stand a chance against the North Star, but I suppose he thought it was still possible he might be able to avoid a fight with ei- ther ship if he could still keep his lead ahead of us. Whether or not he was now "aware" of the Athena was another question. In any case the Athena was too heavy to be "effective" in a fight like this even if Lorraine had the "speed" to keep up with us... "Let fly the jib, put the ship on the port tack!" Sandra yelled from beside me, her hands clenched on the quarterdeck rail as the sun briefly dashed behind another cloud, the difference in temperatures immediately apparent this early in the season now. The spray leaping over the bow adding to the "discomfort" of the crew there on deck, many of them now soaked to the skin by it. "Which side are you planning to `engage' with?" I asked. "Starboard," she answered, her voice just a bit "curt" now. I couldn't too much blame her just then either. As admiral I'd have to write a report upon her actions afterwards, and a bad re- port from me could ruin her entire career in the Dularnian Navy! She was no "aristocrat", and was dependent upon her career for a living. If she handled the North Star badly in this "fight" she could end up "beached" for the rest of her life, such concerns no doubt preying now on her thoughts as she stood there beside me. "If you're nervous having me here I can go below," I said. I was well aware that she could "blow" this "engagement" if she didn't position the ship just right. We didn't need a long chase after the pirate, especially as the North Star, even "refitted", was hardly likely to be much faster than the Sea Star right now. "Correct me if I make a mistake, but otherwise...," she breathed, her eyes burning into mine. I understood. She had her "pride". The crew had to have "trust" in her ability to command. "Carry on then," I said, resisting the "temptation" I had just then to pat her on the rear end for some unknown reason now! I have a hard time at times in taking women "seriously", perhaps due to feelings of "male chauvinism" that are inappropriate here. It is hard sometimes to think of women as being good "fighters". Of being able to "command" ships of war in battle, of leading a country's own armies into battle as my own wife might do someday. I still remember the first time I killed a woman in battle, of seeing her body lying there in the dirt, her blonde hair pale against the ground beneath her helmet. Knowing that I had killed her. The golden neck chain about her throat had left no doubts either that I had taken from her children forever their own moth- er with my own lethal crossbow bolt. The fact that she had come charging down on me on her unicorn with set lance meant very lit- tle just then. It is hard to fight against a "foe" that is both blonde and beautiful. Who believes in the "justice" of her cause just as much as you do your own. She died that night, I lived... I watched the pirate come racing down towards us, the North Star swinging about a bit, Sandra firing her starboard broadside! The ship still turning as our crew rewound our weapons, the women with packets of darts for the ballistae and catapults. The pi- rate now returning our fire, although his marksmanship left a lot to be desired, obviously from the number of casualties he'd took. A couple of ballistae javelins, low, striking our hull, while a catapult shot tore a hole in the main sail just above the yard. "Hoist the top sails!" Sandra yelled, men scurrying up to the yards, while the pirate slowly drew ahead of us, the Sea Star also drawing up a bit, carrying all the sail she dared hoist now with the wind the way it was. The Athena now hull up on the horizon ahead of us, much like some frigate from a time long ago! The pirate now fired again, a javelin thudding into the main mast, the others passing harmlessly through our sails. A cata- pult shot, short, splashing up spray just off the starboard quar- ter! I guessed that he only mounted about six ballistae a side. Most pirate vessels are not that heavily armed, I note, depending mostly upon speed to make their escape from a warship like ours. "Starboard weapons, mind your elevations, fire at will!" Sandra barked. I'd been waiting to see if she would give that order. With a crew as well trained as ours it was more effective and efficient to let each weapons crew fire as soon as they were ready now without having to wait for a command from an officer. I glanced at the inclinometer there mounted on the quarter deck railing, smiled to myself. We were now several degrees beyond the point that is generally agreed to be the "limit" for a second rate like the North Star. Yet the ship seemed to be holding up well, our speed just matching that of the pirate, close to about thirteen knots I guessed, judging by the wind, the waves, the way that the bow wake moved away from the ship. Sea Star had now moved up slightly, running about a quarter mile astern of the pi- rate and a bit further out to sea. The Athena now moving to in- tercept, although I hoped that Lorraine would stay out of this!!! "I wonder if we could carry a stun sail," Sandra asked. I shook my head in the negative. The rigging where I touched it was as rigid as a steel bar. Trying to get more speed out of the North Star right now didn't make much sense to me. I saw no rea- son to risk the masts for the sake of sailing half a knot faster! A javelin whistled past our heads, falling into the ocean beyond. A pirate gunner on the other ship was doing some good shooting. We were now engaged in a running battle with the pirate just out of bowshot, or perhaps two hundred and fifty yards consider- ing the range of the Dularnian compound bow normally used now. I had seen one person hit, the man no doubt fatally wounded, while a woman had been hit in the leg by the missile after it passed through him. What "damage" we were doing to the pirate I didn't know, although I couldn't see too many men running about on his deck any more!! The number of bodies I saw there proof of our own marksmanship and the effectiveness of our patterns of darts as they fell like a constant deadly hail on his unprotected deck! I saw another man hit, a slave girl help him below to sickbay. I saw that Kathi was obeying my orders, doing what she'd been told. "The pirate's turning away!" I heard Sandra yell, the North Star turning with him, our fire now continuous, his hardly any- thing to speak of in return. Sea Star now turning, firing, the pirate now suddenly swinging up into the wind, with no one at the helm! The Athena a mile or two off rapidly closing the distance! "Check the hull," I said to the oldest midshipman, the girl, "We took at least several hits and on the other tack they are go- ing to be well beneath the water line." Such had happened to us last year after Carol's attack on Lorraine's estate where the Warlady fired a ballistae bolt just at the waterline, the missile piercing the hull and causing us some "difficulty" later on then. "Aye, aye sir," she said, her eyes still a bit "bright" from having seen her first battle at sea. I knew how she felt. Dur- ing the fight there is a feeling of "numbness" as everything hap- pens around you, and afterwards you feel "glad" to just be alive! The first sailor had died, while the woman and the second man would recover. Captain Sandra Steven now was climbing aboard the prize after a rather "hairy" trip over there in our longboat, while an officer from the Sea Star, now grappled on to the pi- rate, waited on deck to help her. The Athena backing a top sail as she came up, Lorraine now here judging from the flag flying!!! "Sure got a `big' cookstove aboard that, sir" Shari said to me, the funnel that ran up the length of the main mast puzzling, especially for the amount of smoke pouring forth now. A low deep thudding, just audible over the sound of the waves against the hull, now seeming to come from the Athena as she came closer yet! "I would like a boat lowered," I replied, seeing Shari nod. I supposed that it was proper that I go pay Lorraine a visit now. I leaped for the Athena's gangway, the boat falling away be- neath me, then scrambling up as the big ship rolled in the swell. A tall slender brunette, clad in black, reaching down and helping me aboard. Once again I looked into the dark eyes of that Impe- rial Warlady, the greatest fighting woman of all time, some yet claimed... Not, I may note, ever in my wife's presence however. "There may be survivors to be `questioned'," she said to me. There was a "tension" in her body, a barely suppressed "fury" that seemed to radiate from her now like heat from a stove. I knew of her feelings towards Sharon. She would rescue Sharon or die in the attempt, I knew. No doubt she would welcome our help, but on the other hand I had no doubt that she would wish to be in command. I was thankful that Carol wasn't here right now. There is "bad blood" between the two Warladies. A deep burning hatred. Women can "hate" harder than any man can, I might "note" here... "Return to the ship, tell the first officer to signal the captain that we wish to `question' those who survived on the pi- rate ship." The midshipmen in the stern then carrying out my or- ders, staring in awe at the tall Queen standing there beside me!! "You have a steam engine," I said to Lorraine, the sound now unmistakable as was the smoke pouring from her funnel, the very weapons here on the broad deck leaving no doubt that Lorraine was using steam catapults as the ship's new armament now! Weapons far superior to anything that we had aboard the North Star too!* * The Athena (the same is true of all the other Imperial steam frigates I know of), carries sixteen steam catapults a side along with six "quick firers", a weapon similar to a small ballistae, but recocked automatically upon firing. Such weapons use a thirty round vertical magazine like a 20th Century BREN, and have a rate of fire of three rounds per second, firing a short steel javelin much like a crossbow bolt. The catapults can be fired five times in the space of a minute, I might note at this point. "I had a long argument with Tais," the Warlady smiled back. Lorraine has an I.Q. well up in the genius class. She is the woman who laid the foundations for the World Federation of the 21st Century. Unfortunately Janet Rogers didn't follow it all... "I doubt if she `approved' of that," I smiled, seeing the weapon in its holster there at her hip. The grip leaving no doubt that it was a modern pistol of some sort or another. Not a weapon that she could have build herself, but one fabricated upon another world, one that is only a dot of light in our night sky. A world where horrid monsters live in caverns below the surface, "sharing" their desert world with beautiful golden haired women. "Aurora and I are good friends," Lorraine smiled in reply. "You are not making this voyage for your pleasure," I said. "`Dularn' is not `involved' in this," she snapped back, the flat level cold hostile tone of her voice now leaving no doubts however that she would not be "stopped" in her mission by anyone. "And we are a long ways now from Dularn," she pointed out, our position such that from the deck of the Athena one could see nothing but restlessly moving heavy swells coming at us one after another as the chilly breeze blew in from the west north west. The waves from peak to valley being about ten feet in height now. "There is `peace' between our countries and we face a common enemy," I answered, well aware of the tension she was under now. "I could use a `volunteer' from one of your ships who could guide me when we reach our destination," she answered in reply. "I will pay well for his services," the Queen of Trelandar added. "You have come to rescue your daughter from the `Northmen'," I smiled back. "The same mission Queen Maris has send us on." I saw no reason to lie to Lorraine about this. While I had not yet read the sealed orders, I had a pretty idea as to their content. "IN HARM'S WAY" AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Robert J. Simmons Chapter Four "You wish to take command?" Sandra said to me a low voice as the pirate ship rapidly approached, the Sea Star a mile or so be- hind. That the pirate was "fast" was without doubt, since a Du- larnian third rate of the "Star" class is now "rated" at thirteen knots. This is, of course, under ideal conditions and so forth. "If I `fell' in battle what would you do?" I challenged her. Just this had happened last year in a somewhat different context. Lorraine had "fell" in the first salvo from the North Star, leav- ing her husband Admiral Jon Richards and captain Janice Hill in command of the dreadnought. Jon Richards had been "unfamiliar" with the heavy armored battleship, and Janice, while a good sail- or, was not really a top notch fighting captain. Both of them had I think depended too much upon Lorraine to see them through. The fact they had also been depending upon Darlanis, who is some- thing of a "loose cannon", probably didn't help matters any here. "The `best' I could," she smiled back, barking her orders. The North Star swinging up into the wind, close hauled, the sails pulled in fore and aft, drum tight as we smashed into the waves! The spray flying up over the bow in gloriously glittering sheets there in the sunlight, the chill breeze flapping the flags above! I thought all we needed was a brass band to strike up a tune now. One of those old marching tunes that they used to have long ago in an era that is now just myths and legends to most Dularnians!! I watched the pirate closing the gap, the two masted schoon- er now swinging out a bit to seaward as I would have if I'd been facing such "odds" to hold the wind gage against us. He didn't stand a chance against the North Star, but I suppose he thought it was still possible he might be able to avoid a fight with ei- ther ship if he could still keep his lead ahead of us. Whether or not he was now "aware" of the Athena was another question. In any case the Athena was too heavy to be "effective" in a fight like this even if Lorraine had the "speed" to keep up with us... "Let fly the jib, put the ship on the port tack!" Sandra yelled from beside me, her hands clenched on the quarterdeck rail as the sun briefly dashed behind another cloud, the difference in temperatures immediately apparent this early in the season now. The spray leaping over the bow adding to the "discomfort" of the crew there on deck, many of them now soaked to the skin by it. "Which side are you planning to `engage' with?" I asked. "Starboard," she answered, her voice just a bit "curt" now. I couldn't too much blame her just then either. As admiral I'd have to write a report upon her actions afterwards, and a bad re- port from me could ruin her entire career in the Dularnian Navy! She was no "aristocrat", and was dependent upon her career for a living. If she handled the North Star badly in this "fight" she could end up "beached" for the rest of her life, such concerns no doubt preying now on her thoughts as she stood there beside me. "If you're nervous having me here I can go below," I said. I was well aware that she could "blow" this "engagement" if she didn't position the ship just right. We didn't need a long chase after the pirate, especially as the North Star, even "refitted", was hardly likely to be much faster than the Sea Star right now. "Correct me if I make a mistake, but otherwise...," she breathed, her eyes burning into mine. I understood. She had her "pride". The crew had to have "trust" in her ability to command. "Carry on then," I said, resisting the "temptation" I had just then to pat her on the rear end for some unknown reason now! I have a hard time at times in taking women "seriously", perhaps due to feelings of "male chauvinism" that are inappropriate here. It is hard sometimes to think of women as being good "fighters". Of being able to "command" ships of war in battle, of leading a country's own armies into battle as my own wife might do someday. I still remember the first time I killed a woman in battle, of seeing her body lying there in the dirt, her blonde hair pale against the ground beneath her helmet. Knowing that I had killed her. The golden neck chain about her throat had left no doubts either that I had taken from her children forever their own moth- er with my own lethal crossbow bolt. The fact that she had come charging down on me on her unicorn with set lance meant very lit- tle just then. It is hard to fight against a "foe" that is both blonde and beautiful. Who believes in the "justice" of her cause just as much as you do your own. She died that night, I lived... I watched the pirate come racing down towards us, the North Star swinging about a bit, Sandra firing her starboard broadside! The ship still turning as our crew rewound our weapons, the women with packets of darts for the ballistae and catapults. The pi- rate now returning our fire, although his marksmanship left a lot to be desired, obviously from the number of casualties he'd took. A couple of ballistae javelins, low, striking our hull, while a catapult shot tore a hole in the main sail just above the yard. "Hoist the top sails!" Sandra yelled, men scurrying up to the yards, while the pirate slowly drew ahead of us, the Sea Star also drawing up a bit, carrying all the sail she dared hoist now with the wind the way it was. The Athena now hull up on the horizon ahead of us, much like some frigate from a time long ago! The pirate now fired again, a javelin thudding into the main mast, the others passing harmlessly through our sails. A cata- pult shot, short, splashing up spray just off the starboard quar- ter! I guessed that he only mounted about six ballistae a side. Most pirate vessels are not that heavily armed, I note, depending mostly upon speed to make their escape from a warship like ours. "Starboard weapons, mind your elevations, fire at will!" Sandra barked. I'd been waiting to see if she would give that order. With a crew as well trained as ours it was more effective and efficient to let each weapons crew fire as soon as they were ready now without having to wait for a command from an officer. I glanced at the inclinometer there mounted on the quarter deck railing, smiled to myself. We were now several degrees beyond the point that is generally agreed to be the "limit" for a second rate like the North Star. Yet the ship seemed to be holding up well, our speed just matching that of the pirate, close to about thirteen knots I guessed, judging by the wind, the waves, the way that the bow wake moved away from the ship. Sea Star had now moved up slightly, running about a quarter mile astern of the pi- rate and a bit further out to sea. The Athena now moving to in- tercept, although I hoped that Lorraine would stay out of this!!! "I wonder if we could carry a stun sail," Sandra asked. I shook my head in the negative. The rigging where I touched it was as rigid as a steel bar. Trying to get more speed out of the North Star right now didn't make much sense to me. I saw no rea- son to risk the masts for the sake of sailing half a knot faster! A javelin whistled past our heads, falling into the ocean beyond. A pirate gunner on the other ship was doing some good shooting. We were now engaged in a running battle with the pirate just out of bowshot, or perhaps two hundred and fifty yards consider- ing the range of the Dularnian compound bow normally used now. I had seen one person hit, the man no doubt fatally wounded, while a woman had been hit in the leg by the missile after it passed through him. What "damage" we were doing to the pirate I didn't know, although I couldn't see too many men running about on his deck any more!! The number of bodies I saw there proof of our own marksmanship and the effectiveness of our patterns of darts as they fell like a constant deadly hail on his unprotected deck! I saw another man hit, a slave girl help him below to sickbay. I saw that Kathi was obeying my orders, doing what she'd been told. "The pirate's turning away!" I heard Sandra yell, the North Star turning with him, our fire now continuous, his hardly any- thing to speak of in return. Sea Star now turning, firing, the pirate now suddenly swinging up into the wind, with no one at the helm! The Athena a mile or two off rapidly closing the distance! "Check the hull," I said to the oldest midshipman, the girl, "We took at least several hits and on the other tack they are go- ing to be well beneath the water line." Such had happened to us last year after Carol's attack on Lorraine's estate where the Warlady fired a ballistae bolt just at the waterline, the missile piercing the hull and causing us some "difficulty" later on then. "Aye, aye sir," she said, her eyes still a bit "bright" from having seen her first battle at sea. I knew how she felt. Dur- ing the fight there is a feeling of "numbness" as everything hap- pens around you, and afterwards you feel "glad" to just be alive! The first sailor had died, while the woman and the second man would recover. Captain Sandra Steven now was climbing aboard the prize after a rather "hairy" trip over there in our longboat, while an officer from the Sea Star, now grappled on to the pi- rate, waited on deck to help her. The Athena backing a top sail as she came up, Lorraine now here judging from the flag flying!!! "Sure got a `big' cookstove aboard that, sir" Shari said to me, the funnel that ran up the length of the main mast puzzling, especially for the amount of smoke pouring forth now. A low deep thudding, just audible over the sound of the waves against the hull, now seeming to come from the Athena as she came closer yet! "I would like a boat lowered," I replied, seeing Shari nod. I supposed that it was proper that I go pay Lorraine a visit now. I leaped for the Athena's gangway, the boat falling away be- neath me, then scrambling up as the big ship rolled in the swell. A tall slender brunette, clad in black, reaching down and helping me aboard. Once again I looked into the dark eyes of that Impe- rial Warlady, the greatest fighting woman of all time, some yet claimed... Not, I may note, ever in my wife's presence however. "There may be survivors to be `questioned'," she said to me. There was a "tension" in her body, a barely suppressed "fury" that seemed to radiate from her now like heat from a stove. I knew of her feelings towards Sharon. She would rescue Sharon or die in the attempt, I knew. No doubt she would welcome our help, but on the other hand I had no doubt that she would wish to be in command. I was thankful that Carol wasn't here right now. There is "bad blood" between the two Warladies. A deep burning hatred. Women can "hate" harder than any man can, I might "note" here... "Return to the ship, tell the first officer to signal the captain that we wish to `question' those who survived on the pi- rate ship." The midshipmen in the stern then carrying out my or- ders, staring in awe at the tall Queen standing there beside me!! "You have a steam engine," I said to Lorraine, the sound now unmistakable as was the smoke pouring from her funnel, the very weapons here on the broad deck leaving no doubt that Lorraine was using steam catapults as the ship's new armament now! Weapons far superior to anything that we had aboard the North Star too!* * The Athena (the same is true of all the other Imperial steam frigates I know of), carries sixteen steam catapults a side along with six "quick firers", a weapon similar to a small ballistae, but recocked automatically upon firing. Such weapons use a thirty round vertical magazine like a 20th Century BREN, and have a rate of fire of three rounds per second, firing a short steel javelin much like a crossbow bolt. The catapults can be fired five times in the space of a minute, I might note at this point. "I had a long argument with Tais," the Warlady smiled back. Lorraine has an I.Q. well up in the genius class. She is the woman who laid the foundations for the World Federation of the 21st Century. Unfortunately Janet Rogers didn't follow it all... "I doubt if she `approved' of that," I smiled, seeing the weapon in its holster there at her hip. The grip leaving no doubt that it was a modern pistol of some sort or another. Not a weapon that she could have build herself, but one fabricated upon another world, one that is only a dot of light in our night sky. A world where horrid monsters live in caverns below the surface, "sharing" their desert world with beautiful golden haired women. "Aurora and I are good friends," Lorraine smiled in reply. "You are not making this voyage for your pleasure," I said. "`Dularn' is not `involved' in this," she snapped back, the flat level cold hostile tone of her voice now leaving no doubts however that she would not be "stopped" in her mission by anyone. "And we are a long ways now from Dularn," she pointed out, our position such that from the deck of the Athena one could see nothing but restlessly moving heavy swells coming at us one after another as the chilly breeze blew in from the west north west. The waves from peak to valley being about ten feet in height now. "There is `peace' between our countries and we face a common enemy," I answered, well aware of the tension she was under now. "I could use a `volunteer' from one of your ships who could guide me when we reach our destination," she answered in reply. "I will pay well for his services," the Queen of Trelandar added. "You have come to rescue your daughter from the `Northmen'," I smiled back. "The same mission Queen Maris has send us on." I saw no reason to lie to Lorraine about this. While I had not yet read the sealed orders, I had a pretty idea as to their content. |
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