"2568-31" - 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 Thirty One "An `obsolete technology'," I said, the Diana facing off against one of the remaining galleys, the other apparently being too badly damaged from its collision to continue on fighting right now. A more "competent" commander than Darlanis might have used better tactics, but Lorraine was thousands of miles to the south, fighting a "holding action" against the Mexican Empire... "You're going to hit ram to ram!" Freydis gasped, the Diana charging in at full power, the heavy "thud" of her engines speak- ing of a technology centuries ahead of what faced her now. At the last moment I turned the Diana slightly, letting the armored hull sheer off the galley's oars, thus crippling him and leaving him dead in the water. I then came back around and gently rammed both vessels, just enough so that they would need considerable repair before being usable again. Darlanis' other two steam frigates having gathered around the listing Sarnian Queen, the Empress no doubt now well aware that she had "lost" this battle!! "I'm glad you weren't harmed," I said to Darlanis, the Em- press nodding silently as she stepped aboard the Diana. I think she had never realized what the Diana could "do" to other ships. How "helpless" any "normal" surface ship was against the Diana. "I will order Queen Valeris to halt her advance," Darlanis replied in icy tones, her azure eyes burning straight into mine. Dularn had "won" this little "war" against the Imperial Empress without any loss of life on either side. I was proud of that... "Dularn still wishes to live in peace with its neighbors," I said. "All of them, including Queen Valeris and her Free Women." "I will inform Queen Valeris of `that'," Darlanis answered. "Mankind, and now `Womankind' too," I said, looking at the three women there gathered around the table, the stern cabin's open hatches bringing in what breeze there was here in the bay, "Has yet to learn that there are better ways of resolving `dis- putes' than recourse to the sword. And that building better and better weapons such as this ship in the long run gains nothing." "Seems it `settled' things pretty good in my eyes," Queen Valeris said, her attire even more "barbaric" than Queen Frey- dis', while Darlanis in her golden mesh added her own glittering beauty to the setting. "And unless this can sail across the land as well as it can on water I don't think you could stop me from freeing women from `masculine oppression' wherever I wish to go." "Most women do not wish to be `free' from `masculine oppres- sion'," Queen Freydis retorted, "And I don't think even Darlanis would tolerate your `activities' if you went that far `south'." "Dularn believes in trade, not war," I said, "But we will fight to defend ourselves from anyone seeking us harm," I added. Valeris' dark eyes burning into mine as she nodded back in reply. "Darlanis," I said, the Empress turning as the other two Queens now left, "I have a few words I'd like to say to you now." "I think I have a few I'd like to say to you," she "smiled". "I had a `dream' one time long ago, of a `united world', of a `world' without war, without slavery, without all the `evils' we have now," the Empress said, standing there, looking out one of the hatches at the still calm waters of the bay. "The `world' that Janet Rogers gave to Mankind for a brief few decades before the Lorr destroyed everything." I knew Darlanis "worshiped" Ja- net Rogers, having once even seen Lorraine as something of a "second Janet Rogers", the term so "common" in this time that it is often used in referring to any who seek high political office. "I think that could be accomplished, although not by the `methods' you've used so far," I answered, looking up at her there, the simple "magnificence" of that tall golden perfection. She is sometimes thought to be the most beautiful woman who has ever lived. I consider it possible, although not too likely... "Both Talon and Trelandar are `part' of the Empire, but yet they are free independent nations," Darlanis pointed out to me. "Maris does not `trust' you," I said to the Empress in turn. "She fears with good reason that I might `take' her crown," Darlanis smiled. "I am still considered by most the daughter of Tulis (the Queen of Dularn before Maris), and although I am as you know the daughter of Aurora and Prince Paul, I still look upon myself as being `Dularnian', as being a `woman of Dularn'." "You consider Dularn `yours'?" I asked, seeing her nod. "I was a Princess of Dularn," Darlanis said to me then. "There are people in Dularn who consider you so," I said. "I am not a `competent' military leader," Darlanis smiled. "Your use of the triremes against the Diana was as good as I could have done had our positions been reversed," I said to her. I didn't add that I wouldn't have "positioned" them so close to- gether, which had been a serious mistake on her part, although I don't know if she was responsible for that "decision" or not now. "You are `in love' with me," Darlanis suddenly said to me. "I admire you, but I fear Carol would not," I smiled now. "Your wife is actually quite beautiful," Darlanis said. "I am quite `content' with her," I smiled back at her. "In another year I will have a squadron of these, and I can build battleships far faster than you can," Darlanis said to me as she stood there looking out over the bay. In the long run, she explained, Dularn would "lose" to California, assuming that the taxpayers of California were willing to pay the heavy taxes needed for a force of battleships like the Diana. The Diana hav- ing "cost" the taxpayers of Dularn three thousand gold crowns.* * About $1,000,000 dollars as close as I can determine here. I should note however that due to the differences in the standards of living and such one should multiply this figure by a factor of two to three to get some idea of the true cost of the battleship. I might note here that the average working man in Arsana is paid about one gold crown a month, which indicates a "value" for the gold crown of about eight to nine hundred dollars in 1991 money. "I am `aware' of that fact," I answered. At the present time it was possible in theory at least that I could wipe out the Imperial Navy, although just what "good" that would do Dularn was another question. My position, or rather Dularn's here was much the "same" as the United States faced just after World War Two, the Diana being the "atomic bomb" of this era in a certain sense. "In the long run I win, you lose," Darlanis "smiled" at me. "I don't think you are a `dumb blonde'," I smiled in reply. "You have won a `battle', but I will win the `war'," the Em- press smiled, leaning against the armored back of the battleship. "Is `that' how you want to go down in history?" I asked her. "Just `another' like Alexander, Julius Caesar, all the `rest'?" "Perhaps I have `underestimated' you," she smiled back. "Do we have enough fuel to reach Dularn?" I asked Daris that evening, such concerns always on my mind, given the way that the Diana burned fuel in her boilers. Darlanis would follow us to Dularn, and hopefully she and Maris could work something out now. "At half speed there should be no problem," she smiled back. "Inform the crew we will sail at dawn," I said, Sandra nod- ding. Some of Queen Valeris' women hadn't been so "hostile" to- wards men after all, our men had found. And there were also a fair number of Imperial Warrioresses who weren't all that "un- friendly" after having a "tour" of the Diana. We had, of course wisely kept the engine and boiler rooms guarded just to be safe. "I think maybe I'll get married again," Sandra said to me, the sea breeze coming through the open control room hatches bringing with it the familiar smell of the sea. There was a bit of "weather", not enough to really "bother" things, but the Diana was throwing up a bit of spray, enough from time to time to get a few droplets in through the forward hatches. Behind us came one of Darlanis' steam frigates, the rest of her fleet to follow lat- er as soon as repairs were made to those ships that had been dam- aged by the Diana's ram. There had been a couple of our own men burned on hot pipes when they stumbled against them during my first hard turn, but such burns had been quickly "forgotten" now that we were returning home, victorious from our first real bat- tle! So everyone believed, although I knew better, being well aware that in perhaps only a year there would be a force of bat- tleships sailing these very seas, and flying the Imperial flag from their flagstaffs. As Darlanis had said, we had "won" a bat- tle, but she would "win" the war in the long run due to the sim- ple economic facts of life. Dularn just didn't have the re- sources to ever compete in a naval "race" with the Empire of California. And the technology of Freydis' people was too primi- tive to be of much help here even if she was willing to "help". "Life will go on," I said, standing there beside her. "We did `win'," she said, looking at me curiously. "Sitting Bull beat General Custer too," I smiled. "I don't understand," Sandra said to me then. "Perhaps it doesn't matter any more," I mused. "You are a man who thinks deep thoughts," she smiled. "I am a man who sometimes worries about things," I said. "One must have `faith' in Lys," Sandra said to me in turn. "And in the Priestesses who `serve' Her," I smiled back. "IN HARM'S WAY" AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Robert J. Simmons Chapter Thirty One "An `obsolete technology'," I said, the Diana facing off against one of the remaining galleys, the other apparently being too badly damaged from its collision to continue on fighting right now. A more "competent" commander than Darlanis might have used better tactics, but Lorraine was thousands of miles to the south, fighting a "holding action" against the Mexican Empire... "You're going to hit ram to ram!" Freydis gasped, the Diana charging in at full power, the heavy "thud" of her engines speak- ing of a technology centuries ahead of what faced her now. At the last moment I turned the Diana slightly, letting the armored hull sheer off the galley's oars, thus crippling him and leaving him dead in the water. I then came back around and gently rammed both vessels, just enough so that they would need considerable repair before being usable again. Darlanis' other two steam frigates having gathered around the listing Sarnian Queen, the Empress no doubt now well aware that she had "lost" this battle!! "I'm glad you weren't harmed," I said to Darlanis, the Em- press nodding silently as she stepped aboard the Diana. I think she had never realized what the Diana could "do" to other ships. How "helpless" any "normal" surface ship was against the Diana. "I will order Queen Valeris to halt her advance," Darlanis replied in icy tones, her azure eyes burning straight into mine. Dularn had "won" this little "war" against the Imperial Empress without any loss of life on either side. I was proud of that... "Dularn still wishes to live in peace with its neighbors," I said. "All of them, including Queen Valeris and her Free Women." "I will inform Queen Valeris of `that'," Darlanis answered. "Mankind, and now `Womankind' too," I said, looking at the three women there gathered around the table, the stern cabin's open hatches bringing in what breeze there was here in the bay, "Has yet to learn that there are better ways of resolving `dis- putes' than recourse to the sword. And that building better and better weapons such as this ship in the long run gains nothing." "Seems it `settled' things pretty good in my eyes," Queen Valeris said, her attire even more "barbaric" than Queen Frey- dis', while Darlanis in her golden mesh added her own glittering beauty to the setting. "And unless this can sail across the land as well as it can on water I don't think you could stop me from freeing women from `masculine oppression' wherever I wish to go." "Most women do not wish to be `free' from `masculine oppres- sion'," Queen Freydis retorted, "And I don't think even Darlanis would tolerate your `activities' if you went that far `south'." "Dularn believes in trade, not war," I said, "But we will fight to defend ourselves from anyone seeking us harm," I added. Valeris' dark eyes burning into mine as she nodded back in reply. "Darlanis," I said, the Empress turning as the other two Queens now left, "I have a few words I'd like to say to you now." "I think I have a few I'd like to say to you," she "smiled". "I had a `dream' one time long ago, of a `united world', of a `world' without war, without slavery, without all the `evils' we have now," the Empress said, standing there, looking out one of the hatches at the still calm waters of the bay. "The `world' that Janet Rogers gave to Mankind for a brief few decades before the Lorr destroyed everything." I knew Darlanis "worshiped" Ja- net Rogers, having once even seen Lorraine as something of a "second Janet Rogers", the term so "common" in this time that it is often used in referring to any who seek high political office. "I think that could be accomplished, although not by the `methods' you've used so far," I answered, looking up at her there, the simple "magnificence" of that tall golden perfection. She is sometimes thought to be the most beautiful woman who has ever lived. I consider it possible, although not too likely... "Both Talon and Trelandar are `part' of the Empire, but yet they are free independent nations," Darlanis pointed out to me. "Maris does not `trust' you," I said to the Empress in turn. "She fears with good reason that I might `take' her crown," Darlanis smiled. "I am still considered by most the daughter of Tulis (the Queen of Dularn before Maris), and although I am as you know the daughter of Aurora and Prince Paul, I still look upon myself as being `Dularnian', as being a `woman of Dularn'." "You consider Dularn `yours'?" I asked, seeing her nod. "I was a Princess of Dularn," Darlanis said to me then. "There are people in Dularn who consider you so," I said. "I am not a `competent' military leader," Darlanis smiled. "Your use of the triremes against the Diana was as good as I could have done had our positions been reversed," I said to her. I didn't add that I wouldn't have "positioned" them so close to- gether, which had been a serious mistake on her part, although I don't know if she was responsible for that "decision" or not now. "You are `in love' with me," Darlanis suddenly said to me. "I admire you, but I fear Carol would not," I smiled now. "Your wife is actually quite beautiful," Darlanis said. "I am quite `content' with her," I smiled back at her. "In another year I will have a squadron of these, and I can build battleships far faster than you can," Darlanis said to me as she stood there looking out over the bay. In the long run, she explained, Dularn would "lose" to California, assuming that the taxpayers of California were willing to pay the heavy taxes needed for a force of battleships like the Diana. The Diana hav- ing "cost" the taxpayers of Dularn three thousand gold crowns.* * About $1,000,000 dollars as close as I can determine here. I should note however that due to the differences in the standards of living and such one should multiply this figure by a factor of two to three to get some idea of the true cost of the battleship. I might note here that the average working man in Arsana is paid about one gold crown a month, which indicates a "value" for the gold crown of about eight to nine hundred dollars in 1991 money. "I am `aware' of that fact," I answered. At the present time it was possible in theory at least that I could wipe out the Imperial Navy, although just what "good" that would do Dularn was another question. My position, or rather Dularn's here was much the "same" as the United States faced just after World War Two, the Diana being the "atomic bomb" of this era in a certain sense. "In the long run I win, you lose," Darlanis "smiled" at me. "I don't think you are a `dumb blonde'," I smiled in reply. "You have won a `battle', but I will win the `war'," the Em- press smiled, leaning against the armored back of the battleship. "Is `that' how you want to go down in history?" I asked her. "Just `another' like Alexander, Julius Caesar, all the `rest'?" "Perhaps I have `underestimated' you," she smiled back. "Do we have enough fuel to reach Dularn?" I asked Daris that evening, such concerns always on my mind, given the way that the Diana burned fuel in her boilers. Darlanis would follow us to Dularn, and hopefully she and Maris could work something out now. "At half speed there should be no problem," she smiled back. "Inform the crew we will sail at dawn," I said, Sandra nod- ding. Some of Queen Valeris' women hadn't been so "hostile" to- wards men after all, our men had found. And there were also a fair number of Imperial Warrioresses who weren't all that "un- friendly" after having a "tour" of the Diana. We had, of course wisely kept the engine and boiler rooms guarded just to be safe. "I think maybe I'll get married again," Sandra said to me, the sea breeze coming through the open control room hatches bringing with it the familiar smell of the sea. There was a bit of "weather", not enough to really "bother" things, but the Diana was throwing up a bit of spray, enough from time to time to get a few droplets in through the forward hatches. Behind us came one of Darlanis' steam frigates, the rest of her fleet to follow lat- er as soon as repairs were made to those ships that had been dam- aged by the Diana's ram. There had been a couple of our own men burned on hot pipes when they stumbled against them during my first hard turn, but such burns had been quickly "forgotten" now that we were returning home, victorious from our first real bat- tle! So everyone believed, although I knew better, being well aware that in perhaps only a year there would be a force of bat- tleships sailing these very seas, and flying the Imperial flag from their flagstaffs. As Darlanis had said, we had "won" a bat- tle, but she would "win" the war in the long run due to the sim- ple economic facts of life. Dularn just didn't have the re- sources to ever compete in a naval "race" with the Empire of California. And the technology of Freydis' people was too primi- tive to be of much help here even if she was willing to "help". "Life will go on," I said, standing there beside her. "We did `win'," she said, looking at me curiously. "Sitting Bull beat General Custer too," I smiled. "I don't understand," Sandra said to me then. "Perhaps it doesn't matter any more," I mused. "You are a man who thinks deep thoughts," she smiled. "I am a man who sometimes worries about things," I said. "One must have `faith' in Lys," Sandra said to me in turn. "And in the Priestesses who `serve' Her," I smiled back. |
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