"2568-36" - 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 Six "It isn't `funny' Bob!" Carol snapped at me rather unpleas- antly I thought. No doubt I had been "smiling" just a bit here as I sat and watched while sipping at my Trelandarian wine. The wines of Trelandar being considered to be the "best" you can get. Most of these wines are not very "strong", although you can ob- tain those that are "fortified" and are more like a "brandy"... "This isn't the Twentieth Century and you aren't dealing with the sort of `wimps' who lived back then," I answered. "The men of this era would be just as `willing' to `stretch' your neck as they did poor Queen Kathis' back there in Arsana sixty years ago." There had been "talk" of a force of "volunteers" to go fight against Queen Valeris and her Free Women. Maris had stopped it, but it had taken everything she had to stop it then. The Queen having used the "excuse" that it would provoke a war with the Empire of California, which I suppose was "possible"... "Not if enough women were to stand together against them!" Carol snapped, the "fire" showing now in those lovely hazel eyes. I supposed Carol was thinking of the sorts of things that women did back in the 20th Century. Such "worked" against the "liber- als" of that era, but would be completely ineffective in this era where men were men and women had to realize that fact as "TRUTH"! This is an era where people are willing to overthrow governments! And in this era the "armed civilian" can be almost as "effective" as regular military troops in battle. The Dularnian longbow (now obsolete) has kept Dularnian Queens from getting certain "ideas". This is perhaps "why" Dularn has the "culture" that it does now. The "concept" of "anti-weapons laws" is almost unknown here too. Even when Darlanis conquered Trelandar the people had their own weapons. The Empress having concerned herself only with those who might revolt against her as eventually did Sanda's people... "We would see a final `world war', this time between men and women, and in the long run women would lose," I said to her. "As you recall Queen Valeris lost in her clash against the Wyomings." This had been the first time that Valeris had come up against someone with "modern" military weapons and military "advisors". Despite her "help" from the Imperials she had lost that battle to the Wyomings, who unfortunately did not pursue their victory. "I `suspect' that such a `war' took place as part of the `aftermath' of The War of 2047, which is why female slavery exists today." "He is `right', despite whatever you wish to think," Sanda smiled. "As a Scribe I can assure you that the men of this time are not anything like the `men' of the time from which you came. They are willing to destroy their own civilizations rather then let them fall into the hands of those whom they do not `trust'." "The `wimp' is `extinct'," I now smiled up at my brownette. "And `sexism' reigns supreme," my wife snapped right back. "The societies of your time were `overcivilized'," Sanda commented. "They were `weak', unable to `resist' anyone who was willing to make `demands'." The "same" was not true today as my wife knew quite well. Carol had already fought one sword duel in Dularn over an "issue" much like this. While she had "won", I had warned her never to get herself in such a situation again... "Lady Sanda was `right', regardless of what you think," I said, watching Carol get undressed for bed. "You know what hap- pened in Dularn when Queen Maris tried to go too far." I saw my wife nod. Maris had escaped with her life, but only by fleeing to the sea, taking command of the North Star. "Feminists" don't live long in this society unless they are Queens or like Lor- raine, such swordswomen that no one is "willing" to take them on. And even then there are "limits" that no woman ever dares cross. Those who "do" will find a crossbowman on some rooftop waiting... "No `civil rights', no `human rights', and everything is `settled with the sword'," Carol answered, removing her clothing. The clips and strap a woman wears here in this era make her in my eyes more "sexy" and "provocative" than if she was totally nude. Carol is "responsible" for such things, a "fact" few know about. "A society where you `earn' your place," I answered back. A woman can rise high in Dularnian or Imperial society, but she has to "earn" her position, it is not given to her as a "right" here. "A social order with no `laws' but what men decide to have," Carol said, standing there at the window, looking out over the city below there in the moonlight. "Where the concept of `civi- lization' as we once knew it is merely words in a history book. Where in the final run `brute force' now decides everything..." I admired the sensual jut of her ass, the way that the moonlight outlined her. Carol is still a provocative and sensual delight. "As it has now for four hundred years," I pointed out then sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for Carol to come to bed. Wondering what she would be "like" when she did after all this. "Maris did manage to `outlaw' slave raids," my wife spoke. "No doubt that is `something'," I said. Maris had of course done so for reasons that had nothing to do with slavery as such. Darlanis had a similar law, and for the same political reasons. Slavery itself is most likely "untouchable" by any monarch now. "Why do men enslave women?" Carol suddenly asked, turning. "Take us by force like animals and sell us like one would dogs?" "Deep in every man's heart he wants to `own' his woman," I said. "`Own' her completely in the sense she is totally `his'." There were men in the 20th Century who looked upon their wives in just that light. Even to the point that after a divorce they still felt as if they "owned" the woman, that she was "property". This accounted for the incidents one read about in the newspaper. "We are human beings, not `animals' to be bought or sold," Carol said, standing there in the moonlight streaming in through the window. She was a woman that any man would fight to possess. "You have a point," I smiled, not wishing to argue with her. "Would you like to `own' me?" Carol teased, standing there. "You are a `wench' worth many gold crowns," I said to her. "But you didn't have to `pay' for me," Carol pointed out. "One `buys' a woman with other things than gold," I said. "Tie my hands before you have me tonight," she answered. "How do you feel?" I asked, midshipman Anders smiling back. "I don't think I want to be on top of the Diana in another thunderstorm," she smiled. She had come close to dying up there. Only my knowledge of life saving techniques had saved her life. "You came very close to having me read the last rites for you," Carol said, standing there at my side in the control cabin. The steady beat of the Diana's triple engines hardly noticed now. "Never seen a ship like that before," midshipman Anders said to me, lowering the telescope and handing it to me. We were off the coast of Baja, a long ways south of Trella now. The vessel in question was not an Imperial, nor anything else but "Mexican"! The sea was calm, the breeze warm and weak. The vessel ahead of us oddly rigged, a combination of square and fore and aft sails. "Must have gotten around the Imperial blockade," I said. "Put a shot across his bows," I said, the Diana now at "Bat- tle Stations". There had been no reason to increase speed yet. In order to fire our catapults we had to keep our hatches open. I heard the "thump" of the port forward steam catapult, saw the splash there in the water ahead. The ship swinging about, now coming broadside to us a quarter of a mile away. The sudden broadside taking us by surprise. The catapult missiles all fire- bombs! Two striking the Diana, one forward, the other aft of the control cabin. The "hit" forward striking right into the hatch! "Fire!" I heard the yells, the smoke rising from the hatch! "Turn us away!" I snapped, following Carol to the main deck! "Came right through the hatch!" the lieutenant cried, her eyes a bit "wild" just then as she directed the fire control par- ty to do what they could. The flames fortunately containable al- though we'd lost the use of the port forward catapult, the quick- firer and flamethrower on that side and more importantly the life of one of the crew who hadn't survived the blazing oil that had splashed about! I saw a woman, her hair almost burned away, her eyes filled with agony as she was half carried towards the stern, her burned clothing sticking to her seared flesh. I saw a man shake his head. Even the Physician would be able to do little... "Get that fire totally out!" I ordered, the choking smoke now slowly being cleared away by the ventilation fans. I sup- posed it had been a "lucky" shot, but it had damaged the ship! We had lost one man to the fire, and had three badly burned too! I recalled the woman, the gun team leader. The look in her eyes. "Now it's `pay-back' time!" I snarled, thrusting the three "repeaters" to full ahead, the Diana leaping forward like an en- raged beast after the ship. The Mexican was making a "run" for it, but it would do him little good now! He fired another bar- rage of fire bombs as we closed with him, our remaining forward quickfirers firing back. The flames once again coating the Di- ana, although they did no harm, as with the hatches all closed, we were proof against such weapons. I drove the Diana's ram squarely into his hull near the stern, and then backed out, the starboard flame thrower now spraying burning oil over everything! Sandra standing there watching, her eyes filled with horror at the sight although she didn't say anything about it to me then. "She didn't make it," Carol said to me. We now had two dead. I recalled her eyes, the agony in them. The Physician had done what she could, but her burns had been too intensive. The other man had been just a burned husk when we finally got the fire out. There had been some minor internal hull damage, but nothing serious due to the quick actions of our fire control. I had gotten my "vengeance", but it didn't bring back the lives of those who had died. There had also been a certain psychological effect upon the crew. The Diana was no longer so "invincible". "We will have last rites tonight at sunset," I said to her. "All stop," I said, the Diana coming up into the wind, the hatches open to catch the breeze, remove the "smell" from the fire. Carol read from the Book of Lys, the "BIBLE" of this era. We consigned the two bodies to the deeps, their souls to Lys... "IN HARM'S WAY" AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Robert J. Simmons Chapter Thirty Six "It isn't `funny' Bob!" Carol snapped at me rather unpleas- antly I thought. No doubt I had been "smiling" just a bit here as I sat and watched while sipping at my Trelandarian wine. The wines of Trelandar being considered to be the "best" you can get. Most of these wines are not very "strong", although you can ob- tain those that are "fortified" and are more like a "brandy"... "This isn't the Twentieth Century and you aren't dealing with the sort of `wimps' who lived back then," I answered. "The men of this era would be just as `willing' to `stretch' your neck as they did poor Queen Kathis' back there in Arsana sixty years ago." There had been "talk" of a force of "volunteers" to go fight against Queen Valeris and her Free Women. Maris had stopped it, but it had taken everything she had to stop it then. The Queen having used the "excuse" that it would provoke a war with the Empire of California, which I suppose was "possible"... "Not if enough women were to stand together against them!" Carol snapped, the "fire" showing now in those lovely hazel eyes. I supposed Carol was thinking of the sorts of things that women did back in the 20th Century. Such "worked" against the "liber- als" of that era, but would be completely ineffective in this era where men were men and women had to realize that fact as "TRUTH"! This is an era where people are willing to overthrow governments! And in this era the "armed civilian" can be almost as "effective" as regular military troops in battle. The Dularnian longbow (now obsolete) has kept Dularnian Queens from getting certain "ideas". This is perhaps "why" Dularn has the "culture" that it does now. The "concept" of "anti-weapons laws" is almost unknown here too. Even when Darlanis conquered Trelandar the people had their own weapons. The Empress having concerned herself only with those who might revolt against her as eventually did Sanda's people... "We would see a final `world war', this time between men and women, and in the long run women would lose," I said to her. "As you recall Queen Valeris lost in her clash against the Wyomings." This had been the first time that Valeris had come up against someone with "modern" military weapons and military "advisors". Despite her "help" from the Imperials she had lost that battle to the Wyomings, who unfortunately did not pursue their victory. "I `suspect' that such a `war' took place as part of the `aftermath' of The War of 2047, which is why female slavery exists today." "He is `right', despite whatever you wish to think," Sanda smiled. "As a Scribe I can assure you that the men of this time are not anything like the `men' of the time from which you came. They are willing to destroy their own civilizations rather then let them fall into the hands of those whom they do not `trust'." "The `wimp' is `extinct'," I now smiled up at my brownette. "And `sexism' reigns supreme," my wife snapped right back. "The societies of your time were `overcivilized'," Sanda commented. "They were `weak', unable to `resist' anyone who was willing to make `demands'." The "same" was not true today as my wife knew quite well. Carol had already fought one sword duel in Dularn over an "issue" much like this. While she had "won", I had warned her never to get herself in such a situation again... "Lady Sanda was `right', regardless of what you think," I said, watching Carol get undressed for bed. "You know what hap- pened in Dularn when Queen Maris tried to go too far." I saw my wife nod. Maris had escaped with her life, but only by fleeing to the sea, taking command of the North Star. "Feminists" don't live long in this society unless they are Queens or like Lor- raine, such swordswomen that no one is "willing" to take them on. And even then there are "limits" that no woman ever dares cross. Those who "do" will find a crossbowman on some rooftop waiting... "No `civil rights', no `human rights', and everything is `settled with the sword'," Carol answered, removing her clothing. The clips and strap a woman wears here in this era make her in my eyes more "sexy" and "provocative" than if she was totally nude. Carol is "responsible" for such things, a "fact" few know about. "A society where you `earn' your place," I answered back. A woman can rise high in Dularnian or Imperial society, but she has to "earn" her position, it is not given to her as a "right" here. "A social order with no `laws' but what men decide to have," Carol said, standing there at the window, looking out over the city below there in the moonlight. "Where the concept of `civi- lization' as we once knew it is merely words in a history book. Where in the final run `brute force' now decides everything..." I admired the sensual jut of her ass, the way that the moonlight outlined her. Carol is still a provocative and sensual delight. "As it has now for four hundred years," I pointed out then sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for Carol to come to bed. Wondering what she would be "like" when she did after all this. "Maris did manage to `outlaw' slave raids," my wife spoke. "No doubt that is `something'," I said. Maris had of course done so for reasons that had nothing to do with slavery as such. Darlanis had a similar law, and for the same political reasons. Slavery itself is most likely "untouchable" by any monarch now. "Why do men enslave women?" Carol suddenly asked, turning. "Take us by force like animals and sell us like one would dogs?" "Deep in every man's heart he wants to `own' his woman," I said. "`Own' her completely in the sense she is totally `his'." There were men in the 20th Century who looked upon their wives in just that light. Even to the point that after a divorce they still felt as if they "owned" the woman, that she was "property". This accounted for the incidents one read about in the newspaper. "We are human beings, not `animals' to be bought or sold," Carol said, standing there in the moonlight streaming in through the window. She was a woman that any man would fight to possess. "You have a point," I smiled, not wishing to argue with her. "Would you like to `own' me?" Carol teased, standing there. "You are a `wench' worth many gold crowns," I said to her. "But you didn't have to `pay' for me," Carol pointed out. "One `buys' a woman with other things than gold," I said. "Tie my hands before you have me tonight," she answered. "How do you feel?" I asked, midshipman Anders smiling back. "I don't think I want to be on top of the Diana in another thunderstorm," she smiled. She had come close to dying up there. Only my knowledge of life saving techniques had saved her life. "You came very close to having me read the last rites for you," Carol said, standing there at my side in the control cabin. The steady beat of the Diana's triple engines hardly noticed now. "Never seen a ship like that before," midshipman Anders said to me, lowering the telescope and handing it to me. We were off the coast of Baja, a long ways south of Trella now. The vessel in question was not an Imperial, nor anything else but "Mexican"! The sea was calm, the breeze warm and weak. The vessel ahead of us oddly rigged, a combination of square and fore and aft sails. "Must have gotten around the Imperial blockade," I said. "Put a shot across his bows," I said, the Diana now at "Bat- tle Stations". There had been no reason to increase speed yet. In order to fire our catapults we had to keep our hatches open. I heard the "thump" of the port forward steam catapult, saw the splash there in the water ahead. The ship swinging about, now coming broadside to us a quarter of a mile away. The sudden broadside taking us by surprise. The catapult missiles all fire- bombs! Two striking the Diana, one forward, the other aft of the control cabin. The "hit" forward striking right into the hatch! "Fire!" I heard the yells, the smoke rising from the hatch! "Turn us away!" I snapped, following Carol to the main deck! "Came right through the hatch!" the lieutenant cried, her eyes a bit "wild" just then as she directed the fire control par- ty to do what they could. The flames fortunately containable al- though we'd lost the use of the port forward catapult, the quick- firer and flamethrower on that side and more importantly the life of one of the crew who hadn't survived the blazing oil that had splashed about! I saw a woman, her hair almost burned away, her eyes filled with agony as she was half carried towards the stern, her burned clothing sticking to her seared flesh. I saw a man shake his head. Even the Physician would be able to do little... "Get that fire totally out!" I ordered, the choking smoke now slowly being cleared away by the ventilation fans. I sup- posed it had been a "lucky" shot, but it had damaged the ship! We had lost one man to the fire, and had three badly burned too! I recalled the woman, the gun team leader. The look in her eyes. "Now it's `pay-back' time!" I snarled, thrusting the three "repeaters" to full ahead, the Diana leaping forward like an en- raged beast after the ship. The Mexican was making a "run" for it, but it would do him little good now! He fired another bar- rage of fire bombs as we closed with him, our remaining forward quickfirers firing back. The flames once again coating the Di- ana, although they did no harm, as with the hatches all closed, we were proof against such weapons. I drove the Diana's ram squarely into his hull near the stern, and then backed out, the starboard flame thrower now spraying burning oil over everything! Sandra standing there watching, her eyes filled with horror at the sight although she didn't say anything about it to me then. "She didn't make it," Carol said to me. We now had two dead. I recalled her eyes, the agony in them. The Physician had done what she could, but her burns had been too intensive. The other man had been just a burned husk when we finally got the fire out. There had been some minor internal hull damage, but nothing serious due to the quick actions of our fire control. I had gotten my "vengeance", but it didn't bring back the lives of those who had died. There had also been a certain psychological effect upon the crew. The Diana was no longer so "invincible". "We will have last rites tonight at sunset," I said to her. "All stop," I said, the Diana coming up into the wind, the hatches open to catch the breeze, remove the "smell" from the fire. Carol read from the Book of Lys, the "BIBLE" of this era. We consigned the two bodies to the deeps, their souls to Lys... |
|
|