"2569-21" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 7 - The Dularnian Queen)2569 A.D.! THE DULARNIAN QUEEN AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Twenty One "You are not the `same' as you were only a few years ago," my step mother said to me as we spoke together in private, Paul having taken his leave of us and returned to the North Star, my father having gone with him, leaving us with a smile that left no doubt what he had felt too about my hostility towards Marta Marn. "When I came here with Lorraine," I said, remembering that time as if it was yet only a few weeks ago instead of years now. I wondered if some of the "dislike" I felt towards Lorraine was due to the fact that she reminded me in a way of my step mother? The living room was different now, the old house having been burned by Lorraine's forces back in 519. The wood plank walls, the beamed ceiling all typical of a Dularnian country home. The lamps, the paintings on the walls, all a part of its "hominess". Sana is a coastal village, the manufacture of furniture the major industry, although hunting and fishing play a part in life here. "It is not that far from Arsana to here," she said to me. I nodded, well aware of that fact. No doubt my father would have liked to have had me visit, but something had always kept me from doing so. There had always been something "necessary" to keep me from making the day's sail from Arsana to here. The "duties" of a Queen of Dularn can fill one's day if you allow them to do so. I had no doubt of course that she knew "why" I hadn't "visited". "I wrote," I answered, knowing that it wasn't the same here. "I have not always made the `right' decisions," she said, "And I fear I still yet often thought I stood on a quarterdeck." She was a Warrioress, and different from what my mother had been. I had hated her, hated her for what she'd become to my father... My own mother had been a Physician, kind and gentle, not a hard bitten old Warrioress who had been "beached" for her disability. "You were Dularn's `best'," I said to her, knowing that now. I had later read of her exploits, of the things she'd done when many men still yet believed that women didn't "belong" at sea save as slave girls. That had come as a surprise to me then too. "I taught you well," she smiled back. "You have `fulfilled' an old woman's dreams, and proved once again as I once did that a woman can command a ship of war just as good as any man can." I thought of her on the quarterdeck of the North Star. Unlike old captain Wood, there was no doubts about her abilities to command! "I am in `need' of a `Sealady'," I said, "Someone who can whip the Navy back into shape." I saw her nod, her eyes meet my own as she sat there across the black oak coffee table from me. "I am an `old woman', hobbling about on one leg and a `peg' for the other, living out her `dreams' through another now," she said to me. "I sailed under `mad Kathis', under Tulis before the catapult shot took my leg, and left me only a useless cripple." "You were once Dularn's greatest sea officer," I spoke then. "Your father `needs' me," Marta answered softly. "You are the Queen of Dularn, your sister now a Princess of Talon, a part of a `New Order' that someday will once again rule the world..." "Your Queen, your country needs you," I spoke in reply. "There was a time when you hated me," she spoke then. "You `asked' too much of me," I said to her in reply. "You are a `legend' in your own time," she smiled back. "There was once one `greater'," I said, weeping a bit now. "I know `little' about the sort of ships we have now," Marta answered. "I commanded triremes, not steam ships like your own." "You taught me how to sail, to understand the winds, waves," I said to her. "You told me that once brave men sailed ships in- ferior to ours around this entire world knowing less than we do." "And then you ran away, and joined the cavalry," she smiled. "But I never forgot what you taught me," I said to her then. "I am over a hundred now," she said. I knew that. True, the anti-aging serums would preserve her life for decades yet, but she was no longer a "young" woman. No longer in the prime of life. There were here and there strands of gray in her hair now. "There is a young midshipman on the North Star, a young wom- an, the daughter of a Warrioress, whose mother had me place her on the ship so that she could learn `discipline'," I said then. "She was furious that her mother would do such a `thing' to her. But yet, when her mother was seriously wounded by the dagger of an assassin sent to kill me, this young girl suddenly realized just how much her mother meant to her after all," I said to her. "I am not your mother," Marta Marn said to me in reply. "Neither is Darlanis Sharon's mother," I said to her. "I assume there is a `story' here," she "smiled" back. "I understand what I did not understand before," I said. "Perhaps you will be a `good' Queen after all," she smiled. "And what about my father?" I asked, seeing her smile back. "I am sure that he will enjoy Arsana," Marta Marn smiled... "`Half' your crew belongs growing food, and the other half I wouldn't want to turn my back on," Marta Marn smiled as she hob- bled up on to the quarterdeck of the North Star the next morning. Captain Dan Wood didn't look too "delighted" either at seeing her "clump" up on to the deck, the tall red haired woman giving him a "grin" that left no doubt that they both "knew" the other well! The yet magnificent if a bit wrinkled uniform she wore belonging to another age, that of a full commodore under Queen Tulis. My father busy talking to my husband, the two smiling in a way I suspected indicated that Tarl was telling Paul about some of the "mischief" I'd managed to get myself into as a young woman now... "It's probably just as `good' that we're at peace with California as I don't think you'd get much of a `fight' out of this bunch," she added to me, giving me a smile as I now nodded back in reply. "With training they'll do better, your majesty," Dan Wood said, glancing nervously at Marta as she stood there before us. She had been his superior officer back then too, I understood. I suspected that she didn't really think that highly of him either. "They have to be able to `do' more than `pull' an oar now, `captain'," my step mother retorted, giving me a big grin then! I knew she'd been one of the first to see the "value" of fore and aft rigged schooners before losing her lower right leg there in a battle against a squadron of the Imperial Navy. I knew too that only "palace politics" had prevented her from rising even further in the Navy afterwards, as Princess Janis had much resented her. The Princess of Dularn having apparently seen Marta as being a serious danger to her own ambitions of being Dularn's "Warlady". "It's a nice day," I said, "And I'd like to return to Arsana as soon as convenient," I spoke, standing there as Wood nodded, the sun warm on my back as it gleamed down upon us from the east. The hulk of the derelict there just to starboard as we laid at anchor. With the wind the way it was we'd need to steam out now. "I will order the boiler lit," he answered, seeing me nod. "This does have sails, doesn't it?" my step mother spoke! "The wind is almost `foul' for us," I pointed out to her. "And if you didn't have that `steam engine'?" she asked. "This is a `warship', not a fishing boat," Wood protested. "Are there any who are `competent' among the crew," Marta asked, standing there. It was "possible" to sail the North Star out of Sana's harbor with the wind as it was, but just barely so! "I have no desire to `risk' the ship," I answered her then. "Or is it that you lack confidence in me?" she challenged. "Marta, its been years," my father protested in my support. "One who understands the `vector of forces' does not forget," she answered, the tone of her voice leaving no doubts... "Use midshipman Wells for the jib, Lt. Hanson for the spank- er," I answered. I saw captain Wood shaking his head and shrug- ging, his "opinion" of the matter rather obvious from his words. "I wish to have the mainsail set, locked fore and aft," she spoke, obviously studying the "vector of forces" in play here. I was aware that setting the main would make the ship more snappy, but on the other hand would also leave Marta less room for error! "Miss Wells, you are a lovely girl, and no doubt one who is well `aware' too of that fact, but right now I want you to think of only one thing, and that is your duty to this ship," my step mother spoke using the speaking trumpet. I could see Diane standing there, looking up at her from the other end of the ship, the blue green of the ocean there beyond us. "And those men of yours must pull that jib into the wind without the least hesita- tion when I give the order," she then spoke as I saw the group under Diane's command looking up at us there standing on the quarterdeck. "Otherwise I will be very `angry' with all of you." "And Lt. Hanson, when you stop thinking about how Miss Wells might `look' without any clothing on, I suggest that you start to think about what you are going to `do' when the anchor is raised and that spanker must be pulled up into the wind before we turn too far and end up sailing into the rocks of the breakwater..." "If you `value' this ship, take command now," captain Wood hissed to me, obviously not having any "confidence" in Marta! I did, but I still was pretty "nervous" about letting her do this! "You have a `decision' to make, Maris," Marta said to me. "Go ahead `mom', take her out!" I smiled, seeing her nod! 2569 A.D.! THE DULARNIAN QUEEN AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Twenty One "You are not the `same' as you were only a few years ago," my step mother said to me as we spoke together in private, Paul having taken his leave of us and returned to the North Star, my father having gone with him, leaving us with a smile that left no doubt what he had felt too about my hostility towards Marta Marn. "When I came here with Lorraine," I said, remembering that time as if it was yet only a few weeks ago instead of years now. I wondered if some of the "dislike" I felt towards Lorraine was due to the fact that she reminded me in a way of my step mother? The living room was different now, the old house having been burned by Lorraine's forces back in 519. The wood plank walls, the beamed ceiling all typical of a Dularnian country home. The lamps, the paintings on the walls, all a part of its "hominess". Sana is a coastal village, the manufacture of furniture the major industry, although hunting and fishing play a part in life here. "It is not that far from Arsana to here," she said to me. I nodded, well aware of that fact. No doubt my father would have liked to have had me visit, but something had always kept me from doing so. There had always been something "necessary" to keep me from making the day's sail from Arsana to here. The "duties" of a Queen of Dularn can fill one's day if you allow them to do so. I had no doubt of course that she knew "why" I hadn't "visited". "I wrote," I answered, knowing that it wasn't the same here. "I have not always made the `right' decisions," she said, "And I fear I still yet often thought I stood on a quarterdeck." She was a Warrioress, and different from what my mother had been. I had hated her, hated her for what she'd become to my father... My own mother had been a Physician, kind and gentle, not a hard bitten old Warrioress who had been "beached" for her disability. "You were Dularn's `best'," I said to her, knowing that now. I had later read of her exploits, of the things she'd done when many men still yet believed that women didn't "belong" at sea save as slave girls. That had come as a surprise to me then too. "I taught you well," she smiled back. "You have `fulfilled' an old woman's dreams, and proved once again as I once did that a woman can command a ship of war just as good as any man can." I thought of her on the quarterdeck of the North Star. Unlike old captain Wood, there was no doubts about her abilities to command! "I am in `need' of a `Sealady'," I said, "Someone who can whip the Navy back into shape." I saw her nod, her eyes meet my own as she sat there across the black oak coffee table from me. "I am an `old woman', hobbling about on one leg and a `peg' for the other, living out her `dreams' through another now," she said to me. "I sailed under `mad Kathis', under Tulis before the catapult shot took my leg, and left me only a useless cripple." "You were once Dularn's greatest sea officer," I spoke then. "Your father `needs' me," Marta answered softly. "You are the Queen of Dularn, your sister now a Princess of Talon, a part of a `New Order' that someday will once again rule the world..." "Your Queen, your country needs you," I spoke in reply. "There was a time when you hated me," she spoke then. "You `asked' too much of me," I said to her in reply. "You are a `legend' in your own time," she smiled back. "There was once one `greater'," I said, weeping a bit now. "I know `little' about the sort of ships we have now," Marta answered. "I commanded triremes, not steam ships like your own." "You taught me how to sail, to understand the winds, waves," I said to her. "You told me that once brave men sailed ships in- ferior to ours around this entire world knowing less than we do." "And then you ran away, and joined the cavalry," she smiled. "But I never forgot what you taught me," I said to her then. "I am over a hundred now," she said. I knew that. True, the anti-aging serums would preserve her life for decades yet, but she was no longer a "young" woman. No longer in the prime of life. There were here and there strands of gray in her hair now. "There is a young midshipman on the North Star, a young wom- an, the daughter of a Warrioress, whose mother had me place her on the ship so that she could learn `discipline'," I said then. "She was furious that her mother would do such a `thing' to her. But yet, when her mother was seriously wounded by the dagger of an assassin sent to kill me, this young girl suddenly realized just how much her mother meant to her after all," I said to her. "I am not your mother," Marta Marn said to me in reply. "Neither is Darlanis Sharon's mother," I said to her. "I assume there is a `story' here," she "smiled" back. "I understand what I did not understand before," I said. "Perhaps you will be a `good' Queen after all," she smiled. "And what about my father?" I asked, seeing her smile back. "I am sure that he will enjoy Arsana," Marta Marn smiled... "`Half' your crew belongs growing food, and the other half I wouldn't want to turn my back on," Marta Marn smiled as she hob- bled up on to the quarterdeck of the North Star the next morning. Captain Dan Wood didn't look too "delighted" either at seeing her "clump" up on to the deck, the tall red haired woman giving him a "grin" that left no doubt that they both "knew" the other well! The yet magnificent if a bit wrinkled uniform she wore belonging to another age, that of a full commodore under Queen Tulis. My father busy talking to my husband, the two smiling in a way I suspected indicated that Tarl was telling Paul about some of the "mischief" I'd managed to get myself into as a young woman now... "It's probably just as `good' that we're at peace with California as I don't think you'd get much of a `fight' out of this bunch," she added to me, giving me a smile as I now nodded back in reply. "With training they'll do better, your majesty," Dan Wood said, glancing nervously at Marta as she stood there before us. She had been his superior officer back then too, I understood. I suspected that she didn't really think that highly of him either. "They have to be able to `do' more than `pull' an oar now, `captain'," my step mother retorted, giving me a big grin then! I knew she'd been one of the first to see the "value" of fore and aft rigged schooners before losing her lower right leg there in a battle against a squadron of the Imperial Navy. I knew too that only "palace politics" had prevented her from rising even further in the Navy afterwards, as Princess Janis had much resented her. The Princess of Dularn having apparently seen Marta as being a serious danger to her own ambitions of being Dularn's "Warlady". "It's a nice day," I said, "And I'd like to return to Arsana as soon as convenient," I spoke, standing there as Wood nodded, the sun warm on my back as it gleamed down upon us from the east. The hulk of the derelict there just to starboard as we laid at anchor. With the wind the way it was we'd need to steam out now. "I will order the boiler lit," he answered, seeing me nod. "This does have sails, doesn't it?" my step mother spoke! "The wind is almost `foul' for us," I pointed out to her. "And if you didn't have that `steam engine'?" she asked. "This is a `warship', not a fishing boat," Wood protested. "Are there any who are `competent' among the crew," Marta asked, standing there. It was "possible" to sail the North Star out of Sana's harbor with the wind as it was, but just barely so! "I have no desire to `risk' the ship," I answered her then. "Or is it that you lack confidence in me?" she challenged. "Marta, its been years," my father protested in my support. "One who understands the `vector of forces' does not forget," she answered, the tone of her voice leaving no doubts... "Use midshipman Wells for the jib, Lt. Hanson for the spank- er," I answered. I saw captain Wood shaking his head and shrug- ging, his "opinion" of the matter rather obvious from his words. "I wish to have the mainsail set, locked fore and aft," she spoke, obviously studying the "vector of forces" in play here. I was aware that setting the main would make the ship more snappy, but on the other hand would also leave Marta less room for error! "Miss Wells, you are a lovely girl, and no doubt one who is well `aware' too of that fact, but right now I want you to think of only one thing, and that is your duty to this ship," my step mother spoke using the speaking trumpet. I could see Diane standing there, looking up at her from the other end of the ship, the blue green of the ocean there beyond us. "And those men of yours must pull that jib into the wind without the least hesita- tion when I give the order," she then spoke as I saw the group under Diane's command looking up at us there standing on the quarterdeck. "Otherwise I will be very `angry' with all of you." "And Lt. Hanson, when you stop thinking about how Miss Wells might `look' without any clothing on, I suggest that you start to think about what you are going to `do' when the anchor is raised and that spanker must be pulled up into the wind before we turn too far and end up sailing into the rocks of the breakwater..." "If you `value' this ship, take command now," captain Wood hissed to me, obviously not having any "confidence" in Marta! I did, but I still was pretty "nervous" about letting her do this! "You have a `decision' to make, Maris," Marta said to me. "Go ahead `mom', take her out!" I smiled, seeing her nod! |
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