"2569-57" - 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 Fifty Seven "And we're so `close' now too," Karis breathed, the clouds now just visible there ahead of us a dark threatening line on the eastern horizon while the sun a glowing globe set now behind us. Paul standing there grinning to himself over some private "joke" no doubt. My husband being a man with a true sense of "humor"... He was of course well aware of what a storm like this might "do". "Probably just one of those `summer storms' we get from the east," I smiled, aware that it would be necessary to shorten sail now despite any of our wishes otherwise. Karis cursing a bit un- der her breath... Her words making me smile a bit to myself too! "Aye, aye, your majesty," she grinned, barking her orders. "Have steam raised," I smiled, seeing her grin and nod now! "At least we'll make some `headway'," she smiled back at me. "Might as well burn up some of that coal we've got," I said. "No sense in hauling it back to Dularn," she grinned back. "Heading right into the `teeth' of it too," Karis said, the wind gusts warm and smelling of rain. I saw no reason at this point to try to collect rainwater as we had, given the distance I now calculated that we were from land. A bright flash of light- ning leaving little doubt that we were in for a storm now too... The clouds there ahead of us like some encroaching sky monster. The black smoke pouring from our funnel as we got steam up now, the propeller starting to turn as the engine got steam pressure. The engine was small, designed more to just move the ship about in a calm than to serve as a primary means of propulsion, but it would help hold the ship in place against wind and wave here now. "Take down everything but jib and spanker," I answered her, the smoke now rising from the funnel being blown behind the ship with the wind as the seas rose, the ship plunging into them now. A jagged bolt of lightning suddenly striking the sea ahead of us! "Good thing it's `warm'!" Karis breathed, the spray flying the length of the North Star as she smashed into the great waves. The heavy black smoke from the funnel flying out behind as we drove forward into the teeth of the storm, the spray leaping up over the bow in great sheets now to soak the length of the ship. "Not making a knot headway," I replied, glancing over the side at the water. Even with the engine at full power we could hardly match the force of the wind and waves striking against the hull. On the other hand tacking into such a storm as I once used to do wouldn't have gotten us much further. We'd just have to ride this out even if it meant that we didn't see land for anoth- er day now. It was frustrating, but there wasn't anything that I could do about it, the North Star's engine not that "powerful". The best that it could "do" being around four knots, I've noted. "Should `blow out' eventually," my first officer commented. "You'll have to get your hair `rebleached'," I smiled back, changing the subject just as bit as we stood there side by side. "All Dularnian women are `supposed' to be `blondes'," she grinned. That was why the Californians "believed" of us, I knew. "And we're all `good' with swords and bows," I added then. "Boat ahoy!" the lookout yelled down then to the deck! "Fishing boat of some sort!" Karis gasped in shock! "Dismasted, out of control!" Paul spoke beside me! "Line throwing crew to the deck!" I now snapped out! "Some of us `know' what to `do'," Karis breathed, Diane and a couple of burly seamen already at the jib as the dismasted boat now rapidly drifted down on towards the approaching North Star. It would take quick work with the jib and engine in this sea... "I'll take the wheel," I spoke, the helmsman stepping back. I reached out, slowed the engine, the North Star now "dead" in the water as the fishing boat drifted down upon us. With the jib now "free", and the spanker yet set, the North Star was held bows on to the sea, with only the rudder and screw to guide her now. "If that boat drifts down under our bow...," Karis breathed. The frail craft would be smashed to planking by the ship's weight as the North Star fell with the waves upon it! I had to edge the North Star "over" just a hair, the fishing boat now just visible. I could see a man and a woman, a teenage boy, and a young girl. "Line's thrown," Paul spoke, standing there beside me now. "Hope they know enough to draw the main cable over," I said. That was attached to the light throwing line with its big float. I already had the engine in reverse so that the North Star might drift with the wind along with the fishing boat. The ship almost uncontrollable in a wind like this, although Karis' work with the spanker was allowing me to hold the lithe three master in place so far, the jib under Diane's guidance being allowed to fly free. "Only `Maris Marn' herself could do this," Paul said to me, his face like mine wet from the spray and the falling heavy rain. The thunder like a drum roll as the lightning flashed over us... "They have the cable secured!" Karis yelled, the fishing boat now drifting alongside the North Star, several men with fend offs trying to keep it from smashing itself against the ship now! "Thank Lys!" I breathed, pushing the engine repeater to for- ward once again, the North Star now once again meeting the waves! We'd tow the fishing boat with us, I quickly informed Karis now, those aboard scrambling upon over the side to stand dripping on the deck, perhaps thankful to LYS that their Queen had "arrived"! "Lys answered our prayers!" the woman said, her husband nod- ding, their son of sixteen or so holding their little girl. Of- ten such "fishing families" sail out of sight of land for fish. We were apparently a bit "closer in" now than I'd thought here. The family was "light haired" like many sea faring Dularnians... Their attire leaving no doubts either as to what they did for a living, the "odor" of long dead fish now filling the cabin too. The steady "beat" of the steam engine at work a comforting sound. "When this wind goes down I'll give you a spar for a mast," I said, the Queen of Dularn aware that this episode would just be another part of the yet growing "Maris Marn" legends now common! "The fishing was good before the storm came," he "smiled". "We have been a bit `short' of fresh food," I "smiled" back. "You did cross the ocean," the woman spoke, her voice filled with awe. I wondered too if she believed the Earth was "round"? There were those who believed it was "flat" like some "pancake". "And we `met' with a Japanese warship," Prince Paul grinned. "The Queen of Dularn will `buy' your catch," I said to them. "Haven't had a `meal' like that since we left Arsana," Paul said to me, wiping his lips, the fresh fish having been "good". Karis, Diane, and Danny nodding in agreement as Kathi "cleared", setting goblets of wine before us. Such being from my own stock. "I think I've learned what `seamanship' means," Diane said. "I've had a lot of `experience'," I "smiled" back at her. "You handled the North Star like a row boat," Karis said. "An understanding of the `vector of forces'," I answered. "There is but one `Maris Marn'," Danny Oaks smiled in reply. "We should sight land tomorrow," I said, getting ready for bed. The storm had died out, and we were once again under sail with the fishing boat in tow astern bouncing over the waves now. "I'm getting `used' to living like this," Paul said to me. "Our bedroom is larger than this cabin," I smiled back. "There's something comforting about being rocked to sleep," he said, lifting the blanket so that I might get in beside him. "It will seem `strange' at first when we get back home," I answered, giving him a kiss. I was naked beneath my night shift. I felt him reach for my body, draw the woolen night shift up now. "Maris Marn is also `good in bed'," he said to me smiling. "A Queen of `many talents'," I smiled back, kissing him. ***************************************************************** "I'd like to fly to Dularn," Darlanis said to Lorraine as they ate breakfast, Black Lady tied down before the manor house. Powered by common alcohol, the airplane could be refueled in any major city of the 26th Century. Oil and spare parts however had to come from Mars, and that required getting into communication with Raspa, something that also now involved the Priestesses with their "restrictions" on spacecraft from the red planet Mars. "Take Sharon with you if you go," Lorraine smiled back. A "nod" from the azure eyed Empress being an adequate reply then... "Her captain can sail the Astarte back," Darlanis "smiled". ***************************************************************** "Ten knots, your majesty," Karis said to me. We'd do a bit "better" than that if we weren't still towing the fishing boat, I knew, but I didn't like to leave them out here to make repairs... "We should raise land by nightfall," I assured Karis then. "Kind'a hate to see it," Karis smiled softly back at me. "The `end' of a voyage that's made history," I smiled. "At least it's something no Imperial's done," she said. "Lorraine will probably try it next," I grinned at her. "But we'll have been `first'," she reminded me then. "And `that' is something we'll never forget," I said. ***************************************************************** "You're pretty far `out'," Sharon said, looking at Darlanis. It had been a long flight, even for the swift black Beechcraft. "Just `hoping'," the Empress smiled softly back at Sharon. The ocean like a rippling pond there two miles under the wings. "Something ahead," Sharon said, getting the binoculars. "A ship?" Darlanis asked, straining her older eyes. "Three masts, Dularnian second rate," Sharon said. "Take the controls," Darlanis spoke, taking the 10x60's. ***************************************************************** "Something in the sky!" Karis cried, drawing my attention! "It's not a Tarl!", the look out then informed us all! "Could just be...," I muttered, thinking of Darlanis! "Lorraine?" Karis asked, handing me the telescope. "I think not," I smiled, thinking of Darlanis. 2569 A.D.! THE DULARNIAN QUEEN AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Fifty Seven "And we're so `close' now too," Karis breathed, the clouds now just visible there ahead of us a dark threatening line on the eastern horizon while the sun a glowing globe set now behind us. Paul standing there grinning to himself over some private "joke" no doubt. My husband being a man with a true sense of "humor"... He was of course well aware of what a storm like this might "do". "Probably just one of those `summer storms' we get from the east," I smiled, aware that it would be necessary to shorten sail now despite any of our wishes otherwise. Karis cursing a bit un- der her breath... Her words making me smile a bit to myself too! "Aye, aye, your majesty," she grinned, barking her orders. "Have steam raised," I smiled, seeing her grin and nod now! "At least we'll make some `headway'," she smiled back at me. "Might as well burn up some of that coal we've got," I said. "No sense in hauling it back to Dularn," she grinned back. "Heading right into the `teeth' of it too," Karis said, the wind gusts warm and smelling of rain. I saw no reason at this point to try to collect rainwater as we had, given the distance I now calculated that we were from land. A bright flash of light- ning leaving little doubt that we were in for a storm now too... The clouds there ahead of us like some encroaching sky monster. The black smoke pouring from our funnel as we got steam up now, the propeller starting to turn as the engine got steam pressure. The engine was small, designed more to just move the ship about in a calm than to serve as a primary means of propulsion, but it would help hold the ship in place against wind and wave here now. "Take down everything but jib and spanker," I answered her, the smoke now rising from the funnel being blown behind the ship with the wind as the seas rose, the ship plunging into them now. A jagged bolt of lightning suddenly striking the sea ahead of us! "Good thing it's `warm'!" Karis breathed, the spray flying the length of the North Star as she smashed into the great waves. The heavy black smoke from the funnel flying out behind as we drove forward into the teeth of the storm, the spray leaping up over the bow in great sheets now to soak the length of the ship. "Not making a knot headway," I replied, glancing over the side at the water. Even with the engine at full power we could hardly match the force of the wind and waves striking against the hull. On the other hand tacking into such a storm as I once used to do wouldn't have gotten us much further. We'd just have to ride this out even if it meant that we didn't see land for anoth- er day now. It was frustrating, but there wasn't anything that I could do about it, the North Star's engine not that "powerful". The best that it could "do" being around four knots, I've noted. "Should `blow out' eventually," my first officer commented. "You'll have to get your hair `rebleached'," I smiled back, changing the subject just as bit as we stood there side by side. "All Dularnian women are `supposed' to be `blondes'," she grinned. That was why the Californians "believed" of us, I knew. "And we're all `good' with swords and bows," I added then. "Boat ahoy!" the lookout yelled down then to the deck! "Fishing boat of some sort!" Karis gasped in shock! "Dismasted, out of control!" Paul spoke beside me! "Line throwing crew to the deck!" I now snapped out! "Some of us `know' what to `do'," Karis breathed, Diane and a couple of burly seamen already at the jib as the dismasted boat now rapidly drifted down on towards the approaching North Star. It would take quick work with the jib and engine in this sea... "I'll take the wheel," I spoke, the helmsman stepping back. I reached out, slowed the engine, the North Star now "dead" in the water as the fishing boat drifted down upon us. With the jib now "free", and the spanker yet set, the North Star was held bows on to the sea, with only the rudder and screw to guide her now. "If that boat drifts down under our bow...," Karis breathed. The frail craft would be smashed to planking by the ship's weight as the North Star fell with the waves upon it! I had to edge the North Star "over" just a hair, the fishing boat now just visible. I could see a man and a woman, a teenage boy, and a young girl. "Line's thrown," Paul spoke, standing there beside me now. "Hope they know enough to draw the main cable over," I said. That was attached to the light throwing line with its big float. I already had the engine in reverse so that the North Star might drift with the wind along with the fishing boat. The ship almost uncontrollable in a wind like this, although Karis' work with the spanker was allowing me to hold the lithe three master in place so far, the jib under Diane's guidance being allowed to fly free. "Only `Maris Marn' herself could do this," Paul said to me, his face like mine wet from the spray and the falling heavy rain. The thunder like a drum roll as the lightning flashed over us... "They have the cable secured!" Karis yelled, the fishing boat now drifting alongside the North Star, several men with fend offs trying to keep it from smashing itself against the ship now! "Thank Lys!" I breathed, pushing the engine repeater to for- ward once again, the North Star now once again meeting the waves! We'd tow the fishing boat with us, I quickly informed Karis now, those aboard scrambling upon over the side to stand dripping on the deck, perhaps thankful to LYS that their Queen had "arrived"! "Lys answered our prayers!" the woman said, her husband nod- ding, their son of sixteen or so holding their little girl. Of- ten such "fishing families" sail out of sight of land for fish. We were apparently a bit "closer in" now than I'd thought here. The family was "light haired" like many sea faring Dularnians... Their attire leaving no doubts either as to what they did for a living, the "odor" of long dead fish now filling the cabin too. The steady "beat" of the steam engine at work a comforting sound. "When this wind goes down I'll give you a spar for a mast," I said, the Queen of Dularn aware that this episode would just be another part of the yet growing "Maris Marn" legends now common! "The fishing was good before the storm came," he "smiled". "We have been a bit `short' of fresh food," I "smiled" back. "You did cross the ocean," the woman spoke, her voice filled with awe. I wondered too if she believed the Earth was "round"? There were those who believed it was "flat" like some "pancake". "And we `met' with a Japanese warship," Prince Paul grinned. "The Queen of Dularn will `buy' your catch," I said to them. "Haven't had a `meal' like that since we left Arsana," Paul said to me, wiping his lips, the fresh fish having been "good". Karis, Diane, and Danny nodding in agreement as Kathi "cleared", setting goblets of wine before us. Such being from my own stock. "I think I've learned what `seamanship' means," Diane said. "I've had a lot of `experience'," I "smiled" back at her. "You handled the North Star like a row boat," Karis said. "An understanding of the `vector of forces'," I answered. "There is but one `Maris Marn'," Danny Oaks smiled in reply. "We should sight land tomorrow," I said, getting ready for bed. The storm had died out, and we were once again under sail with the fishing boat in tow astern bouncing over the waves now. "I'm getting `used' to living like this," Paul said to me. "Our bedroom is larger than this cabin," I smiled back. "There's something comforting about being rocked to sleep," he said, lifting the blanket so that I might get in beside him. "It will seem `strange' at first when we get back home," I answered, giving him a kiss. I was naked beneath my night shift. I felt him reach for my body, draw the woolen night shift up now. "Maris Marn is also `good in bed'," he said to me smiling. "A Queen of `many talents'," I smiled back, kissing him. ***************************************************************** "I'd like to fly to Dularn," Darlanis said to Lorraine as they ate breakfast, Black Lady tied down before the manor house. Powered by common alcohol, the airplane could be refueled in any major city of the 26th Century. Oil and spare parts however had to come from Mars, and that required getting into communication with Raspa, something that also now involved the Priestesses with their "restrictions" on spacecraft from the red planet Mars. "Take Sharon with you if you go," Lorraine smiled back. A "nod" from the azure eyed Empress being an adequate reply then... "Her captain can sail the Astarte back," Darlanis "smiled". ***************************************************************** "Ten knots, your majesty," Karis said to me. We'd do a bit "better" than that if we weren't still towing the fishing boat, I knew, but I didn't like to leave them out here to make repairs... "We should raise land by nightfall," I assured Karis then. "Kind'a hate to see it," Karis smiled softly back at me. "The `end' of a voyage that's made history," I smiled. "At least it's something no Imperial's done," she said. "Lorraine will probably try it next," I grinned at her. "But we'll have been `first'," she reminded me then. "And `that' is something we'll never forget," I said. ***************************************************************** "You're pretty far `out'," Sharon said, looking at Darlanis. It had been a long flight, even for the swift black Beechcraft. "Just `hoping'," the Empress smiled softly back at Sharon. The ocean like a rippling pond there two miles under the wings. "Something ahead," Sharon said, getting the binoculars. "A ship?" Darlanis asked, straining her older eyes. "Three masts, Dularnian second rate," Sharon said. "Take the controls," Darlanis spoke, taking the 10x60's. ***************************************************************** "Something in the sky!" Karis cried, drawing my attention! "It's not a Tarl!", the look out then informed us all! "Could just be...," I muttered, thinking of Darlanis! "Lorraine?" Karis asked, handing me the telescope. "I think not," I smiled, thinking of Darlanis. |
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