"2570-31" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 8 - The Queen Of Time)THE QUEEN OF TIME 2570 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Thirty One "Wait for my signal," I said, Tori nodding there in the darkness, the sky cloudy, the stars for the most part now hidden. It was quite late at night, well past midnight in any case here. The log they'd use as a battering ram lying there in the shadows. "Yes, your majesty," the captain of Maris' guards grinned. "There won't be any doubt we're `responsible'," Hope spoke. "Knowing and `proving' are two different things," Tori said, taking the words right out of my own mouth before I could speak!! "Higher than this building," Darlanis spoke, looking up. We had planned to come across the rooftops like burglars often do. The building we needed to gain access to being about ten feet higher than the roof of the building on which we were standing. "You and I should be able to swing Hope up," I suggested. "If there's a guard up there..." Janet breathed softly. "I'm `good' enough with a sword," Hope assured her then. "O.K., lets `do' it," the Empress snapped back now at me. "Glad she isn't Maris," Darlanis breathed as we lifted Hope. The Queen of Dularn being rather "overweight", as I've mentioned. "Up she goes...!" I hissed, lifting on Hope's booted foot. Darlanis doing the same, the Empress clad in a black tunic and hose, her golden hair under a stocking cap to conceal its color. "Be careful!" Janet whispered, there being a gap between the two buildings which Hope could very slip down between to possible death or at least serious injury giving the "drop" right here... Darlanis leaning up, putting a hand under Hope's foot, grunting with the effort as she almost shoved Hope right up over the roof! "Strong, isn't she," I whispered to Janet, who nodded back. Hope waving down to us, then disappearing over the roof top now. "Trouble!" Darlanis hissed, some sort of "outcry" above us! "Sounded like a man, not a woman," Janet offered then as we stood there waiting, wondering just what had transpired here now! "Gave us a bad moment there," Darlanis spoke as Hope put her head over the edge and reached down for Janet, who would go next. "They did have a guard, but he was asleep on the job," Hope answered, her grin there in her tones concealed by the darkness. She was just a bit too "calm", which left no doubts here either! "What did you `do'?" I asked the Queen. "Run him through?" One does not "silence" a sentry with a sword thrust, I may note. In any case you first must cover their mouths to "silence" them. "Tried to slash his throat with my sword," she answered as she took hold of Janet's wrists, Darlanis and I now boosting the Leaderess up over the edge of the roof top with Hope's help here. "We all have to `learn'," Darlanis grinned as I was next to be boosted up over the roof top, Janet and Hope having hold of my wrists while Darlanis there below shoved up against my feet here. "Should have brought a rope," Janet Rogers said to me as we looked down at Darlanis standing there below us. The thought go- ing through my mind that it would have made more sense to have had me come last, so that I could boost Darlanis up while Janet and Hope helped from their end. Now we would have to horse the Empress up by brute strength, and I wasn't sure we could do that! "This will work `better'," I said, climbing over the edge, hanging for a brief second by my fingers and then pushing back with my feet so that I landed back on the roof top next to Darla- nis. Darlanis giving me a nod as she put her boot in my cupped hands, that big blonde's good hundred and fifty pounds too all I could lift as I hoisted her up far enough for Janet and Hope to grab her hands. Then the rest was easy, with Darlanis' powerful muscles to assist lifting me back up on to the roof beside them. "I'll try to do `better' next time," Hope whispered to me as I looked at the body of the luckless guard they'd left up here. Darlanis lifting up the trap door, Janet with drawn sword ready to "greet" anyone who might be below. Her face only a pale shad- ow there in the darkness, the last stars now gone behind clouds. I wondered what thoughts went through the mind of the Leaderess. "Don't `worry' about it," I smiled, going to the edge of the roof and looking down at the street there some forty feet below. Few structures in this era go much more than five stories due to the lack of structural steel, most buildings being made of brick. I "flicked" my lighter a couple times, seeing an answering "glow" from the street below that left no doubts Tori was "ready" here. Dashing across the roof top back to the trap door, I then climbed down the stairs there in the darkness behind the others, the attic of the building still quite warm from the heat of the day. A muffled yelling below us leaving no doubts that Tori and her women from the Prostitute Guild were now attacking the place! With a booted foot Darlanis kicked open a door, the men in their straps, some without even these turning, their swords naked in their hands as several nude women then fled in terror out a doorway! Janet and Darlanis now engaging, Hope to the Empress' right, while I took my position to Janet's left, our long keen blades dealing out death with almost every stroke we made then... I saw the last man flee in terror, taking Darlanis' flung sword between his shoulderblades, the Empress striding up to the still thrashing body and then yanking it free as we stood there. Janet having told me in private that Domino Tremaine was much of the same sort of a woman as Darlanis, which wasn't too surprising considering just "who" had provided the ovum to form her from. I understood too that Bob and Carol had met the woman in 1990, which raised all sorts of questions for which I had no "answers"! The noises coming from below indicating that the prostitutes had decided not to use their fire bombs, but their swords instead... "One `survivor'," Tori grinned, the naked man kneeling there before her. She is a busty woman, and almost another "Carol" in a way, although they don't really look all that much alike here. "No doubt Carol and you will learn `something'," I smiled. "`Mean bitch' when you do get down to it too," Tori grinned. "Take our wounded and dead with us," I answered her back, the prostitutes looking about themselves, others nursing wounds. We'd lost three, the "enemy" perhaps a dozen or so here, I knew. "Seems the city's guardsmen were otherwise `engaged'," Tori noted. I supposed that Maris was able to arrange that "much"... It being obvious to me that Maris didn't really have what it took to be the Queen of a country, although she was certainly capable enough when it came to fighting a war with someone, we'd learned! Whether the problem was that she was "too nice" in some ways, or just a matter of not understanding the "situation" was something Darlanis and I had discussed earlier without any conclusions now. "Something `chewing' at you?" I asked Tori, standing there. "I wish Maris had a little of `you'," she answered me back. "If things had been different, you could have had Darlanis," I answered, well aware that Darlanis was certainly more capable. I suspected that Maris was "smarter", but Darlanis was the sort who understood the "realities of life", and dealt with them too!! "I admire Maris, but we need a `stronger' Queen," she said. Telling me a "confidence" that I knew I could never tell Maris... "When Maris commanded the North Star `us' Imperials had no doubts as to her competency," I said to her, Tori grinning back. "Perhaps she should be reminded of `that'," Tori replied. "You aren't going to get `away' with this!" the woman screamed at Maris, shaking her fist at the Queen of Dularn here! It was late at night, when all good people were home in bed now. Perhaps three a.m., although I didn't know the exact time here. It had not taken long for our actions to receive the notice they deserved. This blonde being the first of Tara's spawn we'd seen! Whether or not the Princess was "involved" here I didn't know, but I had no doubts that her "Organization" was behind all of it! "Figured we'd shake the `rats' out of the `woodwork'," the Empress grinned, spinning the woman around, grabbing a handful of her tunic, the blonde suddenly well aware that yelling at Maris was one thing, but Darlanis was something else entirely here now! "I'm a member of the Dularian Senate!" the woman protested! "A faithful servant of Princess Tara, no doubt," the Empress answered, "The same woman who took from me my own `womanhood'..." "Maris!" the senator begged, terrified now of Darlanis here! "She's a `civilized' woman, but I'm just a `barbarian' as you `Dulies' used to say about me," Darlanis grinned back at her. "Just a `half-breed' with her mother living on Mars," she added. "And I settle matters with cold steel, not with talk," she said! "Might get a few credits for her as a slave girl," Janet ad- ded, regarding the woman, who looked upon her with puzzlement... Janet's facial features being fairly well known in this era yet. "Probably `knows' about all the rest of the `organization' here," I "ventured", giving the now terrified woman a grim smile. "And I'm sure she'll sing sweet as a bird once Carol gets done with her," I added, the old Warlady standing there watching this. "Might not be `worth much' afterwards," Carol grinned back. "No, I suppose not," I mused thoughtfully, regarding her. "Please...!" the terrified woman wept, going to her knees. "Gesture of Submission!" Darlanis snapped, standing there. THE QUEEN OF TIME 2570 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Thirty One "Wait for my signal," I said, Tori nodding there in the darkness, the sky cloudy, the stars for the most part now hidden. It was quite late at night, well past midnight in any case here. The log they'd use as a battering ram lying there in the shadows. "Yes, your majesty," the captain of Maris' guards grinned. "There won't be any doubt we're `responsible'," Hope spoke. "Knowing and `proving' are two different things," Tori said, taking the words right out of my own mouth before I could speak!! "Higher than this building," Darlanis spoke, looking up. We had planned to come across the rooftops like burglars often do. The building we needed to gain access to being about ten feet higher than the roof of the building on which we were standing. "You and I should be able to swing Hope up," I suggested. "If there's a guard up there..." Janet breathed softly. "I'm `good' enough with a sword," Hope assured her then. "O.K., lets `do' it," the Empress snapped back now at me. "Glad she isn't Maris," Darlanis breathed as we lifted Hope. The Queen of Dularn being rather "overweight", as I've mentioned. "Up she goes...!" I hissed, lifting on Hope's booted foot. Darlanis doing the same, the Empress clad in a black tunic and hose, her golden hair under a stocking cap to conceal its color. "Be careful!" Janet whispered, there being a gap between the two buildings which Hope could very slip down between to possible death or at least serious injury giving the "drop" right here... Darlanis leaning up, putting a hand under Hope's foot, grunting with the effort as she almost shoved Hope right up over the roof! "Strong, isn't she," I whispered to Janet, who nodded back. Hope waving down to us, then disappearing over the roof top now. "Trouble!" Darlanis hissed, some sort of "outcry" above us! "Sounded like a man, not a woman," Janet offered then as we stood there waiting, wondering just what had transpired here now! "Gave us a bad moment there," Darlanis spoke as Hope put her head over the edge and reached down for Janet, who would go next. "They did have a guard, but he was asleep on the job," Hope answered, her grin there in her tones concealed by the darkness. She was just a bit too "calm", which left no doubts here either! "What did you `do'?" I asked the Queen. "Run him through?" One does not "silence" a sentry with a sword thrust, I may note. In any case you first must cover their mouths to "silence" them. "Tried to slash his throat with my sword," she answered as she took hold of Janet's wrists, Darlanis and I now boosting the Leaderess up over the edge of the roof top with Hope's help here. "We all have to `learn'," Darlanis grinned as I was next to be boosted up over the roof top, Janet and Hope having hold of my wrists while Darlanis there below shoved up against my feet here. "Should have brought a rope," Janet Rogers said to me as we looked down at Darlanis standing there below us. The thought go- ing through my mind that it would have made more sense to have had me come last, so that I could boost Darlanis up while Janet and Hope helped from their end. Now we would have to horse the Empress up by brute strength, and I wasn't sure we could do that! "This will work `better'," I said, climbing over the edge, hanging for a brief second by my fingers and then pushing back with my feet so that I landed back on the roof top next to Darla- nis. Darlanis giving me a nod as she put her boot in my cupped hands, that big blonde's good hundred and fifty pounds too all I could lift as I hoisted her up far enough for Janet and Hope to grab her hands. Then the rest was easy, with Darlanis' powerful muscles to assist lifting me back up on to the roof beside them. "I'll try to do `better' next time," Hope whispered to me as I looked at the body of the luckless guard they'd left up here. Darlanis lifting up the trap door, Janet with drawn sword ready to "greet" anyone who might be below. Her face only a pale shad- ow there in the darkness, the last stars now gone behind clouds. I wondered what thoughts went through the mind of the Leaderess. "Don't `worry' about it," I smiled, going to the edge of the roof and looking down at the street there some forty feet below. Few structures in this era go much more than five stories due to the lack of structural steel, most buildings being made of brick. I "flicked" my lighter a couple times, seeing an answering "glow" from the street below that left no doubts Tori was "ready" here. Dashing across the roof top back to the trap door, I then climbed down the stairs there in the darkness behind the others, the attic of the building still quite warm from the heat of the day. A muffled yelling below us leaving no doubts that Tori and her women from the Prostitute Guild were now attacking the place! With a booted foot Darlanis kicked open a door, the men in their straps, some without even these turning, their swords naked in their hands as several nude women then fled in terror out a doorway! Janet and Darlanis now engaging, Hope to the Empress' right, while I took my position to Janet's left, our long keen blades dealing out death with almost every stroke we made then... I saw the last man flee in terror, taking Darlanis' flung sword between his shoulderblades, the Empress striding up to the still thrashing body and then yanking it free as we stood there. Janet having told me in private that Domino Tremaine was much of the same sort of a woman as Darlanis, which wasn't too surprising considering just "who" had provided the ovum to form her from. I understood too that Bob and Carol had met the woman in 1990, which raised all sorts of questions for which I had no "answers"! The noises coming from below indicating that the prostitutes had decided not to use their fire bombs, but their swords instead... "One `survivor'," Tori grinned, the naked man kneeling there before her. She is a busty woman, and almost another "Carol" in a way, although they don't really look all that much alike here. "No doubt Carol and you will learn `something'," I smiled. "`Mean bitch' when you do get down to it too," Tori grinned. "Take our wounded and dead with us," I answered her back, the prostitutes looking about themselves, others nursing wounds. We'd lost three, the "enemy" perhaps a dozen or so here, I knew. "Seems the city's guardsmen were otherwise `engaged'," Tori noted. I supposed that Maris was able to arrange that "much"... It being obvious to me that Maris didn't really have what it took to be the Queen of a country, although she was certainly capable enough when it came to fighting a war with someone, we'd learned! Whether the problem was that she was "too nice" in some ways, or just a matter of not understanding the "situation" was something Darlanis and I had discussed earlier without any conclusions now. "Something `chewing' at you?" I asked Tori, standing there. "I wish Maris had a little of `you'," she answered me back. "If things had been different, you could have had Darlanis," I answered, well aware that Darlanis was certainly more capable. I suspected that Maris was "smarter", but Darlanis was the sort who understood the "realities of life", and dealt with them too!! "I admire Maris, but we need a `stronger' Queen," she said. Telling me a "confidence" that I knew I could never tell Maris... "When Maris commanded the North Star `us' Imperials had no doubts as to her competency," I said to her, Tori grinning back. "Perhaps she should be reminded of `that'," Tori replied. "You aren't going to get `away' with this!" the woman screamed at Maris, shaking her fist at the Queen of Dularn here! It was late at night, when all good people were home in bed now. Perhaps three a.m., although I didn't know the exact time here. It had not taken long for our actions to receive the notice they deserved. This blonde being the first of Tara's spawn we'd seen! Whether or not the Princess was "involved" here I didn't know, but I had no doubts that her "Organization" was behind all of it! "Figured we'd shake the `rats' out of the `woodwork'," the Empress grinned, spinning the woman around, grabbing a handful of her tunic, the blonde suddenly well aware that yelling at Maris was one thing, but Darlanis was something else entirely here now! "I'm a member of the Dularian Senate!" the woman protested! "A faithful servant of Princess Tara, no doubt," the Empress answered, "The same woman who took from me my own `womanhood'..." "Maris!" the senator begged, terrified now of Darlanis here! "She's a `civilized' woman, but I'm just a `barbarian' as you `Dulies' used to say about me," Darlanis grinned back at her. "Just a `half-breed' with her mother living on Mars," she added. "And I settle matters with cold steel, not with talk," she said! "Might get a few credits for her as a slave girl," Janet ad- ded, regarding the woman, who looked upon her with puzzlement... Janet's facial features being fairly well known in this era yet. "Probably `knows' about all the rest of the `organization' here," I "ventured", giving the now terrified woman a grim smile. "And I'm sure she'll sing sweet as a bird once Carol gets done with her," I added, the old Warlady standing there watching this. "Might not be `worth much' afterwards," Carol grinned back. "No, I suppose not," I mused thoughtfully, regarding her. "Please...!" the terrified woman wept, going to her knees. "Gesture of Submission!" Darlanis snapped, standing there. |
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