"FREE-17" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 9 - The Freedom Fighters Of Trelandar)Freedom Fighters of Trelandar A Tale of Adventure in the Second Dark Age Book Nine of the Warlady Series By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Seventeen "I once told Darlanis that war is like `poker'," I mused to Carl as my little galley now passed in between the fortifications that guarded the entrance into Trella. The ruins of Los Angeles visible there to the north if you looked carefully... Janis Mara at the rail, perhaps aware of how fortunate she'd been here. I'd offered to return her to her Empress, using her as a token in my own plan to attempt something with Darlanis Paula didn't believe would work. Darlanis knew me, knew me from the Academy, knew my standing in the class, and I hoped here might believe that it was quite possible now that facing ME would be far different a task!! I planned to tell her just exactly "what" I could do to her, the sorts of attacks I could launch into Sarn itself, threats I really couldn't have carried out all that effectively, as most of our navy was now either sunk, burned, or in Imperial hands now. On the other hand Darlanis wouldn't be "sure" just what I could "do" to her, but she did know that my military knowledge exceeded hers, exceeded that of Princess Tara (I hoped anyway here), and I was taking a long shot that Darlanis might think I could "do" to her exactly what I claimed to do, even if I couldn't do it here!! We'd made sure over the last week that the Imperials knew I was now the Warlady of Trelandar, that I was the one responsible for all their "troubles" that they had with the "resistance" here... "Don't underestimate her," he warned, the truce flag flying over our heads. My vessel was small, a single row of oarsmen on each side, the wind almost foul for us as we came into Trella's harbor under oars to the steady beat of the time keeper's drum. I could see the palace there beyond the city, Darlanis having at least done a pretty good job of patching things up, I noticed now as we came closer in towards the city, which lies to the south of the harbor for the most part here. The lesser desirable part be- ing to the north of the harbor, and thus closer to the ruins now. It being believed with good reason that "monsters" inhabit the ruins and come out at night to steal from those closest to them. These "creatures" being much the same as the one that Carl and I killed up there in the foothills when we'd sought shelter for the night in those old ruins left over from the time before The War.* * It was Lorraine, free from the prejudices of our society, who managed to establish peaceful relations in 2570 with Queen Joyce and her people, even to defying the Priestesses of Lys. (Sanda) "I'm an excellent trial lawyer," I answered back. In a give and take situation I'd always done well, having a quick repartee that impressed juries. I had no idea how well my abilities would work on Darlanis, but I wanted to negotiate an "end" to this war. If Darlanis wanted to reproduce the World Federation of the 21st Century on a much smaller scale, then I saw no reason why Trelan- dar couldn't assist her in doing so as long as it was to our own benefit. Darlanis was no "democrat", but she wasn't really an "oppressive" ruler despite whatever our propaganda claimed. Run- ning Darlanis down on her character had in my opinion only made her less likely to be "reasonable", even if Queen Paula felt that the people of Trelandar would be more likely to fight if Darlanis was seen as being just as EVIL as we could possibly make her be. The Empress' actions in allowing Princess Tara to carry out the "scorched earth" campaign that she was doing only served to prove to the people of Trelandar how terrible Darlanis was as a person! "I just hope you realize what is `riding' on this," Carl re- plied, looking out over the rail at the city spreading out before us. We could perhaps "hold" Darlanis for a while yet, but even my superior tactical skills couldn't give us a victory, not with so much of Trelandar now in the hands of the Empress unless her own people rose up against her, which I didn't feel was likely... "I see that your sister has put her `best' in command," Dar- lanis said to me as we clasped hands there on the landing, the bright sunlight gleaming off the chain mail of her Imperial Guard as they stood at attention there in a semi-circle around us now. The Empress' own attire that "provocative" golden mesh that well displayed her fine figure, along with a long flowing silken cape. "We decided to take you seriously," I smiled at Darlanis. "You do not bear the caste mark," she breathed softly. "It is by the decree of my Queen," I smiled at Darlanis. "You do however wear `black'," the golden beauty smiled now. My attire consisting of a black silk blouse and matching leather skirt. The sword at my hip however was mine, a good serviceable weapon if not as ornate perhaps as the one that Darlanis carried. Carl just behind me with Janis Mara there standing at his side. "Further warfare will gain either of us very little," I said to her, looking up now into her eyes, Darlanis being three inches taller than I was, her spike heeled boots making her taller yet. That was, I knew, a part of her "power" over others, the fact she was tall enough that for most people it was necessary to look up at her, Darlanis in her boots standing about six feet one here. These being the golden leather "strap" boots I mentioned earlier, the criss crossing straps serving to accentuate a woman's legs... "I am prepared to negotiate a settlement with your sister," Darlanis answered me, her eyes glittering into mine as the breeze moved strands of her golden hair there beneath the headdress she wore. "All I ask is an oath of loyalty to me as her Empress..." The likelihood of that being about as great as Paula deciding to give up her crown to become a dockside prostitute here at Trella. "What Janet Rogers gave us was a `federation', not an `em- pire'," I pointed out to her, speaking in tones meant to be over- heard. Darlanis' own advisors standing there among her guards. "A `federation' of Sarn, Trelandar, Dularn, Talon and Baja would be a good first step to rebuilding what once was," I said to her. "It is also possible that we could bring in the barbaric tribes, the scattered peoples of the north beyond Dularn," I added then. "Establish a system of `equality' between nations now unknown..." ***************************************************************** "Lorraine did what I could not," I said, looking up at Jon. Darlanis at that time had still been too arrogant, too "sure" of herself to listen to reason. Too much in love with her own dream of what never could have been. "For fifteen more years she would fight wars that she never could `win'," I said, seeing him there by the window, the sun almost gone now in the west as night fell. That had been the tragedy of Darlanis, of the dream she once had. "You were a `Warlady'," he said, standing there by the win- dow looking out at the grave. That was something few knew now... I'd only held the position for a couple months, and most believed it was just an act of "desperation" by my sister. Darlanis natu- rally did what she could to see that was what was written of me. Trying to "discredit" me in the eyes of the people of Trelandar so that I would not be a "threat" to her rule of my country then. "Lorraine was a `better' Warlady," I said, getting up, going to him, putting my arms around him. She had the "mindset" of the Warrioress, which was something I'd never had. The caste codes had "meaning" for her in a way that they'd never ever had for me. Oddly enough I see her best as a great naval commander, another of the cut of Horatio Nelson, something I think she "proved" for all time back there in 2566 when she took the Huntress up against the North Star. Against the legendary Maris Marn of Dularn, said by many to be the greatest who ever stood upon a quarterdeck. It is true that the battle proved to be a stalemate, but it did in its way prove that Lorraine was the greatest there ever was here. "How `much' did she `get' from you?" Jon suddenly asked me! "How much of the `legend' is really hers, and how much is yours?" Jon no doubt aware that Lorraine and I were extremely "close"... That the objectives that I'd sought in 2550 Lorraine had finally won there twenty years later with the establishment of a "commu- nity" of nations running north from Baja to the cold wastes south of Alaska. Not a "federation", or an "empire" as Darlanis had so once dreamed, but more an "understanding" between Queens, between the Kings of the Nevadas and the Wyomings, that war was no longer the "answer" to problems. Lorraine, although in title a Warlady, was in my eyes more a "Peacelady", her very activities in bring- ing us all together ample proof here of "what" she truly was... "She `knew' in 2566 `what' I'd been," I said, looking at her last resting place. "I think however that she saw `things' in a different `light' than I did, that she wished to prove to Maris that even though she could kill, she did not wish to do so then." That is perhaps a part of Lorraine that few have ever understood. "She was a Warrioress, she wore the caste mark, believed in the caste codes, in the sword at her hip, in her own skill, but yet I see her now as being a person who wanted to give us all a better life, as a woman who was trying her best..." I spoke to Jon then. "Let us hope that those of your caste there on Mars preserve her memory, speak the truth of what she was, of what she tried to do for all of Mankind," Jon said to me as I stood close. In 2648 the Earth would be destroyed as a abode of life, dragged out into the icy reaches of outer space, but upon another world, records would be kept, and men and women would speak of one who once was. Freedom Fighters of Trelandar A Tale of Adventure in the Second Dark Age Book Nine of the Warlady Series By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Seventeen "I once told Darlanis that war is like `poker'," I mused to Carl as my little galley now passed in between the fortifications that guarded the entrance into Trella. The ruins of Los Angeles visible there to the north if you looked carefully... Janis Mara at the rail, perhaps aware of how fortunate she'd been here. I'd offered to return her to her Empress, using her as a token in my own plan to attempt something with Darlanis Paula didn't believe would work. Darlanis knew me, knew me from the Academy, knew my standing in the class, and I hoped here might believe that it was quite possible now that facing ME would be far different a task!! I planned to tell her just exactly "what" I could do to her, the sorts of attacks I could launch into Sarn itself, threats I really couldn't have carried out all that effectively, as most of our navy was now either sunk, burned, or in Imperial hands now. On the other hand Darlanis wouldn't be "sure" just what I could "do" to her, but she did know that my military knowledge exceeded hers, exceeded that of Princess Tara (I hoped anyway here), and I was taking a long shot that Darlanis might think I could "do" to her exactly what I claimed to do, even if I couldn't do it here!! We'd made sure over the last week that the Imperials knew I was now the Warlady of Trelandar, that I was the one responsible for all their "troubles" that they had with the "resistance" here... "Don't underestimate her," he warned, the truce flag flying over our heads. My vessel was small, a single row of oarsmen on each side, the wind almost foul for us as we came into Trella's harbor under oars to the steady beat of the time keeper's drum. I could see the palace there beyond the city, Darlanis having at least done a pretty good job of patching things up, I noticed now as we came closer in towards the city, which lies to the south of the harbor for the most part here. The lesser desirable part be- ing to the north of the harbor, and thus closer to the ruins now. It being believed with good reason that "monsters" inhabit the ruins and come out at night to steal from those closest to them. These "creatures" being much the same as the one that Carl and I killed up there in the foothills when we'd sought shelter for the night in those old ruins left over from the time before The War.* * It was Lorraine, free from the prejudices of our society, who managed to establish peaceful relations in 2570 with Queen Joyce and her people, even to defying the Priestesses of Lys. (Sanda) "I'm an excellent trial lawyer," I answered back. In a give and take situation I'd always done well, having a quick repartee that impressed juries. I had no idea how well my abilities would work on Darlanis, but I wanted to negotiate an "end" to this war. If Darlanis wanted to reproduce the World Federation of the 21st Century on a much smaller scale, then I saw no reason why Trelan- dar couldn't assist her in doing so as long as it was to our own benefit. Darlanis was no "democrat", but she wasn't really an "oppressive" ruler despite whatever our propaganda claimed. Run- ning Darlanis down on her character had in my opinion only made her less likely to be "reasonable", even if Queen Paula felt that the people of Trelandar would be more likely to fight if Darlanis was seen as being just as EVIL as we could possibly make her be. The Empress' actions in allowing Princess Tara to carry out the "scorched earth" campaign that she was doing only served to prove to the people of Trelandar how terrible Darlanis was as a person! "I just hope you realize what is `riding' on this," Carl re- plied, looking out over the rail at the city spreading out before us. We could perhaps "hold" Darlanis for a while yet, but even my superior tactical skills couldn't give us a victory, not with so much of Trelandar now in the hands of the Empress unless her own people rose up against her, which I didn't feel was likely... "I see that your sister has put her `best' in command," Dar- lanis said to me as we clasped hands there on the landing, the bright sunlight gleaming off the chain mail of her Imperial Guard as they stood at attention there in a semi-circle around us now. The Empress' own attire that "provocative" golden mesh that well displayed her fine figure, along with a long flowing silken cape. "We decided to take you seriously," I smiled at Darlanis. "You do not bear the caste mark," she breathed softly. "It is by the decree of my Queen," I smiled at Darlanis. "You do however wear `black'," the golden beauty smiled now. My attire consisting of a black silk blouse and matching leather skirt. The sword at my hip however was mine, a good serviceable weapon if not as ornate perhaps as the one that Darlanis carried. Carl just behind me with Janis Mara there standing at his side. "Further warfare will gain either of us very little," I said to her, looking up now into her eyes, Darlanis being three inches taller than I was, her spike heeled boots making her taller yet. That was, I knew, a part of her "power" over others, the fact she was tall enough that for most people it was necessary to look up at her, Darlanis in her boots standing about six feet one here. These being the golden leather "strap" boots I mentioned earlier, the criss crossing straps serving to accentuate a woman's legs... "I am prepared to negotiate a settlement with your sister," Darlanis answered me, her eyes glittering into mine as the breeze moved strands of her golden hair there beneath the headdress she wore. "All I ask is an oath of loyalty to me as her Empress..." The likelihood of that being about as great as Paula deciding to give up her crown to become a dockside prostitute here at Trella. "What Janet Rogers gave us was a `federation', not an `em- pire'," I pointed out to her, speaking in tones meant to be over- heard. Darlanis' own advisors standing there among her guards. "A `federation' of Sarn, Trelandar, Dularn, Talon and Baja would be a good first step to rebuilding what once was," I said to her. "It is also possible that we could bring in the barbaric tribes, the scattered peoples of the north beyond Dularn," I added then. "Establish a system of `equality' between nations now unknown..." ***************************************************************** "Lorraine did what I could not," I said, looking up at Jon. Darlanis at that time had still been too arrogant, too "sure" of herself to listen to reason. Too much in love with her own dream of what never could have been. "For fifteen more years she would fight wars that she never could `win'," I said, seeing him there by the window, the sun almost gone now in the west as night fell. That had been the tragedy of Darlanis, of the dream she once had. "You were a `Warlady'," he said, standing there by the win- dow looking out at the grave. That was something few knew now... I'd only held the position for a couple months, and most believed it was just an act of "desperation" by my sister. Darlanis natu- rally did what she could to see that was what was written of me. Trying to "discredit" me in the eyes of the people of Trelandar so that I would not be a "threat" to her rule of my country then. "Lorraine was a `better' Warlady," I said, getting up, going to him, putting my arms around him. She had the "mindset" of the Warrioress, which was something I'd never had. The caste codes had "meaning" for her in a way that they'd never ever had for me. Oddly enough I see her best as a great naval commander, another of the cut of Horatio Nelson, something I think she "proved" for all time back there in 2566 when she took the Huntress up against the North Star. Against the legendary Maris Marn of Dularn, said by many to be the greatest who ever stood upon a quarterdeck. It is true that the battle proved to be a stalemate, but it did in its way prove that Lorraine was the greatest there ever was here. "How `much' did she `get' from you?" Jon suddenly asked me! "How much of the `legend' is really hers, and how much is yours?" Jon no doubt aware that Lorraine and I were extremely "close"... That the objectives that I'd sought in 2550 Lorraine had finally won there twenty years later with the establishment of a "commu- nity" of nations running north from Baja to the cold wastes south of Alaska. Not a "federation", or an "empire" as Darlanis had so once dreamed, but more an "understanding" between Queens, between the Kings of the Nevadas and the Wyomings, that war was no longer the "answer" to problems. Lorraine, although in title a Warlady, was in my eyes more a "Peacelady", her very activities in bring- ing us all together ample proof here of "what" she truly was... "She `knew' in 2566 `what' I'd been," I said, looking at her last resting place. "I think however that she saw `things' in a different `light' than I did, that she wished to prove to Maris that even though she could kill, she did not wish to do so then." That is perhaps a part of Lorraine that few have ever understood. "She was a Warrioress, she wore the caste mark, believed in the caste codes, in the sword at her hip, in her own skill, but yet I see her now as being a person who wanted to give us all a better life, as a woman who was trying her best..." I spoke to Jon then. "Let us hope that those of your caste there on Mars preserve her memory, speak the truth of what she was, of what she tried to do for all of Mankind," Jon said to me as I stood close. In 2648 the Earth would be destroyed as a abode of life, dragged out into the icy reaches of outer space, but upon another world, records would be kept, and men and women would speak of one who once was. |
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