find you are glad to have us, soon enough.”
Venandakatra scowled, but said nothing. Belisarius returned to the bow of the ship and began giving directions to the Roman and Axumite warriors. After a few moments, it became clear that the Indians had decided to leave the defense of the bow in the hands of their unwanted guests.
Belisarius had never encountered Axumite warriors in battle, neither as friend nor foe. He hesitated for a moment, wondering how best to use their skills.
What he could glean of the Ethiopian way of fighting was odd. They seemed singularly unconcerned about bodily protection, for one thing. The Axumites, when not constrained by Greek custom, never wore anything except a short-sleeved tunic, kilt, and sandals. Now, preparing for battle, they removed their tunics and stood bare from the waist up. Each of them, except Ousanas, took up a buffalo-hide shield. The shields were round and small-no wider than a forearm. Those little shields, apparently, constituted the entirety of their armor.
Each Ethiopian carried a sword slung behind his back from a leather baldric which crossed the right shoulder diagonally. The haft of the sword stuck up right behind the shoulder blade, where it could be easily grasped. The swords were purely cutting implements. They were short, very wide and heavy, and ended in a square tip. They resembled a butcher’s cleaver more than anything else.
The swords, however, were obviously secondary weapons. For their main armament, each Ethiopian carried javelins and those enormous spears. The Axumite stabbing spear was about seven feet long. The blade was almost a foot and a half long, shaped like a narrow leaf, heavy and razor sharp. The spear shaft was also heavy-as thick and solid as a cavalry lance. The last foot or so of the haft was sheathed with iron bands, and the very end of the haft bore a solid iron knob about two inches in diameter. The weapon could obviously double as a long mace.
Garmat spoke quietly.
“I suggest you use us as a reserve, Belisarius. As you can see, we do not match your cataphracts for sheer weight of armor and weapons. It is not the Axumite method. But I think you will find us very useful when the enemy presses.”
“What about him?” asked the general, nodding toward Ousanas. The dawazz carried neither a shield nor a sword. He seemed content merely with his javelins and his spear-a spear which, in his case, was a foot longer and much heavier than those borne by the other Ethiopians.
Garmat shrugged. “Ousanas is a law unto himself. But I think you will have no cause for complaint.”
Belisarius smiled his crooked smile. “A miserable, ignorant slave, is he?”
As often before, Ousanas surprised him with his acute hearing.
“Most miserable!” cried the dawazz. “Especially now! With cruel pitiless Arabs approaching!” Ousanas cast a longing glance at the sea. “Would flee in abject shrieking terror except too ignorant to know how to swim.”
“You swim like a fish!” snapped the Prince.
The dawazz goggled. “Do I? Imagine such a wonder!” He shook his head sadly. “Slavery terrible condition. Make me forget everything.”
Belisarius turned away and resumed his examination of the Indians. He saw that the bamboo troughs had now been set up along the port rail of the deck, facing northward. The troughs were spaced about ten feet apart. The Malwa kshatriyas then placed great bundles of hide at the ship-end of the troughs. The grey hides were tightly rolled into barrel-shapes which were about half the size of actual barrels.
“That’s elephant hide,” commented Garmat quietly.
Now, the kshatriyas began dipping buckets into the sea and hauling them up with ropes. As soon as the buckets were drawn aboard, the seawater was poured over the hide rolls. Once the hide rolls were completely waterlogged, the kshatriyas began pouring the seawater over every exposed surface of the ship. After a hurried consultation with Venandakatra, two of the kshatriyas advanced to the bow. Making clear with gestures and facial expressions that their intentions were pacific, the kshatriyas began soaking the bow of the ship with seawater also. The Romans and Ethiopians, at Belisarius’ command, stood aside and made no objection, even when the Malwa soaked the leather walls of their own tents.
After the kshatriya left the bow, Belisarius whispered to Garmat: “For some reason, they seemed terrified of fire. Is that because of the Arabs, do you think?”
Garmat shook his head. “Can’t be. Arab navies are known to use fire arrows, on occasion, but these are not naval forces. They are pirates. What would be the point of burning this ship? They want to capture it.”
Belisarius nodded his head. “So-it must be due to their own weapons.”
At that moment, more kshatriyas began emerging from the hold. They were bearing knobby, odd-looking, short-poles?
“Are those bamboo?” asked Belisarius.
“Yes,” replied Garmat. “Each of those poles is simply a length of bamboo with some kind of bundle at one end. I think the bundle is just a wider length of bamboo jammed over the end of the pole and bound to it with leather. See? That’s the end they’re placing in the troughs to face outward. The other end has a-a tail, let’s call it. That’s just a short length of bamboo split length-wise.”
“What are these things called?”
Garmat shrugged. aim seized the moment. In a paroxysm of determination, it drove the facets toward a single point. A pure focus, a narrow salient in the barrier, a simple thrust. Had aim understood the human way of siegecraft, it would have called itself a battering ram guided toward the hinge of the gate. Perhaps-yes! Yes! Yes!
“It’s called a-a rocket,” whispered Belisarius. “More,” he commanded. “More!”
“What are you talking about?” demanded Garmat. The old adviser was gazing at the general as if Belisarius were demented. Belisarius grinned at him.
“I’m not mad, Garmat, believe me. Just-I can’t explain, now. Something important is happening. I am-let’s say, I am understanding things.”
Again aim drove the facets. Again, it regained the focus. Again, the battering ram. Again-the breach!
“Yes,” whispered Belisarius. “I see it, yes! It could be turned around. Made its opposite. Expel its interior rather than be expelled by it. Yes!”
He frowned, concentrating, concentrating. For a moment-for he was well acquainted with the human way of siegecraft-he even envisioned himself as a battering ram. And, with that vision, made his own breach in the wall.
“Then it would be called a- cannon.”
He sagged, almost staggered. Garmat steadied him with a hand.
“Truly,” muttered the adviser, “truly I hope you have not gone mad. This is a poor time for it.” He shook the general’s arm. “Belisarius! Snap out of it! The pirates are almost within bow range.”
Belisarius straightened, looked seaward, then glanced down at the Axumite. He shook his head, smiling.
“You are exaggerating, Garmat. The Arabs will not be within bow range for two minutes. But-the pirates are within rocket range. Watch!”
At that moment, a strange hissing sound was heard, like a dragon’s rage. Startled, Garmat looked back amidships and gaped. One of the- rockets — was hurtling itself toward the pirates. Behind it, a ball of flame billowed on the deck, surrounding the hide roll at the back of the trough from which the rocket had soared. The kshatriyas were obviously expecting the phenomenon, for, within a second or two, buckets of water were poured over the smoldering hide bundle. The ball of flame became a small cloud of steam.
Belisarius watched the flight of the rocket. He was struck, more than anything, by the serpentine nature of the bamboo device’s trajectory. It did not fly with the true arc of an arrow or a cast spear. Instead, the rocket skittered and snaked about. He realized, after a moment, that there was some connection between the rocket’s movements and the erratic red flare that jetted from its tail.
Crude, blunt thoughts suddenly emerged through the barrier. They entered his mind like dumb creatures lumbering into a cave. poor mix. bad powder.
Mix? He wondered. Powder? What could powder-dust-have to do with-? powder is force.
“How? And what kind of powder?” he wondered aloud. Again, Garmat glanced at him worriedly. Belisarius began to smile reassuringly, but the smile faded. He could feel the alien presence in his mind retreating; could sense its discouragement.
The rocket began to drift downward toward the sea. It was obvious, long before it struck, that the device had been badly aimed. It would land far from any pirate craft.
