The Thiruzha vessels were closing, rowing steadily through the long seas with their flag alternatively fluttering and sagging in the fluky breeze. A trio of seagulls screamed past, wings flapping and beaks open.
'Helmsman…' Jasweer lifted her right hand, 'ready… ready… break now!'
The helmsman shifted the tiller and the loola sliced to port as the oarsmen adjusted their rowing accordingly.
'Archers! Man the starboard side!' Jasweer yelled. 'Wait for my command!'
The loola had left two of the Thiruzha scouts astern and concentrated on the vessel on the left. As soon as that ship's captain realised that they would soon be fighting one-to-one without the support of his colleagues, he ordered his archers to fire. The captain's timing was flawed; the archers fired on a rising wave, and their irregular volley rose too high.
'Two points to port!' Jasweer did not flinch as just three arrows hissed past her, two to rip into the sail and the third to thunk harmlessly onto the deck. 'Now, three points to starboard,' Jasweer ordered, as the enemy archers fired again. One of the Chola oarsmen yelled as an arrow lodged in his thigh. 'Take that man away,' Jasweer shouted. 'Replace him with a marine.'
The two vessels closed, with the Thiruzha archers firing continually and their drummer increasing the beat.
'Stand by to ram!' Jasweer shouted, when the loola closed to within fifty feet. 'Helmsman, port your helm. Archers… at the quarterdeck… now!'
The loola veered, so her starboard side was parallel to the Thiruzha scout. Melcorka saw the straining faces of the Thiruzha crew, the row of bobbing skulls along her hull and the pot-bellied drummer hammering at his drum. Chained to their oars, the oarsmen could only stare up in miserable apathy.
The Chola archers pulled back their bow-strings, aimed and fired a perfectly co-ordinated volley that peppered the quarterdeck of the Thiruzha craft. Melcorka saw the Thiruzha commander fall, with two arrows in his chest and another in his neck. One bolt slammed into the left leg of the Thiruzha helmsman, who staggered, but retained his post with bravery that deserved a better cause.
'Hard a-starboard! One last pull! Up oars and ram!' The strengthened prow of the loola crashed into the starboard side of the Thiruzha scout, splintering three of her oars, killing a despairing oarsman and thrusting deep into the hull.
'Marines! Board, fight and listen for my orders! Oarsmen, sit still!' Perched on the masthead, Jasweer yelled commands to her sharks.
'Come on, Melcorka!' Drawing his sword, Kulothunga followed the Chola marines onto the deck of the scout. Melcorka slipped Defender out of her scabbard, relishing the familiar rush of power as she leapt into the midst of the Thiruzhas. The Chola archers continued to fire, concentrating on the Thiruzha officers on the scout's quarterdeck.
The Chola marines had formed a wedge on the Thiruzha scout, cutting down everybody who stood in their path. They worked as a disciplined team, supporting each other in a systematic attack that no lone warrior could break.
'These marines are good,' Melcorka said.
'So am I!' Kulothunga shouted. His smile was even more extensive than normal as he vaulted over a dead Thiruzha oarsman to get in front of the Chola marines. Melcorka followed and stood at his left as the Thiruzha defenders rushed at them, roaring their battle cries.
Two warriors opposed Melcorka, one with a stabbing spear, the other with sword and shield. Melcorka sliced sideways, chopped the spearman's arms off and, in a single fluid motion, parried the swing of the sword and thrust forward, with Defender's longer length giving her an advantage. The Thiruzha swordsman died without a sound, and Melcorka moved on, ignoring the slave oarsmen as she disposed of the desperate Thiruzha warriors.
'I am Melcorka of Alba! Alba! Alba!'
Out of the corner of her eye, Melcorka saw Kulothunga fighting in a controlled fury; killing and wounding without emotion save for his permanent smile. Melcorka nodded; Kulothunga was as good a fighting man as she had ever seen, fast and powerful, without any wasted energy.
'You're good, Kulothunga!' Melcorka shouted.
'I'm better than good.' Kulothunga gutted a warrior with a twist of his sword, sliced a spear in half and drew his blade across the spearman's chest. 'I'm the best. I am Kulothunga, the best the world has ever seen.'
Dodging a wild swipe from a mace, Melcorka decapitated the wielder with a casual back-handed blow. 'I still admire your modesty, Kulothunga!'
'Naturally you do.' Kulothunga ducked under the swing of a curved sword and chopped the man's legs off at the knees. 'You admire everything about me. Every warrior and every woman admires everything about me.'
'Marines!' Jasweer's voice rose clear above the tumult of battle. 'Marines! Return to the ship! Return!'
The Chola marines began a fighting withdrawal, one steady pace at a time, still fighting, still killing. Melcorka and Kulothunga glanced at each other.
'Best be going,' Melcorka said. 'We don't wish to be left behind.'
They withdrew with the marines, stepping on board the loola just as Jasweer gave the order for the oarsmen to 'back water before that vessel takes us down with it!'
Jasweer's loola eased back into the sea, leaving the Thiruzha vessel a wreck, strewn with dead and wounded men. Greasy blood flowed from her deck into the sea, as water poured into her from the hole that Jasweer's loola had made. The scout tilted to the side and began to sink as, unable to escape, the slaves shrieked in despair.
'You fought well, foreign woman,' Kulothunga said. 'Nearly as well as me.'
'You fought well, too, Kulothunga,' Melcorka said. 'For a man.'
They grinned at each other and simultaneously began to clean their swords as the Chola marines ordered their ranks and counted their casualties.
'This is no time for a holiday!' Jasweer roared from the masthead. 'Oarsmen, double your strokes. Marines, ready your swords. Archers, as soon as the Thiruzha scouts come into range, fire at them. Aim for the quarterdeck and the oarsmen. Slow them down!'
A further two Thiruzha scouts had joined the original vessels
