long enough to give the artillerists plenty of time to get their aim just right.
Ghassan turned to stare at his companions on board the command deck as, behind him, four more flaming missiles came hurtling across the open water to strike into the heart if Lassos’ most vicious predators.
Culin was laughing so hard his eyes were streaming. Samir turned that ever-infuriating grin on his brother.
“Care to tell me how you arranged this?”
Samir cast a semi-apologetic look at the pirate councillors beside him.
“A few well-placed coins among some of Culin’s contacts. You see, we all know that Culin has a man in just about every office of the southern provinces. Feeding information around is ridiculously easy when you know the right people.”
Ghassan shook his head.
“But how do they know which ships to attack? They can’t see the pennants from that distance.”
That grin was beginning to irritate him beyond reason.
“Master Saja here was the one who persuaded the council to put the ships in this order. He fed me the plan long before he told the council.”
Ghassan laughed helplessly.
“Is there anything you don’t think of ahead?”
Samir shrugged.
“There are a few things left to work out yet. The edge is with us now, but the Imperial fleet won’t fire on the centre for fear of hitting us. They’re concentrating on groups of enemy ships, not individuals.”
He paused his conversation as a massive crash indicated that the Empress had been hit with a pot of heavy canister shot. Whole sections of deck were ripped violently away.
“So we’re going to have to deal with the Hart’s Heart ourselves, and quickly. The Sea Witch can try and help Faerus out.”
Ghassan frowned.
“The Hart is beginning to move. They’ve reversed oars. Can they get back to the island?”
Samir frowned and flashed a questioning glance at Saja and Culin. The pirate leaders shrugged.
“Halcar entrusted the other compass to captain Gharic. If he reaches the reef, he can get to safety.”
Samir shook his head.
“Can’t have that… My deal with the governor was to empty Lassos and deliver everyone there to him as either ally or prisoner. We’ll have to turn and take him out before he gets to the reef.”
He smiled as something occurred to him.
“Ghassan! In all the commotion, I forgot to show you the new paint job. While we get underway, can you find Duro or Rashad and tell them to do their duty?”
Ghassan strode off, his brow furrowed and ignoring the strain he felt in the wound on his back, to find the dour giant or his peculiar assistant. He shook his head as he walked. Try as he might, and he considered himself a bright and intuitive man, he just could never keep up with Samir. That man had probably already planned out his afterlife.
The crew of the ship ran madly about their business and, as the oars shot out and began to dip in desperate time to try and catch the Hart’s Heart, already speeding back toward the reef, two men dropped into the water a rough blanket that had been pegged in place over the ship’s nameplate. The rough, timeworn planks with their black and green insignia in southern script had been replaced with new, clean and carefully-cut planks.
The Imperial ship of the line Redemption cut away the last of its ties to piracy as it chased down the one vessel that could still mar the day.
In which the fleet engages
Captain Faerus held his breath, his black locks whipping behind him in the gentle breeze as his gaze passed for the hundredth time from the ship to his left, her watchful captain and crew keeping their eye more on Faerus than the enemy, to the Imperial fleet across the open water, silent and brooding, and then to the other pirate ship to starboard hemming in the Golden Dawn. Samir has assured him that the odds were good, but that some risks had to be taken and the Golden Dawn would be at great risk for the first few minutes.
He realised that he’d bitten his lip hard enough to draw blood. This was ridiculous! Faerus had served with the Imperial navy in great engagements along the eastern shores of the Sea of Storms until the collapse of the military. Even after that, when he tried to form a militia for some time, he’d remained active, keeping his home city safe from their local lords that tried to take advantage of the failing of Imperial power. Only with his capture and escape had he turned to the last remaining avenue open to him: piracy; and since then, while he’d tried to retain an honourable attitude, he’d fought hard and dirty against every form of vessel: military, pirate, trader and mercenary. He’d only lost three engagements in ten years of commanding the Dawn and had had the sense and control to get out in time in each of those.
And now here he was, part of a ridiculously fragile conspiracy of pirates against other pirates, relying on the planning and brains of a man over a decade younger than himself and outnumbered, waiting for some unknown sign to move. Of course, Samir was a man after his own heart and certainly the best man for this job and, if he managed to pull this off, he would be responsible not only for ending the threat of piracy in the Sea of Storms, but also for returning those who deserved it to position in the military. It was a master stroke. Faerus just hoped he lived long enough to enjoy it. The plan had sounded so good but now, trapped between hostile captains and barely able to even see his ally through the rigging, he was beginning to doubt the strategy.
“Sir!”
Faerus blinked as he turned to locate the shouting sailor. One of the juniors was pointing to starboard. Shaking his head irritably, Faerus tried to see through the rigging of the pirate vessel that sat alongside them and to the ships beyond. Through the mass of ropes, sails, masts and men he could see the next pirate ship and then just make out the colours of Sho-Han’s Sea Witch beyond that. The Dark Empress was entirely lost behind them all. What the hell had the lad seen?
A sudden and tremendous ‘boom’ answered his question as artillery went off in the centre of the fleet. He shook his head again. Samir said he’d know the signal when he heard it, but that was just ridiculous! Turning to the first officer, he took a deep breath.
“Alright, Alif… These two ships won’t know what’s going on, but it won’t take them long to realise and, as soon as they do, they’ll be down on us like a sand devil on a wounded camel. Everything we planned, and all at once. Alright?”
The desert-dweller who had served faithfully as Faerus’ right hand man for the best part of a decade grinned.
“Everything at once, sir, aye! Let’s hope we can make enough room eh, sir?”
Faerus ground his teeth and spoke under his breath into the breeze.
‘This is it, Samir. I hope you know what you’re doing.’
He smiled as there was a muted and distant thud, way out across the waves and as he watched a ball of flaming mass arced up and over the water, trailing a line of oily black smoke behind it as it flew with relentless speed and surprising precision straight into the bow of the ship to starboard of Faerus. He turned to watch his orders being carried out as several more horrifying missiles began their journey from the Imperial fleet.
The ships to either side of the Golden Dawn were in chaos, just as Faerus had expected. The sudden launching of hostilities within their own fleet, followed by the beginning of a surprise bombardment from the governor’s ships had left them panicking and trying to pull themselves into enough order to either engage or flee, though neither captain would have had the leisure to make even that decision yet.
Faerus’ crew had been with him and worked together for so many years that the orders were carried out with the minimum of wasteful activity and fuss and events unfolded before him in perfect order and precision.
Aloft, the pirate pennant was cut loose as the great Imperial replacement fluttered free in the breeze. He’d questioned Samir as to whether it would have been more sensible to wait to reveal their intentions until after they’d attacked, giving them more surprise, but Samir had been adamant. As soon as this action began, he’d said, it began
