from the other ship and shot toward them across the waves, the orangey-green flare joining the bright glare of the sun for a moment before it crashed down with a splash into the water several hundred yards from the hull.
“How the hell did it get that close without the lookout seeing it earlier, captain.”
Ghassan grumbled.
“It’s facing this way and coming out of the sun. We’re lucky he noticed it that soon. Whoever that is, they knew we were here and they planned it carefully. And they’re testing the range with their artillery, so they have no intention of treating this as a light engagement… they’re out for blood.”
Calamon nodded.
“Pirates. Permission to stand the crew and the artillery to and get us moving as best we can?”
“We’re barely manoeuvrable, Calamon.”
“Better barely moving than a stationary target, sir. If we sit here and wait, they’ll find the range and burn us to cinders.”
Ghassan grumbled. The man was right. They had to at least try and manoeuvre their way into a better position.
“Alright, turn us into them. Use the oars as rudders like they used to do in the old days. Once we’re on course, give me ramming speed.”
Calamon blinked.
“Are we not going to try and outrun them, captain?”
“We’d not succeed, Calamon, but at least if we close the gap we make it harder for them to bombard us and it’ll come down to a matter of marine versus cutthroat. If we’re really lucky, they’ll turn as we get close and we’ll manage to ram them. I doubt they’ll be that stupid, but it’s possible. The Wind of God has got a bit of a reputation, after all.”
The first officer nodded, saluted, and ran off to shout orders around the deck.
The oarsmen, woken rudely from their rest, ran to their seats and began very professionally to ship their oars. The engineers clambered into the artillery tower and started to arm, turn and crank their grisly weapons. Marines poured from the doorway below deck and formed up in the centre under their commander’s gaze, settling their armour into place and readying their weapons.
“Oars to the water” Ghassan bellowed. “Get us moving! Bank to starboard with the steering oars and bring us about!”
Ghassan took a deep breath. As if he didn’t have enough to deal with, now it was pirates too. He stared up to the lookout aloft.
“Can you get any detail?”
“Not sure, sir, but I think it’s the Empress!”
Ghassan rolled his eyes and slammed his fist on the rail. Of course it was the bloody Empress. What else could go wrong with this voyage. That at least explained how they’d managed to get into such a position. Samir must have found out they were taking on Asima at M’Dahz and shadowed them until they were in the middle of the open sea.
He slapped his forehead in amazement. Asima must be working with him. She’d effectively crippled the ship just in time for him to bear down on them with his artillery firing as he came.
There was an old superstition that having a woman on board was unlucky.
Certainly this one was.
In which captains clash
Samir frowned at the man in the bow, staring out into the blue.
“And you’re sure it’s her?”
“Sure as shit, sir.”
The captain of the Dark Empress shook his head in puzzlement.
“Then what the hell are they doing? Ghassan’s a good sailor and has uncanny sight. He must have seen us by now, so why are they just wallowing like that?”
The lookout shook his head.
“Can’t see anything wrong with her. Maybe they haven’t seen us yet?”
“Well I wouldn’t want to be accused of being all sneaky, mister Col” Samir grinned. “Let’s wake ‘em up.”
Turning away from the bow, he rushed across to the central artillery castle and pointed at the fire thrower.
“How close can you get to the enemy with that thing without actually hitting her?”
The artillery man shrugged.
“If we wait a few minutes, I can part their hair with it, captain… well, singe it anyway.”
Samir shook his head.
“I want to give him enough warning to face us properly. Fire a few ranging shots as we close.”
The burly engineer frowned.
“What for sir? Surely the less prepared they are, the better?”
“Not in this case. Every chance Ghassan’s had to take me on, he’s hit us by surprise and tried to trap us. He likes to think he’s better than us, because he’s working for the government, but we’re going to extend him courtesies he wouldn’t to us.”
“But why?”
“Because,” Samir grinned, “when I steal his cargo and sink his ship, I want him to know he had every chance and we were simply better.”
The artillerist shrugged.
“It’s your ship, captain.”
Turning away, he issued the commands to his men and the fire thrower was loaded and aimed quickly and efficiently. While they worked, Samir strode back to the bow. How the hell could Ghassan not see them? Alright the Empress had the sun at her back, but Ghassan was better than this, so there must be something else going on. Briefly, Samir wondered if his brother had laid some sort of elaborate trap, but there was nowhere close enough to hide another vessel. The archipelago was just too far away.
Shading his eyes, he peered at the naval ship, drawing ever closer. In minutes they would be on her and she just sat there like a dead fish, floating on the surface.
“Do you think…”
He was interrupted by a wave of the hand from the lookout, who pointed urgently. Focusing on the enemy ship, he saw signs of urgent activity. The deck burst into life and, as he watched, three banks of oars slid out of the sides of the hull and dropped into the water in perfect time.
“Ah. He’s seen us. Now we can get this fight underway.”
The yards raced by as the Empress closed on her prey. As they bounced from crest to crest at tremendous speed, Samir smiled and watched the cumbersome ship begin to turn.
“She’s coming for us now. For a moment I thought they might run, but Ghassan wants me.”
He blinked as he watched the motion before him.
“They’re using the oars to steer. The rudder must be broken… that’s why they were just sitting there.”
He turned to the lookout.
“How mean are you feeling, Col?”
The young man grinned.
“I’m always feeling mean as a sack of rats, captain. You know that.”
His captain returned the grin and called over his shoulder to the artillerist.
“Baeso? He’s coming at us head on. If you’re as good as you reckon, give me a shot along their port side with the heaviest load you’ve got, at the rear for preference.”
The man nodded without question and, making a few quick mental calculations, adjusted the range and angle of the weapon.
“Ready when you are, sir.”
