Napoleon

by Stephen Arseneault

  “Doing my best, sir!”

  Naffi said, “This is where we first moved into range of their cannons. You don't know what real terror is until you see dozens of cannonballs flying at you at once. On the first volley we took four hits. I have to give it to the British, their gunners were superb.”

  “Four hits?”

  “Yes. And your hull held up well. Of bigger concern was the sound and vibration from impact. It was severe, even with our ear-plugs. Everything appears to be amplified while within the hull. On several instances I was near to losing my nerve. But my confidence came roaring back when two of our ships made strikes.”

  “So two ships were sunk?”

  “Hardly. These crews seemed to be prepared. I don't know by what means they were fighting the fires, but they did not continue to burn like we saw with our prior attacks. And we were having extreme difficulty making hits. And I mentioned the superb gunners of the British warships. Two of our turrets were struck right at the viewing slot, killing the captain and the gunner nearby. The remaining crewmen had to pilot the vessels away. And each took a severe pounding as they were turning into the wind and waves, slowing their exodus.”

  “Did you not sink a single ship?”

  “Yes. The HMS Russell. And we heavily damaged three others before being forced to turn back. Even though none of our ships were lost, it was a resounding defeat. And I would place the bulk of our err on our tactics. We will have to limit our fights to calmer seas. The big ships were able to maneuver and remain stable as compared to us. Of our eighty-six shells fired only eight made contact.”

  “What did you tell Napoleon?”

  “I sent word of our prior successes and then our unmistakable blunder in this fight. It took six weeks to return our ships to being battle-worthy. We left out again as soon as possible. Napoleon had an infantry of one hundred twenty thousand who were preparing for an invasion of Britain. We needed control of the seas.”

  The playback was forwarded to the next encounter.

  Naffi smiled as he sat back in his chair. “Now this fight is how the first should have gone. We caught up to the same armada, this time with advantageous seas. It was just past midnight, and we were not foolish enough to fly our flags, which allowed us to move within range without being detected. The wind was light. They were lucky if their ships were moving at more than two knots.”

  Roger Dumas stared out the slot of the navigation porthole. Orders were given and cannons were loaded. The first shell ripped into the side of the unsuspecting HMS Suffolk. A fireball roiled into the dark sky as the shell entered a space just below the main deck. The other five steel-clads then opened up at the same time, setting three more ships ablaze.

  The Brits countered with a barrage of cannonballs that all fell woefully short. The British admiral in charge of the fleet directed them immediately away after a second volley from the French ships set four of the Royal Navy vessels afire. A third volley added three more.

  Naffi said, “From there all we had to do was to pursue at the same speed they were moving. While under steam power it could not have been easier. We chased their fleet for just over four hours, picking away at the ships in the rear of their lines one by one. As each of those ships fell away, and their crews jumped into the sea, we continued on to the next.”

  Naffi forwarded the playback to a point and again allowed it to run. “We had taken eleven ships out of the fight before one of their captains made a bold and heroic move. He allowed his ship, which was ablaze but remained fully functional, to fall back as if crippled. The HMS Impregnable with her ninety-eight cannons was waiting for our fleet to come alongside.

  “She opened up with her port guns on the Josephine. I would have preferred any other ship but that one. A cannonball impacted the navigation slot, killing the captain and gunner. Then a second volley saw a split along a seam that had been repaired from our last fight. Another hit to the slot saw the remainder of the crew killed or impaired as her pumps were not made use of. We blasted the Impregnable with a dozen rounds. Ending her fight, but not before the Josephine was sunk.”

  Reno frowned. “Did you not follow my instructions for repairs?”

  “We did. But these are still Humans doing the work and the implements we have available remain crude. Perhaps it was a failed rivet. We will never know.”

  “So the battle?”

  “Just as luck would have it, the wind picked up. We managed to pick off two more before the others slipped away.”

  “So thirteen out of thirty-four sunk?”

  “Yes. A tremendous victory, but not as decisive as was needed.”

  “And what was Napoleon's reaction to the news of this victory?”

  “He was furious, stating that we had not taken enough precautions to protect the Josephine. And he demanded that a second ship be renamed to the Josephine, as he did not want word to get back to his wife that her namesake was now at the bottom of the Channel.”

  “Which did you choose to rename?”

  “The Naffarious. I found your play on words to be irritating whenever I heard it.”

  Reno chuckled. “It was supposed to be a tribute, like the Renopolis. So the Naffarious is now at the bottom of the channel?”

  “No. I posthumously renamed her the Nunol.”

  Reno again chuckled. “Fitting. So the recording parameters say you only lived for another two months. What happened?”

  Naffi forwarded the playback. “During that time we had three additional skirmishes with another seven British ships destroyed and sunk. Then we came to this.”

  The recording was again set to play.

  “It was a perfect night. Little to no wind. The moon was only a sliver, the darkness enveloped everything. My crews had actually gone out on deck to scan the horizons. And then we spotted them... fourteen British warships, all just sitting there, as if at anchor. We moved in for the kill, staying just out of range of their cannons.”

  “That had to have made your heart rush.”

  “It did.”

  The steel ships opened fire, setting four of the enemy vessels ablaze. As they maneuvered for shots at the next three, the turret on the Mentox exploded. Almost being ripped from her deck.

  “What happened there?”

  Naffi sighed. “At first I thought it might have been a boiler explosion. Then the same happened to the Bredren. My gunner then reported seeing a flash coming from one of the warships. They had a new gun. It was obviously bigger and more powerful than ours. And accurate.”

  “I don't recall any cannons of that nature being in the British Navy.”

  Naffi pointed at another display. “Why did you not bring this to my attention?”

  “What? Marwal going to London? I thought you knew. It was nowhere near your location, so I thought he might just be on a wild hunt.”

  “He was with the British, helping them design and build this new cannon.”

  “What? That would have the potential of changing history, something Nunol and the others have been very opposed to.”

  “And yet there it is. The Credin was sunk next. I sent a signal for the Renopolis to flee and we turned away as well. Unfortunately we took a round astern, crippling our steering linkage and sending us in circles.”

  “And they caught you?”

  “With the lack of wind, their ships were not moving, but their gun had range. For almost an hour we traded shots. We burned and sank another three of their ships. That's when they hit us a broadside, right at the waterline. I somehow survived the blast and managed to get on deck before she sank.”

  Reno furrowed his brows. “Wait. You weren't captured, were you?”

  “I don't know what I was thinking. For fifteen minutes I managed to stay afloat on a bit of wreckage. I was still in a bit of a daze. That's when I saw the skiff rowing toward me with Marwal standing at the bow. I could see a grin on his face as he recognized my clone.”

  “Well, we managed to move this station, so his attempts at implanting
a bio-link must have failed.”

  “He never had the chance to try. I came to my senses just as they were reaching out a hook to grab me. I dove down into the water and kept swimming down for as long as my breath held out. What a terrifyingly panicked and painful way to die.”

  Reno frowned. “I shudder just to think about it. And the Josephine? Did she get away?”

  “We will have to check the archive.”

  Reno typed away on the keyboard. “Hmm. It says the Josephine sank another eight Royal Navy ships before going out one night to never return. The HMS Queen Charlotte claims to have sunk her in battle, but there was no way to confirm it, other than of course the fact that no more raids with the steel ships were conducted.”

  “And changes to the archive of our own history?”

  “The archives show the Brits continued to foil Napoleon's plans. And in fact, with their new cannon their artillery was able to turn back Napoleon at Frankfurt. From there his army was driven back to France where he settled on peace. Our Opamari ancestry records show no changes.”

  Naffi growled as he banged a fist. “What must we do?”

  “Perhaps I should go back and refit the steel-clads with better armor or more powerful propulsion?”

  “Propulsion would be preferred. A hard strike on the hull is almost enough to incapacitate the crew without the need for causing irreparable damage. I would rather us be able to maneuver at a faster speed. If we happen against that cannon I want to be able to swiftly move against it.”

  “Very well,” Reno replied. “I'll prepare another clone.”

  Jacques Lamonde was again in Rouen, this time with a design for a new artillery piece. The French would be fielding a weapon that was similar in accuracy and range to the new cannon the British were using. The war was once again swinging in the favor of the French.

  The clone of Reno next changed his focus to a new, more powerful steam engine for the steel-clads. This time, a dozen steel-clads were constructed using the updated steam plant and new French cannon design. Most of the funds the prior Jacques had accumulated had been spent, so another tour of gambling to raise funds was undertaken. When the funds had been replenished, Jacques Lamonde moved to a remote location and took his life, making way for Naffi.

  The clone of Naffi was soon at Royan and training a new set of crews. The faster steel-clads were now capable of seventeen knots, better than expected. The first encounter was against a pair of Royal Navy ships coming from the coast of Africa. With the new cannons, those ships were soon ablaze and on their way to the murky depths of the deep Atlantic.

  Naffi paused the playback. “You failed to inform me about the new stabilizers. Even in the rougher seas of the Atlantic my gunners were able to successfully target and sink those ships with minimal rounds.”

  Reno smiled. “I thought the stability platform to be a nice surprise. I'm happy it turned out as well as it did. The mechanisms controlling it are quite crude.”

  “Crude perhaps, but highly effective.”

  The recording was forwarded to a new position.

  Naffi gestured toward the display. “The new spotting tower was also a worthy addition. We were able to detect the enemy minutes before our previous ventures, which allowed us to strategize before an approach. Other than the flash from our cannons, I don't think this next group of four ever saw us. The fight was short, only taking twenty-two minutes to send the lot of them to the bottom.”

  “No sign of the enhanced cannons?”

  “Actually there was. Two of these ships had been fitted with them, but we were able to steer clear of their shots utilizing a zigzag pattern. Those two warships were of course our first targets.”

  Reno pointed at the display. “There. What happened? The flame was quickly extinguished.”

  Naffi nodded. “Yes. They appear to have an advanced fire suppression system. We were however, able to overpower it with rounds from our twelve ships.”

  “I assume there are more encounters. It says your clone lived another two years.”

  “Indeed.” The playback was again forwarded.

  Chapter 7

  _______________________

  Naffi set the recording to play. “This next fight is the one I had been hoping for. Twenty-eight ships sailed out of port in London, turning south into the straights of Dover. All were equipped with the new cannons. We caught them as they were first setting out. The ships of the line came out in two columns. We ambushed them from the port side, setting three ablaze and damaging them beyond repair before we turned and moved away. The wind was light and their ships too slow for them to conduct a pursuit.”

  The encounter lasted fifteen minutes before the small fleet of steel-clads turned and left.

  Naffi smiled. “I'll forward through this next half hour as what we did was steam in a big circle, coming back to the fleet while they were just finishing up pulling sailors from the water. We caught a grouping of another three that were all alongside each other. Within minutes all were in flames and being abandoned as we again steamed away.”

  The playback was forwarded to a new spot.

  “At this point is when the fiercest exchange took place. We remained out of range for an hour, making an approach just before dawn. I stood up on a platform on the turret, observing through a spyglass. Every ship had men in the crow’s nest and out on the cross beams of the masts, scanning for our small signatures.”

  Reno said, “You were able to surprise them for the third time?”

  “This time coming from starboard. We ran our own line in parallel, only opening up when we were exactly alongside them. We targeted the last six ships of the column, bringing them all to flames with all eventually sinking. Instead of breaking away as we had done before, we circled behind their remaining column, still in the darkness of night, coming up behind the port side while targeting the last five ships.”

  Reno watched in fascination as the battle unfolded. “Their aim is off.”

  “They are excellent gunners. I believe they were just firing blindly, not having sight of us from down at sea level. And what you will see is another mistake. Their commander ordered the fleet to return to London. We took immediate advantage of the three who attempted to rescue their fellow seamen. All went down without putting up a fight. That left eight ships remaining, to our twelve.”

  Naffi forwarded to the next event. “This is where we caught up to them. It was reported to me they were only capable of five knots. We had a tremendous speed advantage and made use of that fact. One by one we overtook the ships and they were burned and sunk. I contemplated allowing the last one to escape, but thought it might also be the ship that held the Marwal clone. After a short fight, it was quite gratifying to see the remains of it slipping beneath the surface.”

  “Was he aboard?”

  “At first I was hesitant to even check, thinking it would serve him right to die in the cold waters of the English channel . But then a thought occurred to me.”

  The recording was again forwarded, this time to a position that saw a hundred sailors in the water. The newest commanding steel-clad, the Josephine III, came to a stop among the men. The narrow deck was soon covered with men trying to get out of the cold currents.

  “You there.” Roger Dumas called out as he held up a lantern, first light just beginning to show on the horizon. “Approach this tower.”

  It was the clone of Marwal, easily recognized as identical to that of Naffi.

  “Is that Naffi or Reno?” The sailor asked.

  “Naffi. How unfortunate for you to have come out tonight.”

  The clone shrugged. “Your tactics were superior this time. We will adjust.”

  “And you will fail.”

  Naffi turned. “Mr. Tilluel. Please bring... what exactly do you call yourself, Marwal?”

  “Admiral Christopher Brogan.”

  “Please bring Admiral Brogan aboard. And have the others assist in tying his hands and fully restraining him otherwise.”

&n
bsp; The Admiral said, “Why should I not dive in the water and avoid escape?”

  “Should you do so, you will also be sacrificing these other men. Come peacefully and I will steam within sight of land before dumping them off. Swim away and I will sweep them from our deck with the rifles my crew enjoys.”

  “I see. And what do you have planned for me?”

  “You're a clone. What do you care what happens to that body?”

  “I care because I remain connected to it.”

  The exchange of words brought odd stares from both the other crewmen and the momentarily rescued sailors.

  “I will offer you this. I promise a swift and sure death when the time comes, no torture.”

  Brogan stood silent for several seconds before stepping forward. “Not just within sight of the shore, within easy swimming distance. Some of these men are injured.”

  Naffi gave a nod. “You have my word. Turn yourself over and we'll get underway.”

  “What of the other men here in the water? You can't move away without them losing grip and succumbing to the cold deep.”

  Naffi turned. “Mr. Tilluel, when he is aboard and secured, send signal to our other ships. They are to pick up every man alive in this area for transport to the shore.”

  “Very well, Admiral.”

  The playback was moved forward to the point of drop along the White Cliffs of Dover. The sun was just breaking on the eastern horizon, fully illuminating the cliffs so they could be seen in their full glory.

  Naffi said, “It was a spectacular sight.”

  “You have Marwal, what did you do with him?”

  Naffi smiled. “I transported him back to our port where he was placed in captivity and kept alive. I reasoned that so long as he was there with us, there would be no chance of him capturing my clone. As long as his clone remained alive, I was free to move about without worry.”

  Reno slowly nodded. “A prudent move.”

  “And one I believe had a dramatic effect on the morale of the Royal Navy. Twice more my band of raiders caught smaller fleets of ten and twelve ships sailing out of London. All had been in for a refit of their cannons. Both engagements were resounding victories, although, we did lose one of our ships after a shell from a heavy cannon penetrated her hull and punctured her boiler. It was an immediate death for her crew, but a sacrifice that was rewarded when our effort sank the ship that sank her.”