Lord of the High Reaches

by James Haddock

  * * *

  By 0600, we were back onsite. Breakfast was at the mess tent with everyone else. The lawyers had a basic contract ready for review. It was pretty cut and dried, as this was a simple mission. The contracts were signed and funds made available for them to draw on. The Black Cat Mercenary Company now numbered 487 men. We had infantry, cavalry, engineers, medics, artillery, and support. The support included a blacksmith who was also the armorer. What I didn't have was a doctor.

  Top had assigned a lieutenant as the supply officer. He and two supply sergeants began buying used equipment. Our finance clerks, with a squad of armed men, went to the bank and cashed in some of my banknotes. Once again, I stayed out of the way until needed.

  When they presented the deployment plan, it showed at least two weeks were needed to be ready for movement. I added a caveat of not moving until we resolved the lack of field cannons on two-wheel limber carts, and a doctor with two wagons, one for medical supplies and the other for treatment.

  Used individual soldier's equipment was readily available, cannons on the other hand were not. Captain Stanz was in charge of buying 300 horses, some to be ridden, others to pull cannons atop the limber carts. He was not satisfied with the quality of a quarter of them, but he said they would do.

  After 10 days into the operation, things were starting to operate smoother. We still needed quite a few items, but we were getting there. We still only had enough long guns for half our number, which went to the infantry. The same problem was encountered with the short guns. The ones we had went to the cavalry and officers. Filling the gaps were short bows, crossbows, and lances. Primitive compared to guns, but in the right hands were still deadly.

  Once ordered, it would take four days for our special train to arrive. Hopefully, the rest of the equipment would be available before departure. As they say, “Hope springs eternal.”

  A soldier came to me and saluted. "Excuse me, sir. A message for you."

  I returned his salute and took the message. It read:

  Take 22 horses and 11 drivers to the outer market warehouse number 36.

  It was signed, “E”.

  "Sergeant Major," I called out.

  "Sir?" Top answered, coming toward me.

  "Gather a detail of 22 horses and 11 drivers for a cross town pick up. Include horses for myself and Sergeant Mercer as well. We leave as soon as they are ready."

  "Yes, sir." He turned and started shouting orders.

  In less than 30 minutes, we were on our way. We rode out of the city and circled around to the outer market warehouses. As we approached number 36, a man opened the main door and walked away, not looking back. I dismounted, handed Robert my reins and went inside. There were four limbered field cannons, four artillery support wagons, a medical wagon, and a medical support wagon. Yes! Finally, got ‘em! They were all covered in fresh mud, like they had just come in from a field exercise. They weren’t new, but they beat what we had.

  "Sergeant Mercer," I shouted.

  "Sir?"

  "Everyone inside."

  As experienced soldiers, they did not need to be told what to do. They started hooking up horse teams to the limbers and wagons. In less than 45 minutes, we were on our way. Once back, all of it went straight into the walled compound behind headquarters.

  Top Bounty watched us roll in, shaking his head. "Is the sheriff going to come looking?"

  "Weeell,” I said, stretching the word out for effect. “He may come, but Sergeant Mercer assured me, he has papers on them," I answered, smiling.

  "Yeah, right. Save it for the judge. I'm not even going to ask." He walked away shouting orders to clean our new equipment. Overall, it was a good day.

  Chapter 22

  Robert and I returned to the guesthouse, deciding to eat dinner there rather than the mess tent. Passing by the front desk, the clerk said, “Pardon, sir. You have visitors in the sitting room, a Dr. Hunter and his son.”

  "Thank you," I acknowledged, walking toward the sitting room. There were only two people in the room.

  "Good afternoon, Dr. Hunter. I'm Colonel Bishop. How may I help you?" Oh, please, let this doctor be looking for a job.

  "Good afternoon, Colonel. Actually, I'm hoping we can help each other. Will you sit, sir?"

  "Actually, my sergeant and I were on our way to dinner. Will you join us?"

  "Most kind, sir. We will."

  We went into the guest house's tap room, taking a table some distance from other diners. When our drinks arrived, I asked, "So, Doctor, how can we help each other?"

  "Well, sir, I heard you’re in need of a doctor for your mercenary company and are having little luck finding one."

  I nodded for him to continue.

  "I served in the companies as a medic, and after finishing medical school, I served again for a few years. I met a wonderful woman, settled down, and became a quiet civilian doctor. I lost my wife a few years ago, and my son, William, here is in medical school. I find myself alone and under-financed to pay for the completion of his medical training. A small-town doctor doesn't earn much in the way of hard coin, mostly food and livestock traded for the care,” he said, smiling.

  “Anyway, I propose a trade of sorts. If you will pay for the rest of William’s medical training, I'll serve as your company's doctor for room and board, with a small stipend for necessities. Once he finishes, both of us will serve for two years with salaries appropriate for our ranks as medical officers.” Our food arrived, and we began to eat.

  "What's the cost of his training? I asked.

  "The remaining cost will be 25 sovereigns."

  The cost surprised me. "Must be a very good school.”

  "It's the best there is, and he's doing exceptionally well. He'll make a great surgeon."

  "What do you think of this idea, William?"

  He looked at his father, then back at me. "As father is fond of saying, ‘Sometimes you just do, what you gotta do’. I can't say I'm looking forward to being a soldier, but if you agree, I promise I'll be there for you."

  "Okay, you’ve got a deal. Be at the Beasties’ headquarters building in the morning to sign up. Then you'll need to inventory the medical wagon. I'm sure you’re going to need things.”

  We shook hands and finished our meal. Before they left, Robert gave them the address of headquarters.

  * * *

  The next morning, I caught up with Doc as he was looking over the medical wagon.

  "What do you think?" I asked.

  "Well, all the surgical equipment is here, but that's all. We need medicines, bandages, and just about everything else," he answered.

  "Sergeant Major Bounty," I called.

  "Sir," he answered, walking toward us.

  "This is Doctor Hunter, our new doctor. See that he gets whatever he needs."

  "Yes, sir. Good morning, Doc. Bring your list, and we'll get you squared away."

  It took 21 days, but we were now on the train headed to Windford. Our ranks had increased to 520 as we gained the odd specialist when we could. Doc's son, William, came with us as he had a few months before classes started again.

  The two-day trip passed quickly, as the time was used to make an action plan of what needed to be done once we arrived. I had drawn a rough sketch of the keep’s layout and train yard. A palisade “wall” made of logs placed vertical and side-by-side, with a dirt backing surrounding the train yard. This would give plenty of room inside to move around.

  Before the wall was constructed, a ditch would be dug that would lie in front of it. It was this dirt that would be used for the embankment behind the wall. Cannons could then move atop the embankment as needed.

  The train took us all the way to Windford Keep, using the siding tracks. Fortunately, we arrived mid-morning; otherwise, we would have been up all night unloading the train.

  Michael met us as usual. "Welcome back, Colonel."

  "Thank you, M’lord," I said, bowing as all the officers were with me. I made introductions and showed
Michael a sketch of where we intended to set up tents and get started. He approved, and I set them to their tasks. On the keep wall, Michael and I watched the unloading.

  "Any problems?" he asked.

  "Just the normal problems of commanding a 520-man mercenary company.”

  "And our friend?"

  "He's helping, but we have more problems. We are going to have to import everything, people and materials. If he sends one thing to us, the Northers will know shortly, and we'll have uninvited guests. Hopefully, the mercenaries will make the Westies think twice about visiting.”

  “Well, you know what they say about hope.”

  “Yeah, yeah. It springs eternal.”

  "So, what's our plan now?"

  I showed him the sketches of the planned building projects. "We're going to need more lumber for the palisade."

  “Not a problem. Got plenty of trees, and Tink looks for any excuse to run his steam-powered sawmill.”

  * * *

  The next few days were busy: tents being set up for temporary housing, cavalry beginning patrols, and infantry manning the keep’s walls and guarding rail workers.

  Lay-shee took the third heavy long gun up to the highest battlement over the keep and set it up. The Tiger Claw’s crew kept over-watch and manned the gun.

  Tink could not wait to talk to me. The first things he said was, “Where did you get this book?”

  Smiling at his single-mindedness, “From battle spoils,” I replied.

  “Uh huh, sure you did.” He placed his face close to mine and enunciated each word. “Where…did…it…come…from?”

  I shrugged. “Not sure. Could have been from anywhere. I get around.”

  “Looks like you translated it.”

  “Yep.”

  He gave me an exasperated look. “Oh, for pity’s sake! From what language?”

  “Cat clannish.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure.”

  “Never would have guessed,” he said, shaking his head. “No matter. I’ve started using some of the designs on our steam engine parts. Improved efficiency and performance.”

  “Great. What about your chemist friend?”

  “He’s coming. Should be here by the end of the week.”

  “While we’re on the subject of steam, I want to show you something.” Flipping open my sketchbook to the boiler of the crashed junk, “Tell me what you think.”

  Tink carefully looked at the sketch, then at me, then back to the sketch. “Is this for real? This isn’t some imaginary drawing?”

  “It’s real.”

  “Lemme guess, spoils of war,” he said, sarcastically.

  “More or less.”

  Tink studied the sketch a moment longer. Looking around to ensure we were alone, he whispered, “Cam, this is far beyond how we make steam for power. This has the potential to change…everything. What are these black, randomly shaped things?” He pointed to the sketch.

  “That’s the fuel source. It’s called, ‘hard coal’. Burns hotter and longer than wood.”

  “Where’s it come from?”

  “Mountains. Not sure if the mountains here have any, but ‘get miners’ is on my to-do list.”

  “This is impressive, but…”

  “Here it comes. There’s always a ‘but’.”

  “You’ve said it yourself. War is coming, and it’s coming soon. Given time, this is doable. But not now. Looking at your sketch, there’s a way to improve our single-boilers.”

  “Tell me.”

  “It’s the pipes. We’ve got plenty of pipes lying around. We bend them around our single-boiler tanks, like in your drawing. Even though we’re still using wood to heat the water, we’d be using less. Means we could go farther, before having to stop to get more.”

  “Do it.”

  “Consider it done.”

  By the end of the week, I felt like I was juggling torches. I turned the daily operations of the mercenary company over to the ranking captain, so I could concentrate on overall plans. More workmen and laborers were coming in daily. The carpenters reported to James, our building foreman, while the laborers reported to the engineers. We were also getting more farmers to contract to sharecrop the land.

  I stood on the high battlement, looking over all the activity. With this much activity, spies world be coming or were already here. Even with the cavalry patrolling, there was a lot of forest they couldn’t scout. Cats were needed to scout the forest. Time to pay a visit to the clans.

  The other problem was our needed experts and materials had yet to be found. Maybe La-mar could take care of the materials needed to build ships. He would know more about it than I would, anyway.

  "Shi-Tora," the watchman said. I looked in the direction he was pointing.

  "Speak of the devil," I said. "That's one of ours. Captain La-mar is bringing in supplies."

  He nodded and set out the proper signal flag, letting everyone know a friendly ship was on the way in. Anxious to see if La-mar had any news, I went to meet him.

  "You’ve been busy," he said, looking around as he came down the ramp.

  "We have. How are how are things in the south?"

  "Quiet, which bothers me. There’s been no trouble from the west, and no bother from the northern skyships. My gut tells me this quiet won’t last for long.”

  "Then we do all we can, while we can. I have a list of supplies that we need to build our own skyships. Don't buy them from the Southern Kingdom. Bring them in from offshore."

  He read over the list, nodding.

  "If there are needed items not listed, buy them.”

  "Can I use another cargo ship to speed this up? Otherwise, it will take more than one trip."

  "Whatever you need to do. Just get it done. Time is running out."

  They unloaded the ship and left right away. Their route home would go by way of East Coastal, picking up a cargo to take in. I envied him as he flew away.

  * * *

  Michael and I stood in the keep's third floor office, looking over my “to do” notes.

  "Everything seems to be going smoothly,” I remarked. “Cavalry is patrolling; infantry is guarding the rail workers; keep's walls are manned; carpenters are building barracks; and engineers and laborers are building the earth-backed palisades. Now might be a good time to visit the cat clans to recruit scouts."

  The warning horn sounded from above.

  "What now?" Michael’s jaw visibly tightened.

  “We need a visual! Topside!”

  As we reached the battlement, I ordered, “Report!”

  "Six enemy ships approaching from the southwest, sir," the watchman replied. They were still a few miles away and starting to spread their formation. Some of the ships looked odd. I studied them through my spyglass. Two were normal looking ships, but four were wider than any I'd seen.

  Realization dawned. “See those wider ships?” I pointed. “Those are troop carriers.”

  I looked down at the mercenary area. It was a hotbed of activity. These were professionals, skilled at large scale fighting. The cavalry was already on the move, taking up position to the east of the compound. Artillery troops with cannons were in position, and the infantry was moving out.

  The four troop carriers were starting to descend, while the escort ships continued toward the keep. I recognized what they were going to do. My suspicions were confirmed as their cannons fired. Their rounds fell short of the keep, but the next time, they would be in range.

  The Tiger’s Claw crew had not been idle. The gun was already uncovered and armed.

  "What round, Shi-Tora?"

  "Explosive," I shouted above the din of war. "Aim for the forward balloon, bring ‘em down!" They nodded and loaded.

  The gunner had his aim. "Ready.”

  "Fire!" I shouted. Fire belched from the gun as it fired. I thought he had missed, but then the balloon began to deflate.

  "Hit the second ship! Same way!"

  "R
eady,” the gunner called.

  "Fire!" I commanded. I knew what to look for now and saw the bullet hit the next balloon. They were losing altitude.

  "Put another round into each of those ship's forward balloons! Put ‘em on the ground!"

  The gun crew loaded and fired. The two ships were no longer a threat. They were on the way down.

  "Target the troop carriers! Put three rounds into their forward balloons! Crash ‘em hard! Get ‘em on the ground now!"

  The gun crew went to work, loading and firing as quickly as they could. The troop ships were losing attitude. One appeared to descend slowly, but suddenly slammed the ground hard. The entire bow section crumpled: men, horses, and equipment went flying. Guess I was wrong about the slow descent.

  As soon as the carrier ships impacted, cavalry charged and infantry headed out to meet the enemy. The escort ships were also down. Their crews doing all they could to repair the balloons and get back into the air.

  “Put an explosive round into the deck of that ship!" I pointed. "I don't want them to repair those balloons."

  The gunner aimed and fired. That ended the repair efforts They all took cover below deck.

  The mercenary cannons had re-positioned to better cover the downed troop carriers. The Tiger’s Claw gun crew had seen what we were doing and every time the enemy would rally, recover, or resist, they would put a round in the middle of the group. Between our two heavy long guns sowing discord, and the cavalry striking quickly, it was mostly over.

  The enemy was surrendering all over the field, and the skyships had struck their colors. There were still some small pockets of resistance, but our infantry took care of them in quick order. The gun crew and I watched the battlefield closely, in case any tried to rally.

  The total invasion force of 600 surrendered. Of that number, 30 percent were from the downed ships. Laying down arms, the enemy moved away from the ships. It was surprising that the crews left the ships intact. They didn't set fire to them or destroy any of the workings. I guess they were still in shock at their sudden and complete defeat. The doctors and medics, including the enemy's, went to work on the wounded.

  The four skyships were fully loaded with guns, cannons, support equipment, and supplies. This would definitely take care of our shortages.