“I’m sorry to have kept you up, Nkiru,” said Esther, turning her head to look over at her handmaiden sitting next to the door on a low stool with rolled towels stuffed neatly underneath, “I’m just going to sit here for a few minutes and then head to bed. You can leave my towel on the stool and go to bed yourself. I know you must be exhausted.”
Nkiru nodded, then stood and slipped out the door, closing it tightly behind her.
When Esther had first met Nkiru, she hadn’t spoken much Hadiqan and absolutely no Northern. Over time, her Hadiqan had improved enough so that she could understand quite a bit, but she still struggled in speaking the language. In the end, as Esther learned more of Nkiru’s native tongue, they spoke a combination of Hadiqan and Easterner. Esther hadn’t expected to have Nkiru and her brother Oluchi serving as her handmaiden and bodyguard, but when she had arrived in Hadiq on an Easterner Merchantman, they both had asked their captain to be released from their contracts and follow her, to try and assist in thwarting the assassination of King Asserius. Easterners were big on contracts and it was seen as very prestigious for someone not from the Eastern Islands to hold the contract and be served by an Easterner servant. The funny thing about it was that Esther didn’t hold their contracts—everyone only assumed she did. They stayed and served because they chose to. Of course, now that she was Queen, no one thought twice about it.
Esther could feel the exhaustion settling upon her, but she wasn’t ready to go to sleep quite yet. She just wanted to relax and enjoy the pleasure of soaking in the tub, letting her mind spool down and unwind from the events of the day. For the first time in a long time, she felt that she had accomplished something. Now she just had to put it into action.
Chapter 3
Battle for Ardmorr
…I’ve been particularly pleased by the skills with the sword and dagger that I am learning from Oluchi. I didn’t think I could improve so quickly. Oluchi says he thinks it’s because I love dancing so much and that I’ve somehow linked those two skill sets together. One way or another, I love it…
The sound of swords clashing together rang out loudly across the stern deck of the HMS Retribution. Esther pushed back from her opponent, bringing the gleaming metal sword up in front of her again. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to catch her breath, the extra padded weight of her sparring dress adding to the physical strain of combat.
At first Oluchi had been reluctant to use the dulled metal swords during their practices for fear of injuring her. He’d conceded eventually, but only after she’d agreed to wear some extra protection. So Esther had asked Marigold to put together a dress that would be thin enough to allow her to move freely, but still include some padding—especially in those areas where strikes were likely to land, such as the arms and shoulders, and over her mid-section. Marigold had obtained some nice fabric from somewhere in the fleet and put together the long sleeved cream-colored dress Esther was currently wearing, with its extra pads on the hips and arms. Padded flaps on the front and sides of her waist extended down to give extra protection to her upper thighs. She wore loose fitting shalwar trousers underneath.
Oluchi stepped forward and they exchanged a quick flurry of blows before separating and circling each other warily.
Marigold’s traditional Hadiqan design for her sparring dress revealed the conical seashell that Geoffrey had given her lying against her chest. Now that her pregnancy was progressing, her formerly mild curves were becoming more accentuated—finally, she thought with touch of exasperation. She had always felt insecure about herself in that area. The increase may only be moderate—she’d never attain the voluptuousness of someone like her friend Charity back in Tewksbury—but it helped bolster her confidence as a woman. That may be a bit shallow, but it’s how I feel, she thought.
Marigold had also fashioned a padded cap to protect her head, though she hated wearing it. It was uncomfortable, itchy, and made her scalp sweat. If they were going to use the metal practice swords like she preferred, then Oluchi insisted she wear it,.
Oluchi also wore a long-sleeved padded jacket over his tunic and trousers. However, his customary pheta turban—which he’d worn most of the time since the Satrap of Deyr had given it to him—was missing as it was ill suited for sword-play. Sweat ran down his dark complected face, even though the air was a bit cool. At least I’m giving him a workout. She still hadn’t been unable to score a strike against him yet this morning though.
Oluchi was a skilled warrior and Esther’s growing skill with a sword was not insignificant. Their daily sparring session always drew attention. Najafi had eased discipline slightly so that the crew could look on for a few minutes. She didn’t mind the bystanders—it helped simulate distractions that would occur during the heat of battle. The same was true with her necklace that slapped against her chest with each thrust and parry.
For a normal crew, such a relaxation of discipline may have led to increased discipline problems, but Najafi had been able to hand-pick his crew—a true rarity—and the Retribution had one of the finest crews in the Navy. So far, ship’s discipline had remained good, relatively speaking. Geoffrey always came to watch her sparring sessions as well. Now that she had married Asserius, she tried to squash the feelings she had for the younger doctor, but she wasn’t always successful and his presence and eyes on her as she practiced proved to be an even greater distraction than either the other onlookers or the slapping of her necklace.
Oluchi suddenly charged forward and Esther had to shift quickly to the right and bring her sword up high to deflect his overhand strike. She barely succeeded, wincing at the impact. Alright, get your head in the game, girl! Focus! He almost scored on you with that last one. Quit thinking about dresses and boys.
Stepping back, she watched him warily as they circled each other. She didn’t see any openings—his defenses were solid. Well let’s see if I can’t make an opening. Lunging forward, she thrust the dulled metal sword at Oluchi’s torso. He easily blocked her lunging strike, but that was all right, she had only wanted him to move a couple of feet to the right. She was easily able to counter his expected riposte. Now, if she could just—
“Aspect change!” called a voice from up in the rigging.
Esther immediately stepped back, holding her sword up straight in front of her signaling a halt. Oluchi acknowledged and she quickly turned to look up at the lookout’s post. After two days, would they finally be able to put their carefully laid plans into action? She dropped her practice sword into the box with the others and pulled the protective cap off of her head. Patting her unruly hair down, she walked briskly over to the port-side railing where Abdel Najafi and Lieutenant Ben-Ezra—Najafi’s second in command—stood gazing through their telescopes at the Madrausan fleet.
As part of their plan, they had needed to reposition the Retribution and her two escorts several hundred feet above the rest of the Hadiqan Fleet. That was yet another reason Esther was out of breath—she wasn’t used to the higher elevation. When Esther took the telescope that Lieutenant Ben-Ezra offered her, she had to angle it down slightly to see the Madrausan fleet. What she saw confirmed what the lookout had reported. A squadron of fourteen Madrausan warships, including one large ‘Ogre’ class battlewagon, was turning towards the Hadiqan fleet, changing the aspect of their profile as seen from the Retribution. Typically, the Madrausan’s had their broadside toward the Hadiqan fleet, but now, their bows had turned to face them. As Esther watched, the ships continued to turn until their heading was at a forty-five degree angle to Esther’s ships. The Madrausan’s were following their typical raiding pattern of breaking off a few ships from the main flotilla and skirting around the Hadiqan fleet. And, as was typical, Admiral Marsena was doing nothing to attempt to stop them.
Najafi turned to Esther. “Given their current course, they are most likely headed toward Port Bergen as we predicted.”
Esther nodded her agreement.
“Do you still wish to follow through with the plan an
d engage?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes,” she said without hesitation.
Najafi nodded and turned to Lieutenant Ben-Ezra. “Action stations, Lieutenant, and signal the Achaemenes and the Piruz.”
“Aye, sir,” Ben-Ezra replied, then turned and shouted. “Action Stations! Action Stations! This is not a drill!”
An alarm bell began to ring loudly and men rushed about the deck as the ship prepared for battle. Gun crews pulled canvas covers off cannons, the deck was cleared of any loose gear, and marine sharpshooters climbed the rigging to their platforms above. Mac appeared at her side with her sword—the finely crafted one that Adaeze had given her—as well as her flintlock pistol which had also been a gift from the Easterner merchant captain’s wife, loaded and ready.
Esther cinched the belt with the scabbard and holster around her waist, then turned and peered back through the telescope at the large squadron of ships veering off from the main Madrausan flotilla.
“I think it’s about that time, don’t you Abdel?” Esther asked, turning to her First Officer.
Abdel peered over the railing at the Madrausan squadron as it made its way around the Hadiqan fleet and nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty, I think you’re right.”
“Alright then, as your Queen, I am taking full responsibility and ordering you to engage those ships,” she said, her words spoken as if from a written speech, and indeed, they had been, before she’d put them to memory just last night. “In addition, signal the Flag and any ship within sight with the following, ‘Enemy ships engaging, the Queen requires assistance and requests all ships to follow and engage’.”
Najafi nodded and walked away to carry out her orders. Esther turned back to look at the Madrausan ships. Men were going to die today. Some of them would be her crew. She gripped the railing firmly.
Oluchi and three other guards appeared. “I t’ink you should go below now, Your Majesty,” he said. She shook her head and turned away to watch the final preparations as the ship was brought to action stations.
A bell rang twice, then twice again. “All hands, prepare for emergency dive!” Lt. Ben-Ezra called loudly.
Esther grabbed hold of a brace line as Najafi gave the order and several Saug gas bunkers were opened and their contents released. The ship pitched forward and Esther felt her feet come off the deck momentarily as the ship dropped beneath her, descending in a steep dive on a path that would intersect the Madrausan raiding squadron.
Esther looked back to make sure that the Achaemenes and the Piruz were following and was pleased to see they were right on the Retribution’s heels. She looked down over the side railing back toward the rest of the Hadiqan fleet. Nervous tension filled her as she watched to see what they would do, and how they would respond to her pleas for assistance, because they were just that, pleas, not orders. Najafi was right when he said that this maneuver could go very badly for the Retribution and her escorts if at least some of the others ships in the fleet didn’t follow them in. Three ships against fourteen—those odds were grim indeed.
Finally, after staring anxiously down at the fleet for several moments, Esther saw two squadrons of Hadiqan ships put on full sail and turn towards the Retribution. Reflexively, she closed her eyes and let out a long breath that she hadn’t realized she had been holding. Her tension eased a little and she took another deep breath. There was nothing she could do about the rest of the fleet now. They would be in the midst of the enemy squadron in a moment and she wanted to focus her concentration on the battle ahead.
As she stared down at the enemy raiders, an idea began to form in her mind. “Mr. Najafi,” she said, the wind whipping at her baggy shalwar trousers. “That large Ogre-class ship…I’m assuming that it’s built with the same wood as most of the Madrausan fleet?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he replied.
“If I remember what you had taught me about that ship, the guns onboard are some of the heaviest in the Madrausan fleet and are the most capable of penetrating our hull. If we can take it out of action, that will reduce our risk considerably, would it not?”
“I would say so, Your Majesty.”
Esther let go of the railing and brought her telescope up to her eye, gazing at the large Madrausan ship before lowering her hand back to the railing and turning to Najafi.
“Structurally, I think that ship has a vulnerability directly amidships.”
“What makes you think that, Your Majesty?” he asked.
“Well, like most Madrausan propeller driven ships, it has a relatively narrow beam and is somewhat elongated. This ship is even more elongated than most, presumably to allow additional large cannons to be placed aboard her since Madrausan’s don’t typically construct their ships with more than two decks. She’s a gunship, not used for ramming and boarding tactics like some of her smaller, faster counterparts…at least, that’s my conclusion based upon what you’ve taught me and my own brief observations.”
“That’s true, Your Majesty, the Ogre-class battlewagons are too large and slow to use for most boarding actions. I’ve never heard of one ramming another ship before.”
She turned to stare down at the large enemy ship again. Similar to what had happened before during her escape from the Madrausan’s, numbers and calculations flew through her mind almost instinctively. “The timber that grows in Madraus is not nearly as strong as the Northern timber that the Retribution is constructed from.” She didn’t—couldn’t—know if she was correct, but it felt right. “I believe that if you can position the front half of the Retribution to come down on that ship directly amidships, it will break her in two. We’ll lose the fore propellers, but that is a small price to pay for taking out that ship.”
“With this ship and this crew, I’m confident that I can put us on top of them accurately, but that’s a very risky move, Your Majesty. A reasonable Captain wouldn’t even consider it since it could tear his own ship apart. The big question is whether you’re right about the disparity between the timber of the two ships and the extent of the structural vulnerability of the Madrausan ship. A Hadiqan built ship wouldn’t be able to do this, and even an Ardmorran built ship might be severely damaged, and losing the forward propeller’s is no small loss either.”
“I’m right,” she said confidently. “If you can hit them precisely amidships, do it.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Najafi said with a nod. He turned to give the orders.
They were almost on top of them now and she could see a flurry of activity on the enemy ships as they beat to quarters and men rushed to their battle stations. The fact that Esther’s three ships were attacking had caught the enemy off-guard. Hopefully that would help her squadron accomplish its goal. She spared a glance at each of the main Madrausan and Hadiqan fleets. Several squadrons on both sides had peeled off now, heading towards the Retribution.
An alarm bell started ringing over and over again. Shouts of “All hands, brace for impact!” echoed across the deck. Esther looked over the side railing and saw the large Ogre-class ship directly ahead and below them, desperately trying to get out of the way of the insane vessel descending upon them like a crazed, vengeful falcon. Their efforts were futile however, and Najafi was as good as his word. The Retribution was coming down upon it directly amidships. Esther quickly knelt down, ducked her head, and held on tightly to the railing post with both hands.
The deck heaved beneath her, throwing her several inches into the air as the explosive sound of shattering wood buffeted her eardrums. The sound went on and on, seeming like it would never end.
“Drop ballast!” she heard Najafi shout and she looked over to see him already regaining his feet. “Drop ballast!” he shouted again.
Esther lifted her arm and grabbed the railing as Oluchi stepped over to help her to her feet.
“Are you alright, Your Majesty?” he said with concern.
“Yes, thank you Oluchi,” she said, looking about. The remains of the Ogre-class battlewagon hung in two halves in the air abo
ve the Retribution as she continued to descend. The halves were rotating and moving slowly away from each other, spilling their contents into the ocean far below—cannon’s, supplies…and men. Esther felt horrible—most of those men were simply slaves used to drive the propellers.
In short order, Najafi halted the Retributions decent and brought her about to meet up with the Achaemenes and the Piruz. The other two ships had completed their initial attack run against the enemy squadron as they descended through their midst, hammering the vulnerable sterns of several enemy ships with cannon fire, leaving a trail of destruction and debris falling to join pieces of the ship that the Retribution had just killed.
“You were right, Your Majesty,” Najafi turned to her smiling, “The Ogre broke apart just as you predicted. Lt. Annan’ reports that the only significant damage we received was the loss of the fore propellers and keel mast, and the buckling of the hull between several station ribs. The frames held however and repairs are already being made. The propellers and keel mast will take longer to replace. Light damage, considering. Well done!”
Esther beamed back at him. “Thank you, Mr. Najafi, and you did an excellent job positioning the ship with such precision.” She turned to look at the raiding squadron and the rest of the Madrausan fleet. “What do you think about signaling the Achaemenes and the Piruz to swing around the front of the raiders instead of behind them as we’d originally discussed? I don’t want to get caught between them and their reinforcing squadrons.”
“That would be very wise, Your Majesty,” Najafi agreed. He turned and began shouting orders.
Esther’s small squadron quickly formed up again as was originally planned before she had hatched that absurd plan to take out the Ogre-class ship. With only one keel mast, the Retribution didn’t handle quite as well, but she flew well enough. As they drew closer to the Achaemenes and the Piruz, she could hear cheering and congratulatory huzzah’s being shouted towards them from the other ships. Esther couldn’t help but smile.
Retribution Page 3
