by Jamie Davis
“Yes, Cap’n.”
As the first mate headed off to raise the Duke’s flag and check on the crew, Cari hooked a finger in her collar and tugged at the tight woolen fabric of the Imperial Navy jacket Helen had stitched for her, adapting the captain’s jacket they’d taken.
Before the first mate returned from his rounds, the lookout called down again.
“Sail Ho!”
Cari followed the lookout’s pointing finger to see the tops of a ship’s sails appearing over the horizon. It was rigged in a different sail pattern than used in the Empire to the north. This ship had large triangular sails with colorful geometric patterns painted on them, rather than the square and rectangular sails that made up most of the Vengeance’s canvas.
“Don’t let the strange sail pattern fool you, ma’am,” the bosun said from his position by the helmsman. “They can move pretty fast with those big colorful sails, faster than our ships sometimes.”
“That’s good to know, Mr. Dawkins. Percy, bring my spyglass. I’d like to get a look at this ship and see if I can pick out the captain. It might be a good idea to see who I’ll be trying to bluff.”
Percy came over and handed her the telescope. Cari brought the glass up to her eye and peered through it at the approaching Sultanate ship. The striking differences between the vessels and their designs stood out in the magnified image. The whole ship was painted in bright colors.
“They like their colored paint,” she remarked with a chuckle.
“I’ve heard all of them look like that,” Dawkins remarked. “It’s something to do with living in a land bordered by great deserts and scrub barrens. They believe by bringing bright colors to life in their ships and architecture, they fight off the plainness of the dreary lands around them.”
“May I see, Cap'n?” Percy asked.
Cari smiled at her cabin boy and handed him back the telescope. He trained the spyglass towards the approaching ship to stare at it for himself.
“Cap’n, they’ve got a huge bow chaser. Did you see it? That’s the largest ship-borne cannon I’ve ever seen.”
Cari turned back to the rail and held out her hand for the glass. Extending the telescope again, she focused her attention on the bow of the ship looking for what Percy might have seen. The boy’s eyes were very good. She could just barely make out the outline of what must be a cannon barrel jutting up beyond the hull at the front of the ship.
Percy was right. That gun was enormous. Her broadside cannons were all sixteen pounders, meaning they fired a sixteen-pound cannonball. The bow guns were a little larger. They fired twenty-pound cannon balls.
Cari tried to judge the size of the gun based on the men who walked the deck nearby. If her guess was correct, that cannon fired a thirty or thirty-two pounder.
The heavier weight ball and length of the cannon would fire farther and cause more damage on impact. She knew from her high school physics class, increasing the mass and acceleration of a projectile had an exponential effect on the energy imparted when it landed.
“Let’s hope we’re never on the receiving end of that bad boy,” Cari said. “It must use a massive powder load. I’m surprised the cast iron barrel will withstand the force of the initial blast.”
“If they ever fire it at us, we can hope they over load it and blow themselves up, Cap’n,” Percy said with a grin.
“I’d prefer to avoid a running battle with them at all. I think we can outrun them in most wind conditions, but it would be a close race.”
Cari turned back to the helmsman and bosun at the ship’s wheel.
“Run us in and bring us about so we’re running alongside them. I’ll try and bluff our way past them from a distance so we can continue on the way to our rescue mission. I’d prefer not to have to come about, heave to and travel over to their ship for a face to face meeting. We won’t have the benefit of back up from a boarding party disguised as slaves.”
“Aye, ma’am. We’ll bring her in as close as we can so you can converse via the speaking trumpet.”
“I’ll fetch it from the locker, ma’am,” Percy said, taking the spy glass back to the storage locker in front of the ship’s wheel.
He returned with what looked like a cheerleader’s cone-shaped megaphone, only smaller and made of brass. The speaking trumpet allowed her to project her voice across the distance between ships under way at sea. It was a crude but effective device, though a lot depended on the weather, wind, and waves.
An hour later, Cari shouted an answer to the other captain’s request for them to heave to and prepare for inspection.
“My ship is traveling to the compound maintained for my master to the west of Lyden. We have guaranteed safe passage.”
“Safe passage is not free passage. Heave to and bring yourself and your papers over to our ship. I will not ask again.”
As if to punctuate the statement, the gun ports on the side of the other ship opened and its cannon muzzles slid into view as the crews ran them out into firing position.
Cari had been careful to show no aggression, so her guns were unmanned and her crew, mostly unarmed. The other ship would be able to loose several broadsides at the Vengeance before her crew had a chance to respond.
“Mr. Bowcott, heave to and prepare one of the ship’s boats to carry me to the Sultanate ship.”
“You’re not going over there, are you, ma’am?” The first mate asked. “They don’t take well to women officers in the Sultanate. Women don’t fight or have the same rights as they do in the Empire.”
“Nonetheless, I must present myself and our forged letters from the Duke of Charon or they’ll blow us out of the water. Do as I say and be quick about it.”
The first mate nodded and passed the order along to the bosun who started calling out orders to the crew who took in the sails and tied them up against the spars from which they hung. With all the sails taken in, the Vengeance soon slowed to a stop and Cari boarded the longboat to make the journey over to the other ship.
Bowcott sent an appropriate honor guard along including both Stefan and Rodrigo along with the oarsmen crewing the small boat. Cari appreciated the concern her officers had for her safety, though it wasn’t like they could do anything other than stand by her side in the coming negotiation.
Soon she stood on the deck with her two lieutenants waiting under the guard of the Sultanate sailors. Though the common sailors wore similar clothing to that worn by the Vengeance’s crew, the officers wore turbans with silver or gold crests pinned to the front.
A young and probably very junior officer stood before her while they waited for the captain to arrive. He looked to be only a year or two younger than herself. He seemed surprised when she’d introduced herself as the captain of the Imperial ship.
“Will the captain be much longer? I’d rather like to be on my way.”
“You will be patient and wait your turn, woman,” the young officer replied. “His lordship has many important duties to attend to. You would do well to learn your place when aboard one of the Sultan’s ships.”
Rodrigo started forward to say something in response to the insult. She waved him back into place before he said anything they’d all regret. Perhaps it had been a mistake bringing her two hotheaded junior officers along for the negotiations.
She was about to reply to the young man’s response but stopped when a tall, swarthy man in a much larger turban came out on deck. This one sported both a gold crest and a tall red feather pinned to the front of the headdress.
He wore a tunic embroidered in many colors and what looked like gold thread. Below that, he wore baggy white cotton pants gathered at the ankles above gold painted slippers with upturned toes. As with the other armed officers and crew, he carried a curved scimitar at his waist on one side and a smaller curved knife on the other.
The captain stopped a few feet away from Cari. She waited while his eyes roamed her body from head to toe. He had a disturbing leer on his face as he looked her over.
; Cari decided to break the awkward silence.
“Captain, I was asked to bring over my papers and bonafides for you to examine.”
The other captain smiled and waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. He wore a gold ring on each finger, all of them with different colored stones.
“I had no need to see your paperwork, girl. I merely wanted to see you up close after getting a look at you through my spyglass. I must say I prefer the in-person version.”
The Sultanate captain’s leer returned to his face as he finished talking.
Cari wanted to spin in place and deliver a roundhouse kick with her booted foot to the idiot’s face and knock that creepy grin from it. She bit her tongue to stop herself from saying what she wanted to in reply.
“So, Captain, may we return to our ship now and proceed on our way safely?”
“If you must. Of course, you could always have one of your lackeys attend to your responsibilities while you remain here with me.”
“Why would I choose to remain here, Captain? My duty lies on my ship with my command.”
“A woman has many duties more important than commanding a ship. First and foremost is your duty to please the men who are your betters. If it wouldn’t upset my father, I’d have you held here so I could take you to my bed and satisfy my desire to see you beneath me as another conquest slave for my harem.”
Cari spluttered to find a reply, biting back her initial gut reaction. Her hesitation took her attention away from the situation at hand. It might have ended differently if she’d paid attention to her crew’s response. Rodrigo growled in anger and stepped forward, delivering a powerful open-handed slap to the other captain’s face.
Gasps passed through the Sultanate crew and several guards surged forward, drawing their scimitars and grabbing Rodrigo by his arms before he could back away from the other captain.
Stefan and the two crewmen behind her started forward. Cari knew they could never win a fight with the few people she had with her. This was falling apart around her. She needed to gain control again.
“Hold!” She ordered. “Rodrigo, stop resisting.”
Turning to the other captain, Cari continued to try and defuse the difficult situation.
“Captain, I’m sorry for my lieutenant’s outburst. I will see he is severely reprimanded upon our return to my ship.”
The Sultanate captain had placed a hand against the side of his face and he glared at Rodrigo with something that looked like a combination of shock and anger.
“There is no need to reprimand him, Captain.”
The response surprised Cari.
“That is very generous of you, Captain. I know this has all been a huge misunderstanding.”
“Oh, I think you misunderstand me, girl. There is no need for you to reprimand him. I will see to the proper punishment. He has struck me, a member of the royal family. As such he has sealed his fate. He will be put to death upon our return to Lyden, where he will be hanged, drawn, and quartered in the central square in front of the Governor’s palace.”
Cari blinked, trying to take in everything the man said. “Captain, I’m sure we can come to some agreement. Perhaps a ransom of some kind. I have a small amount of gold on board my ship. Could I not purchase your lenience in this unfortunate matter?”
Cari tried to reach out to her Charm ability. If there was ever a time for it to activate, now would be it.
The other captain paused in thought as if considering her request.
Three words flashed across Cari’s vision. Unfortunately, they were not the words she had been hoping for.
* * *
Charm bonus failed
* * *
“I think not. In fact, you and your remaining officers will return to your ship and follow me back to Lyden so you may witness what happens to those who refuse to treat members of the Sultan’s family with the deference we are due.”
He turned to address his first officer.
“Take the insolent boy below and prepare him for execution and remove that woman pretending to captain a ship from this vessel.”
He wheeled about and walked back to the door to the cabins at the stern leaving Cari to watch as Rodrigo was shackled and dragged away in the opposite direction.
Armed crew drew their scimitars and pressed Cari and her small boarding party back to the rail. They had no choice but to leave and climb down to their boat below.
As much as it angered her, Rodrigo was lost for now. Cari’s thoughts already spun with plans for how they could affect his rescue, though. Once they reached the city of Lyden, she’d show them who she really was. There was no way she was going to let these savages kill her lieutenant, no matter what stupid thing he did to deserve it.
Determination burned in her eyes as her crew rowed back to the Vengeance. It was time to teach these men from the south a lesson.
The Dread Raider Cari was tired of playing nice.
* * *
Quest accepted — rescue Rodrigo
Quest accepted — Kill Captain Rashesh
Chapter 7
Cari sat on the raised platform placed to overlook the palace’s public square. The Sultan’s Royal Governor sat on one side of her, and the captain named Rashesh, who Cari learned was the Sultan’s nephew, sat on the other.
She was keenly aware of how alone and exposed she was here on this platform surrounded by enemies. Her first mate, Mr. Bowcott, stood at the back of the platform, too far away to come to her aid if she needed it.
Of course, that wasn’t part of the plan. His place was exactly where he stood, raised above nearly everyone else in the square. From this vantage, he would be able to see everything happening down below. He was the key to coordinating the entire rescue.
“You, know, Captain Boyle,” the Governor said, calling Cari by the alias she was using. “It is unfortunate we had to meet under these circumstances. I hope you will relay our condolences on the unfortunate loss of your young lieutenant to His Grace the Duke of Charon.”
His condescending tone grated on Cari’s nerves but she had a part to play here. She’d play it well because Rodrigo’s life depended on it. She had to appear unconcerned about what was about to happen. It was essential to keep everyone thinking she didn’t care if they executed Rodrigo or not.
“Frankly,” Cari replied. “The young man has been a thorn in my side since I was forced to take him into my crew. I know I am young to be a captain but I earned that position the hard way and he has been undermining my authority onboard the ship for months now. You are doing me a favor. I get rid of a thorn in my side without offending his influential family.”
Captain Rashesh snorted a derisive laugh. “The first mistake was placing a woman in command at all, let alone on a ship of war.”
“Now, now, my Lord Rashesh,” the Governor replied. “I know you have conservative views, but we must have respect for some of our northern neighbor’s traditions. We will not be at war with them forever. That is why this mission of cooperation between the Sultan and the Duke is so important.”
“Bah!” Rashesh shouted. “You’ll never convince me that a woman is anything but a playmate in bed and a bearer of children.”
Cari hoped no one could hear her teeth grinding together. She wanted to gut that prima donna and watch the surprise spread across his face at what a mere woman could do to him.
The violent image shocked Cari and brought back her fear of becoming callous to the deaths she caused. Cari pushed the troubling thoughts away. Now was not the time to dwell on her demons.
Rashesh misinterpreted the momentary change in expression. “See, I think some pleasant time in my bed might help solve some of your attitude problems, girl. I tell you what. I will forgive the afront to my honor committed by your man if you spend the next twenty-four hours in my bedchambers. What do you say?”
Her worried frown froze in place on her face before shifting to a look of disgust.
Cari fixed him with a level stare.
&nb
sp; “Such a thing would only end with one of us disappointed.”
The young nobleman attempted a sneer and started to reply, but something he saw in her eyes must have stopped him. He turned away, putting his back to her and began a new conversation with the person sitting to his left.
That was fine with Cari. It was hard to hold onto her temper when he made comments like that.
“Ah, look,” the Governor said. “The afternoon’s festivities are about to begin. There’s the prisoner now.”
Cari spun in her seat to face front again and scanned the crowded square for what the Governor talked about. It took her a few seconds, but she eventually found the cluster of guards armed with spears and scimitars escorting Rodrigo across the square towards the stone stage at its center. That was where he was to be executed.
The guards had turned their spears sideways and held them in a rough rectangle, creating a sort of moving pen pressing its way through the unruly crowd below. Rodrigo stumbled his way across the paving stones of the square inside the narrow open space created by his guards.
His bruised face showed dried, caked blood around his nose and mouth. He’d been severely beaten while in captivity. Judging from the red stain spreading through the back of his white shirt, they’d whipped him with a lash or perhaps wooden switches, too.
She hoped he’d look upward in her direction so she could smile at him or offer some sort of encouragement. He seemed totally broken and resigned to his fate.
He probably had no idea they were here to rescue him. It tore at her. This was her responsibility. It was the calling of every captain to keep her crew safe.
In that, Cari had failed.
Now people were going to die, undoubtedly soldiers and citizens of this city, perhaps some of her own crew, too.
She stole a glance back at Mr. Bowcott standing at the back of the platform on which she sat. He winked at her and nodded, laying a finger along the side of his nose.
That was the sign.
Everything was in place. The first mate had spotted all the different parts of their plan move into position. They were ready.
