by Jamie Davis
“Did you just call me a dog, Helen?”
“No ma’am, just a turn of phrase.”
“Good, get me back to the ship and pull the crew back on board.” Cari paused to catch her breath before continuing. “We set sail immediately. This is all a trap, and I’m not waiting for the other side to come down on us.”
“Yes, ma’am. Mr. McShea!”
Percy showed up at the first mate’s side. He held a cutlass and he had a gash above one eye. Cari didn’t have the energy or the time to berate Helen for letting the boy join the battle. She’d have to hold that for later, once they all were safe.
“Mr. McShea, help the captain get back aboard and tell Mr. Dawkins to pull as many people from the gun crews as possible and put them aloft. We set sail immediately.”
“Aye, ma’am. Captain, you’re bleeding again.”
“Yes, I am, Percy. Very good of you to notice. Now help me to my feet and let me lean on you while I walk back to the ship.”
“Aye, ma’am.”
The boy was surprisingly strong for his age and size and he nearly lifted her up by himself. She draped an arm across his shoulder and together they half limped, half shuffled back to the Vengeance.
Her power down period was almost complete by the time she arrived at the ship. As the haze of the power down timer cleared, Cari felt a little strength return, but not much. Her injuries were severe and blood loss weakened her with every second that passed.
“Help me across the gangplank to the ship, Percy.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He grunted as he lifted her to her feet once again. He had more blood on him now, her blood. She was bleeding worse now than before and another damage alert appeared in her display.
* * *
Health damage — health -5
Health: 24/120
* * *
Cari stumbled a few times on the gangplank, but Percy kept her from toppling into the harbor. He got her across and lowered her to the deck by the base of the quarterdeck.
* * *
Quest completed — reach the Vengeance
8,000 experience
* * *
Katie came down from her place at the helm to check on the captain.
“Captain, let me go and get you a healing potion. You look like hell.”
“Gee, thanks,” Cari replied, chuckling at the remark. “Mr. McShea can do that. I need you at the wheel. Prepare to get the ship out of here and into open water. Don’t wait for Helen or the bosun to pass the order along. Once the sails are down and we can move, steer us for the harbor mouth. Got it?”
“Aye, ma’am. Look, the first mate is returning with the shore party now.”
“Then get back to your post. I’ll be alright here. Percy’s going to fetch me some healing, right, Mr. McShea?”
“Right away, ma’am.”
Cari slumped back against the wall while Katie returned to her post and Percy raced off below to bring back a healing potion or two even as more of her life’s blood dripped away to the deck.
She had no choice. She just had to wait for Percy to return. Hopefully, he came in time. More notifications slipped past her eyes, ticking away her health points.
* * *
Health damage — health -5
Chapter 36
While Cari lay bleeding against the quarterdeck cabins, Helen gathered the members of the shore party who were still alive and hustled them up the gangplank as fast as she could. More than half of them were wounded.
Francesca, limping from a wicked slash to her thigh, waved at Cari and then headed forward to help man one of the guns pointing inland. Crews were starting to load canister, the shotgun-like buckshot for cannons.
Seeing the girl reminded Cari of something she’d forgotten about.
“Duh, Cari,” she muttered aloud. Cari called up her skill menu and activated her regeneration ability. It would take sixty seconds. She’d feel a lot better soon.
A minute later, Cari had regained sixty health points. Her bleeding had stopped and some of the minor wounds had closed by the time Percy returned with a whole armload of healing potions.
“Good grief, boy, how many do you have?”
“I could carry five without breaking them, ma’am. You looked way worse when I left.”
“Get with Miss Doolan and parcel them out to the worst injured among the crew. I’m feeling better now.”
“Aye, ma’am.”
Marlin Dawkins, the bosun, called out orders to the crew. Aloft, the sails started to unfurl. The canvas expanded as the Vengeance caught the small breeze flowing through the harbor.
Katie followed her orders and turned the ship’s wheel to head them away from the dock and back out to sea.
Cari reached up and grabbed a rail, pulling herself back to her feet. She had a noticeable limp from one of the wounds that still ached in her thigh, but she could make it about.
Taking her time, Cari climbed up to the quarterdeck and assumed her position beside Katie at the helm.
Helen soon joined them, a bandage tied around her upper arm but otherwise unhurt.
“Here, ma’am, you dropped this.”
Helen handed Cari her dagger dropped during the fighting.
Slipping the blade back into its scabbard on her thigh, she smiled at the first mate.
“Thank you, Helen. I can always count on you to pick up after me.”
“What’s a first mate for, ma’am?” She asked with a chuckle.
“Indeed. Good work holding the end of the pier rather than remaining here on the ship.”
“I thought it best to keep them far enough away to avoid any mischief on their part, ma’am.” She peered out at the harbor mouth, fast approaching ahead. “Where to now?”
“We head for open water for now, then we’ll make our decision. I have a feeling we aren’t out of trouble yet. The Duke of Charon is too crafty to attack us like this without having another angle to his plan. Make sure the lookouts aloft keep their eyes open and have the guns loaded for action.”
“Aye, ma’am. We’ll be ready.”
Cari walked over to the storage locker by the stern and pulled out the spyglass before closing the lid and clamping it shut against the wind and the weather.
She put the extended glass to her eye as they cleared the harbor mouth and slipped into the open ocean. She saw the approaching sails even before the lookouts called out the warning.
“Sail ho, multiple ships to the port side.” The report called down matched with what Cari saw.
The Duke had indeed put together a trap as she anticipated, but he’d sprung the landward side of it a little early. The ships constituting part two of the plan were not yet in position.
Calling up her navigation and seamanship skills, Cari started examining the overlay of vector lines representing currents and air flow in her visual field. She made her decision.
* * *
Quest accepted — break through the fleet
* * *
“Keep us on a course due west, Katie.”
“Aye, ma’am. Due west.”
As the woman at the helm spun the wheel, Helen cleared her throat.
“Questions, Miss Doolan?”
Helen lowered her voice so only Cari could hear over the wind and waves. “Won’t the leading ships of that fleet cut us off before we get very far, Cari?”
“Yes, but only two of them. I’m hoping they don’t realize my plan and alter course to bring more of them to bear on us.
“Won’t two be enough?”
“Two’s better than ten, don’t you think?”
“Fair enough,” Helen said, a wry chuckle in her voice.
“As long as they don’t alter course and continue on a least time vector to catch us, we’ll have the angle to cut across their bows before they can turn to bring all their guns to bear. They’ll only manage to get a single broadside off each before we pass out of their range.”
The shots fired by a broadside down the
bow or up the stern were the ones that did the most damage. Cari’s broadside cannonballs would tear down the length of the Duke’s ships, wreaking havoc and significant damage above and below decks if she planned it right.
“Heck, they might not even get off a single shot if I manage to knock out all their guns.”
“That’ll take a good bit of luck.”
Cari cast a glance at Helen. “And your point?”
“You’re right. Luck we have, at least so far. I’ll head down to the deck and have them load the guns with double shot. If we’re gonna get close enough, that will do the most damage.”
“Good idea. Go for it.”
Cari returned to watching the approaching ships. The fleet numbered ten in all and all of them remained on their original course aimed at the harbor itself. She realized they expected her to turn and run away from them up the coast.
That would be, of course, the worst plan ever since they had the advantage with the wind and the angle to cut them off within half a day, maybe only a few hours. They thought she’d opt to avoid all contact, though and had planned their attack accordingly.
The question remained. How long would it take the Duke’s naval commander to realize Cari wasn’t going to turn.
She made an adjustment to her navigational templates and put a new overlay over the sea. It now showed a shaded area ahead of them which indicated the area and time where the two leading ships would be in range to engage with the Vengeance while she fled to the west.
As the Vengeance continued on their course, Cari watched the shaded area grow narrower and narrower. Then it stopped and held its shape and size.
Cari brought the spyglass up again and realized the naval commander had made his adjustments. She smiled.
It was going to be too late. None of the other ships would be able to catch her. She just had to slip past the two ships farthest to the west.
“We’re locked in, Miss Doolan. We’ll have time for two broadsides to port and maybe a shot with our stern chaser as we pull away from them. Make sure everyone on the guns knows we’re gonna fire and immediately reload with double shot for the second ship.”
Helen called out orders, marching up and down the line of guns on the port side. Now that both Stefan and Rodrigo were gone, it fell to her to take command of the ship’s guns.
Cari returned to watching the approaching ships. All they could do now was wait while the gap closed between the ships.
* * *
———
* * *
“Fire!” Helen bellowed from the main deck.
The cannons on the port side belched flame and smoke as the double shot, twin cannon balls, flew out and slammed into the bow of the ship coming up on their left.
Cheers erupted as part of the ship’s bow caved in revealing the floor between two decks. Cari saw the cannon fire had ripped down the side of the two lower decks knocking over cannons and tearing into the massed crew waiting to fire their guns.
That ship wouldn’t be firing to port any time soon. Water also poured into the lower portion of the jagged hole, dragging the bow down and slowing the vessel.
Cari smiled. Her plan had worked even better than she’d expected. The other ship wouldn’t be able to return fire at all and they might sink altogether before any help arrived.
All the Vengeance had left was the western-most ship of the fleet. This one had a slightly better angle on them. No matter what Cari did or how good their broadside fire, this ship was going to be able to fire back at them.
They’d have to take their chances, though. Cari had committed them to this action.
Helen barked orders down on deck. “Reload and ready the guns to port again. Load single shot this time.”
Cari turned to the bosun standing nearby. “Mr. Dawkins please organize any spare members of the crew you have and send them below to report to the ship’s carpenter. In the coming fight, he may need help with repairs below decks.”
“Expecting us to take serious damage, ma’am?”
“I hope we don’t, but we’ll be in this ship’s sights a bit longer than the last one. They’re going to get their shots off unless we’re fortunate.”
“I’ll get right on it, then.”
The next ship came up fast on their port side. Cari estimated her crew would get off a single broadside before the other ship was able to turn and return fire. The angle wasn’t right for them to cross the bow this time, as they had with the other ship. This captain would be able to turn and match their course for a short time.
Once the two ships turned in tandem, they’d be on a nearly parallel course. That forced Cari and the Vengeance to fight this out ship to ship until she crippled the other vessel enough to break away and continue running.
She gauged the shaded area on the course overlay in her visual field. There was no way to avoid them entirely. They would be forced into a more prolonged action this time.
“Clear for action,” Cari called out. “Fire as you bear, Miss Doolan.”
“Aye, aye, Cap’n.”
A few long minutes passed before the enemy ship sailed into range. Helen Doolan stood by the first gun in the Vengeance’s broadside waiting for the other ship to enter her sights.
“Fire! Fire as you bear.”
The first cannon fired, jerking back against the ropes that kept the gun carriage from careening across the deck and killing someone.
In rapid succession, each of the other guns fired, the gun’s lead crewman waiting until the other ship passed into their sights.
As the smoke cleared, Cari scanned the other ship for damage. There were signs of some damage to their starboard rail and a few lines had been cut, causing a few of their sails to flap uselessly in the wind. It wasn’t enough to slow them though.
Helen urged the crews to load faster but they wouldn’t get another shot off before the other ship fired their guns.
The opposing captain was of a similar mind and turned the ship to bring the guns to bear. They were closer now and would likely do some damage to the Vengeance.
“Brace for incoming fire,” Cari called out. “Take cover.”
Despite the order, Cari stood tall by the ship’s wheel and watched the billowing smoke of the other vessel’s guns announce their shots just before the sound of the massed broadside reached her ears.
Crashes and screams from down on the deck told her more than a few of those shots struck home. She felt the Vengeance shudder under the blows of multiple hits.
Despite having two of their port guns knocked out, Helen kept the crews working and without waiting for Cari’s order shouted “Fire.”
Once again, the Vengeance shook, but this time it was the massed broadside of her own guns causing the vibration.
The ships had drawn even closer together by this time and her broadside struck to devastating effect, caving in a portion of the hull, allowing seawater to pour into the lower decks.
As soon as the water started filling the other ship, it listed at a fifteen-degree tilt to starboard. The gun crews on the other ship managed to fire off one more broadside before their guns tilted to point at the water.
Cari felt more of the cannonballs strike her ship.
Two things happened at once.
Shouts below announced they were taking in water.
At the same time, Katie at the helm shouted a curse. “Damn, I’ve lost control of the wheel. They’ve struck the rudder, ma’am.”
“Either that or a shot damaged the steering mechanism between here and there. Percy, come here.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Get below and apprise the carpenter of our problem. If we’re taking on water, he needs to assess how bad it is quickly. His priority is to keep us from sinking but if we can manage to stay ahead of the leaks with the bilge pumps, then focus on getting us steerage back.”
“Aye, ma’am. I’ll tell him.”
The boy scampered down the steps and jumped down an open hatch to find the carpenter a
nd his damage control crews on the lower decks.
Their adversary was listing ever farther to starboard now and sat very low in the water. Cari was sure they were going to sink unless they got assistance very soon.
The distance between them grew as the Vengeance pulled away, even without being able to steer the ship.
“Mr. Dawkins, try and angle the sails to bring us back on course until the carpenter fixes our rudder. Let’s try not to lose too much of our advantage.”
“Aye, ma’am.”
Cari turned and tried to gauge the courses of the rest of the Duke’s fleet. They had started their turn to follow her, but the Vengeance still had the distance and angle to pull away.
She worked to come up with alternative course corrections depending on the time it took them to get the rudder fixed. It was while she pondered this problem that the lookout aloft called down more bad news.
“Sail ho, dead ahead. Four ships, triangular sail pattern.”
Cari’s head jerked up and she grabbed the spyglass and waited until the new ships cleared the horizon in their course to intercept her ship. They were definitely Sultanate ships.
She swore under her breath. The Duke’s ships knew they had her all along. The two fleets were working together. There was no other explanation. They knew she’d try and run west to Cairn island and raider territory again so they’d set the trap and waited for her.
“Katie, you’re not busy right now. Please go below and tell the carpenter we need that rudder back now.”
“Aye, ma’am.”
Cari turned and looked out west at the approaching ships. It didn’t matter whether they got the rudder fixed or not. There was no way they were getting out of the fight ahead of them. One fleet or the other was going to get a shot at them. The crew of the Vengeance was going to need every ounce of luck they had to get through the coming fight.
Chapter 37
