Fire in the East

by Harry Sidebottom

  When he was young and had travelled nowhere, his endless talk had won him the name Muirtagh of the Long Road. Now the name fitted the truth, only Ballista ever called him that, and then only occasionally.

  He was happy enough where he was. Sure, he would like to go back home one day, but only once, and then not for long - just long enough to kill the men who had enslaved him, rape their women and burn down their homes.

  The cruise of the Concordia had run as smoothly as the water out of a clock in court. All was warm early October sunshine and gentle breezes for the two days it took to sail from Delos to Cnidus; first east to the island of Ikaros, then south-east down the Sporades chain between the puritans of the island of Kos and the decadents of the mainland of Asia Minor and, finally, to peninsular Cnidus. Here they had stopped for a day to take on water and to inspect the semen-stained thighs of the statue of Aphrodite of Cnidus.

  On the morning they pulled out of Cnidus a sea mist had settled. The captain said that they were not that uncommon in these waters of the southern Aegean; not usually as bad as this, but there was some sort of fret at least half the year. With visibility down to under two miles he set a course along the south coast from Cnidus to Cape Onougnathos, then striking out south-east for the north coast of the island of Syme. An anchored merchantman indicated proximity to Syme. The Concordia slid by and shaped to make for Rhodes.

  ‘Two sails. Directly ahead. Pirates. Goths!’

  There was pandemonium on the deck of the Concordia until the captain bellowed for silence. As the hubbub subsided, he ordered everyone to sit down. Ballista walked with the captain to the prow. There they were, emerging from the sea mist about two miles ahead. There was no mistaking the shape of the vessels, the distinctive double-ended outline, as both fore and aft seemed to sweep up into a prow. One central mast, one steering oar over the starboard quarter, lots of shields hung along the sides. The two Goth craft were each about two-thirds the length of the Concordia but, with only one level of rowers, they were considerably lower in the water.

  ‘ Judging by the length of them, there should be about fifty of the bastards in each,’ said the captain. ‘Of course, you would know all about them.’

  Ballista ignored the implicit gibe at his barbarian origins. He did know a lot about them. They were Borani, a German people within the loose confederation known as the Goths. All such Gothic pirates in these waters were Borani. In recent years, more and more of them had slipped out of the innumerable harbours and creeks of the Black Sea, run down through the Bosphorus and taken to plundering the coasts and islands of the Aegean. These two ships had taken up a good station on a well-used shipping route between the Diabetai islets and the island of Syme.

  ‘Permission to clear for action, Dominus?’

  ‘Carry on. There is no need to run every order through me. You are the captain of this ship. My bodyguard and myself will just add numbers to your marines and put ourselves at the disposal of your optio, your second-in-command.’

  ‘Thank you, Dominus.’ The Captain turned away, then back. ‘Would you order as many as possible of your staff to cram themselves in your cabin below deck, and the rest to shelter in the stern awning?’

  Demetrius had appeared out of nowhere. As Ballista relayed the instructions, he noticed that the youth looked terrified. ‘Demetrius, would you make sure that the staff remain calm?’ The boy seemed to rally with the implied trust placed in him.

  ‘Main deck crew, lower the mainyard, then unstep the mast. Lash both down securely. Forward deck crew, do the same with the bowsprit,’ yelled the captain. On a warship these would be left ashore during action but the captain was not in a position to jettison good timbers at any possible sighting of pirates.

  As Ballista reached the stern, Maximus appeared carrying their war gear, fighting his way against the rush of the staff going below. Ballista slipped his sword belt over his head, unbuckled his military belt and draped them both over his curule chair. He sank to his knees and held his arms aloft to make it easier for Maximus to help him into his mail coat. He felt its weight on his shoulders increasing as he got back to his feet. He buckled his cingulum tightly, pulling some of the mail shirt up through the belt to take some of the weight from his shoulders, and re-slung his sword belt. He tied the thick scarf in the neck of his mail shirt. As he settled his war helm on his head, his fingers fumbled with the laces under his chin. Ballista was always clumsy before battle, but he knew that his fear would go when the action started. By the time he picked up his shield, the three-foot circle of closely joined planks with leather cover and metal boss heavy as he hoisted the central grip, he saw that Maximus had virtually finished wriggling into his own mail shirt, ‘like a salmon swimming upstream’, as the Hibernian himself would have said.

  ‘Marines, arm. Break out the axes and boarding pikes!’ More orders issued from the captain. ‘Engine crews, remove covers, check springs and washers. One test shot.’

  Both Ballista and Maximus were now armed. ‘Another stage on the long road of Muirtagh,’ said Ballista.

  ‘May the gods hold their hands over us.’

  At Maximus’s words each man grinned and punched the other on the left shoulder. As always, Maximus took up his place on Ballista’s right. Without any conscious thought, Ballista went through his own silent pre-battle ritual: right hand to the dagger on his right hip, pull it an inch or so out of its sheath then snap it back; left hand on the scabbard of his sword, right hand pull the blade a couple of inches free then push it back; finally, right hand touch the healing stone tied to the scabbard.

  ‘Oh, shit, here we go again. At least this time it’s not my responsibility.’

  His words were cut off by the twang, slide and thump of the first bolt-thrower’s test shot. The bolt flew far out to the left. It was rapidly followed by three more, two to the right, one to the left. The crew of the starboard rear engine worked feverishly, adjusting the tension of the springs, the twisted bundles of hair that provided its awesome torsion power.

  Yet more orders flowed from the captain: ‘Spare oars to all levels. Spread sand on the deck. Complete silence. Listen for the commands. Only officers to speak.’

  Like the wings of a great bird, the Concordia’s three banks of oars brought her towards her prey. The gap was less than half a mile now.

  ‘Why are they just sitting there? Why don’t the bastards run?’ whispered Maximus.

  ‘Maybe they think that, if they can avoid the ram, about a hundred of them can take our seventy or so marines in a boarding action, despite the Concordia’s advantage in height.’

  ‘Then they are fools, and deserve all they are going to get!’

  ‘Forward engines open fire at 150 yards!’

  Water hissed down the hull, and the gap closed swiftly. Twang, slide, thump went the starboard bolt-thrower. With staggering speed, the bolt shot away from the Concordia. For a second it looked as if it would hit the enemy boat head on but instead it skimmed just above the heads of the Gothic warriors. Already the crew were winching back the slide for the next missile. The near miss had the effect of stirring an anthill. Across the water rolled the barritus, the German war cry, a rising roar. One barbarian was frantically waving a bright-red shield above his head.

  ‘Shit! Oh shit!’ someone shouted in the prow. Out from behind the low rocky humps of the Diabetai islets rowed two more Goth ships.

  ‘I suppose we know now why they didn’t run,’ whispered Maximus.

  ‘Prepare for fast turn to left!’ There was little over one hundred yards separating the Concordia from the first two Gothic vessels. ‘On my signal starboard side row on at full pressure, port side back her down hard, helmsman hard over!’ There was just the noise of the ship slicing through the water. ‘Now!’

  The Concordia heeled to the right. The lowest level of oar ports were on or even below the surface. A thousand joints of wood screamed in complaint. The mainmast shifted against its restraining ropes. But the ship turned like an eel. She rac
ed broadside on across the prows of the Goths only some twenty yards distant. Then she was levelling out and heading away. She had turned through 180 degrees in less than three times her own length.

  A whir, and something slammed into the deck a couple of yards from Ballista.

  ‘Arrows! Shields up!’ Cursing his own thoughtlessness, Ballista crouched behind his heavy planks of linden wood. There were more thumps and clangs as arrows found wood or metal. Somewhere, a man screamed as one found exposed flesh. Then, twice in close succession, twang, slide, thump as the rear two bolt-throwers answered the Gothic bowmen. Ballista peeped over his shield, then ducked down. Another flight of arrows was coming. This time, more men screamed. The captain was standing beside Ballista. The northerner felt shamed by the man’s coolness.

  ‘We can outrun them no problem. But we might fi-’ The arrowhead appeared shockingly out of his throat. There was surprisingly little blood. The captain seemed to look down at it in horror, then toppled forward. As the arrowhead hit the deck the shaft broke deep in his neck, wrenching the wound open, and now blood spurted everywhere.

  Keeping his shield raised towards the stern, and with Maximus also trying to shield him, Ballista went over to the helmsman. He moved hunched forward as if walking into heavy rain. The helmsman, although protected by the up-curved stern of the ship and the shields of two marines, looked frantic. His eyes were fixed on the dead body of his captain. If something were not done, the morale of the Concordia could collapse like a punctured wineskin. Dozens of bowmen were shooting into the ship, and her only reply was two bolt-throwers.

  ‘I am assuming command,’ Ballista said to the helmsman. ‘Are you unhurt?’

  ‘Yes, Dominus.’ The man looked dubious. Ballista knew that he doubted if this northerner had ever commanded a trireme. He was right to doubt.

  Raising his voice against the noises of the ship and the unequal missile battle, Ballista called out, ‘I am in command! Optio to me! Rowing master, are you injured? Bow officer, are you?’

  Both the ship’s officers raised their hands in a stiff-armed salute and called back the standard military response: ‘We will do what is ordered, and at every command we will be ready.’

  ‘Where the bloody hell is the optio?’

  ‘Among the wounded, Dominus,’ someone answered.

  ‘Right. Marines, you will take commands from me. Helmsman, take charge of the rowing of the ship. Just get her out of this arrow storm, now! But not too far out. I know that we can outrun them. But they probably won’t know that. Northern barbarians cannot imagine what an imperial trireme can do in action until they see it. I should know!’ He laughed grimly. ‘Try and keep her about a hundred to a hundred and fifty yards in front of them. Just at the limit of effective bow shot. Keep them interested. If they don’t keep together we can pick them off one by one.’ At that instant, Ballista remembered the merchantman anchored off Syme and, with a determined grin, said, ‘I have a plan.’

  By the time the merchantman came into sight again, the swan stern of the Concordia looked like a pin cushion but only a few more men had been hit, and Ballista’s hopes were being realized. The largest of the Gothic longboats had pulled seven or eight boat lengths ahead of its original companion. Ballista estimated the crew to be at least a hundred warriors, who rowed with purpose, as if galvanized by the presence of ‘red shield’, who was obviously their leader. The original two longboats had a sizeable headstart over the other two enemy craft, which had been hiding behind the Diabetai islets. The latter were now tailed off, lagging a good half-mile behind the second boat. Ballista told the helmsman to take the Concordia to the right of the merchantman, keeping as close to her side as possible. It was almost time to put his plan into operation.

  As the ram neared the prow of the motionless merchantman, Ballista called out a string of orders. ‘Prepare for fast turn to left! On my command, port oars bank down hard, starboard oars row hard, helmsman put steering oars hard over!’ The high side of the big round ship shot by the Concordia.

  Allfather, let me get this right, thought Ballista. He could all too easily imagine calling the order too soon and the Concordia’s port-side oars breaking on the stern of the merchantman, or too late, and the whole plan failing at the start.

  ‘Turn now!’

  Again, the long warship tipped, her starboard lower oar ports dipped to the water line. Again, thousands of pieces of wooden joinery squealed, and the great mainmast strained against its lashings. Two bearded faces looked on in astonishment over the stern rail of the merchantman as the Concordia raced past. In a matter of moments, Ballista shouted for the helmsman to straighten her up and for the left-hand rowers to resume their stroke. Now the Concordia was racing back the way she had come but down the other side of the merchantman.

  Just as Ballista had hoped, when they emerged from the shadow of the merchant there was the following Gothic ship still chasing the trireme’s wake, blindly following her original course. The Goth’s beam was wide open to the Concordia’s ram.

  ‘Helmsman, sheer the enemy oars! Rowers, ramming speed!’ In a deft movement the steering oars angled the warship into the longboat. ‘Port oars, prepare to come inboard.’ Seconds passed. How soon, how bloody soon? worried Ballista. Now! ‘Oars inboard!’

  Not a moment too soon the great sweeps were drawn inboard out of harm’s way. The helmsman threw the steering oars to the right, and the iron ram struck the hull of the Gothic ship at a glancing angle. There was a terrible noise of metal into wood as the ram raked down the flank of the enemy longboat. The Goths, taken completely by surprise, had no time to recover their oars. They splintered like kindling. As the Concordia passed, some of her marines, without being ordered, hurled darts down from her higher deck into the northern ship. Cries of anguish and pain floated up.

  Bugger! I should have thought to tell the marines to do that, thought Ballista as the stern of the trireme cleared the enemy. But his stratagem had worked. The Goths had been given no time to react and, now, with half their oars gone, they lay dead in the water.

  ‘Aim for the second longboat, bow to bow ram,’ Ballista shouted to the helmsman.

  The second crew of Goths was as surprised as the first. Now they tried to turn away. Their rising panic was easy to see in their missed strokes and the longboat’s sluggish response.

  ‘Ramming speed!’ bellowed the helmsman. The Concordia surged ahead. ‘Brace for ramming!’ With an almighty crash of splintering wood the ram punched into the enemy beam. The impact knocked Ballista to the deck. Maximus hauled him up. Ballista was winded. Bent double, he tried to suck air back into his lungs. He heard the helmsman shout, ‘Back water! Back water! Full pressure!’

  The Concordia seemed stuck fast, her ram embedded deep in the wreckage of the other ship. This crew was quicker-thinking than the other Goths. Already, grappling hooks trailing lines of thick rope were curving through the air towards the theme’s prow.

  ‘Back water! Push, you fuckers! Push!’ The helmsman’s shouts sounded desperate. ‘Marines, use the boarding pikes to fend her off!’

  Straightening up, Ballista set off at a painful run to the prow. If they did not get clear, they would be sitting ducks when the other two Goths came up. Grabbing a boarding pike, he moved to the rail. As he got there, a bearded face appeared over the side. From the right, Maximus’s shield punched into the Goth’s face, sending the man sprawling and bloodied to the deck of his ship. Ramming the pike into the hull of the rapidly settling longboat, Ballista pushed with all his strength. A marine joined him. Maximus held his shield over them. For what seemed an eternity, nothing moved. Out of the corner of his eye Ballista saw a marine leap up on to the rail itself. Somehow, the man balanced there, swinging an axe down on to one of the ropes that now bound the Concordia to the Gothic ship. After three cuts an arrow caught the marine in the thigh. With a yell he fell over the side. By the time Ballista had drawn two or three laboured breaths a second marine was on the rail. One powerful swing of his ax
e, the rope parted, and the marine jumped back down on to the deck.

  ‘One, two, three, PUSH!’ Ballista realized that it was he who was shouting, trying to get the words out despite his aching chest, trying to make them heard above the terrible din of battle. ‘PUSH!’

  At last, with a wrenching sound, the Concordia began to move. Slowly at first, then gathering way, she backed away from the Goth. Twang, slide, thump, the crew of the two forward bolt-throwers had the presence of mind to add to the problems of the Gothic crew. A three-foot artillery bolt punched through one Goth’s mail shirt and nailed him to the mast.

  The barbarian vessel was unlikely to sink to the bottom. Wooden warships tended to become waterlogged, settle in the water and eventually break up. The Goths in the water or clinging to the wreckage could be left to drown of their own accord or, if there were time, used for target practice later. Either way, they were no longer of any account in this battle.

  Ballista needed to know what the other Goth ships were up to. Peering from well behind his shield, he saw that the two unengaged vessels were already turning away. They were still almost half a mile away, and the Concordia had a tired crew. There was no point in thinking of giving chase. Ballista ran to look over the stern. The Goth ship they had raked had managed to redistribute its remaining oars and was trying to limp from the scene.

  ‘Helmsman, put us about a hundred and fifty yards away from that ship. We will call on them to surrender. But we will be ready to fight them.’ As his order was carried out, Ballista, with Maximus at his right shoulder as ever, moved along the deck, talking to the marines and deckhands; words of praise here, sympathy for the wounded there.

  The optio who had been wounded early on made his report. There were just three dead, including the captain, but ten wounded, including the optio himself. All the casualties were marines except one. As he finished, he stood awkwardly, fidgeting with the bandage on his arm. Then Ballista spoke the words the optio had been praying for. ‘With the captain dead you will assume command of the ship as acting trierarch until you return to Ravenna.’