Pirate of the Prophecy

by Jack Campbell

  “Blazes,” Liv said. “Good call, Ang. How ’bout we run the rest of the way?”

  Jules followed as Ang and Liv broke into a run toward the Sun Queen.

  Chapter Fourteen

  As Jules dashed up the gangway a sailor on the Sun Queen yelled at her. “There’s an Imperial warship on the way! Coming from the east!”

  “I know!” Jules shouted back. She ran up onto the quarterdeck, where Captain Mak already stood. “Captain, to be here this quickly they must have left Sandurin during the storm. That’s against normal Imperial practice, but Prince Ostin could have overridden objections and ordered them out despite the risks.” She paused to look at the town behind her.

  The formerly quiet settlement had erupted into activity. Sailors boiled out of bars and taverns and restaurants like ants from a disturbed nest, all dashing to their ships. None of them wanted to be in port when an Imperial warship showed up.

  The residents of the settlement were hurriedly closing up shop so they could hide every item smuggled out of Imperial territory without the proper tax stamps and approvals. Others were heading inland, where they could hide until the Imperials left. Jules saw a column of people heading toward the pass to the west and guessed that they were those freed from Sandurin, making a quick departure since they were very likely one of the targets of the Imperial warship.

  The Sun Queen, and Jules herself, surely being other targets. “Maybe I should go with them,” Jules said, indicating those heading for the pass to the west.

  “You’d be seen,” Mak said. “And that would ensure the Emperor sent a force after them, and you.”

  “But if I stay aboard the Sun Queen…” Jules shook her head at Mak. “What right do I have to demand that the crew of this ship be part of my distracting the Emperor?”

  “I don’t recall hearing any demands from you,” Mak said. “Ang! How many are left ashore?”

  “I think five, Captain!” Ang called back.

  “Keep an eye out for them. If we don’t see them in the next few moments we’ll have to get underway and come back later when it’s safe.”

  Jules looked around the harbor, counting ships. In addition to several small craft, fishing boats and long boats, there were two sloops and the three-masted Star Seeker in port along with the Sun Queen. “Four large ships. If we all reach the harbor exit at the same time we’ll collide and block it.”

  “No one’s going to want to wait for anyone else to go through first,” Mak said. “We might have to shoulder aside those sloops.”

  “Mast in sight to the east!” the lookout called from the top of the Sun Queen’s mainmast.

  “Ang! How many?”

  “Two still missing! I say we go and pick ’em up later!”

  “Take in all lines! Make sail! Jeri, keep an eye on the other three ships.”

  Jules stood at the rail, watching the frantic activity on the sloops and the Star Seeker. One mast. That meant an Imperial war galley.

  The lines were coming in as the sails were unfurled and began catching the wind. One of the advantages of having a large crew for piracy was that in an emergency a lot could get done all at once. “One of the sloops is leaving the pier, Captain,” Jules called.

  “How’s the Star Seeker?”

  “She’s starting to take in lines, Captain.”

  “Another mast!” the lookout called down. “Another galley behind the first!”

  Two Imperial war galleys. “The Emperor may be a little upset with you,” Mak told Jules.

  “Him or Prince Ostin,” Jules said. “Sir, two galleys means four ballistae, two on each. Plus at least twenty legionaries with crossbows and swords on each. And the oar-handlers.”

  “You’re not telling me anything that I don’t already know,” Mak said. “We’re going to do all we can to avoid coming to grips with them. If it comes down to close action, your knowledge of how those galleys operate could be vital. You’re the only person on this ship who’s actually served on an Imperial war galley. Stay by me, keep your eyes open, and tell me anything that you think I need to hear.”

  “The biggest thing our training emphasized,” Jules said, “was thinking ahead as far as possible. You can maneuver a galley fast, but it burns out the rowers just as fast. Anticipate the other ship’s movements, plan to be where they’ll be, and use the galley’s existing movement as much as possible without changes in course and speed that use up the rowers.”

  Mak listened, his eyes intent. “We need to mess with that, then, if those galleys get close. Make them think they know where we’re going, then do something different. Jules, I need you to get in the heads of the captains of those galleys. Figure out what they’re going to be thinking, what they’re going to be planning, and tell me. Forget about this ship. I’ll maneuver the Queen.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jules said. “I’ll try my best, sir.” She grabbed hold of the quarterdeck rail as the Sun Queen left the pier, crew members pulling on the brace lines to shift the yardarms. “Star Seeker is moving away from her pier, and the second sloop is underway as well.”

  Mak stood for a moment watching the movements of the other ships relative to the Sun Queen, which was slowly moving faster under the push of the wind. “Blazes. Either we go through the harbor exit side by side with Star Seeker, which will make it all too likely that one of us will go aground, or one of us will have to hold back for the other.”

  “Star Seeker has a slight reach on us,” Jules said. “We should follow astern of her.”

  “I agree. If I was in command of Star Seeker I wouldn’t furl any sails to let someone else get past me. But I’m going to stay as close behind her as I can.” Mak looked a little farther over. “Keep an eye on that second sloop.”

  Jules nodded, seeing how low the sloop was riding and how frenzied the actions of the sloop’s crew seemed. “He’s probably got a hold full of smuggled goods.”

  “Too bad for him,” Mak said. “If we have to shoulder him aside, we will.”

  As the Sun Queen swung to port, lining up with the exit from the harbor, Jules saw the first sloop nearing the exit well ahead of the other ships. Star Seeker was to starboard of the Queen and just forward of amidships as both ships slowly picked up speed. The second sloop was behind both as it left its pier and tried to get all sails set. “We’ve also got a fishing boat coming out,” Jules warned Mak. “Aft port quarter. He shouldn’t be any problem for us.”

  “Good.” Mak kept his focus on ordering the yardarms set to gain the maximum advantage from the wind on this heading.

  Jules went to the port side of the quarterdeck, gazing to the east, where the masts of the two war galleys were now visible from this height. The galleys had their sails fully unfurled, running nearly even with the westerly wind. Even so they couldn’t match the speed of the sailing ships, but if they got close enough their oarsmen could put on a burst of speed and catch the ships before they got clear.

  She watched the masts coming closer, trying to judge if the Sun Queen would make it.

  Jules grabbed onto the rail as the Sun Queen yawed to starboard, then back to port, coming in directly behind the Star Seeker. “I think we’ll be good,” she said to the Captain, spinning to check on the second sloop.

  Which was coming in recklessly, trying to get ahead of the Sun Queen even though it was too far back to have any chance of that. “Watch out for the second sloop just aft of the starboard beam! He’s coming in!”

  “He’s trying to make us back down,” Mak said, as angry as Jules had ever seen him.

  “Are we going to evade?”

  “We can’t! We’d run aground on the side of the channel.” Mak judged the movements of the two ships. “Bring her a point to starboard!” he ordered the helm. “We need to meet that sloop on a course that won’t shove us too far to port.”

  The Sun Queen swung a bit to the right, closing more rapidly on the sloop angling in from starboard. “Back off, you fools!” Ang shouted across the rapidly narrowing gap between th
e two ships. But the sloop kept coming.

  A moment later the Sun Queen shook with the force of a collision, the deck heeling over to port, as the sloop struck her just aft of amidships.

  Jules felt the Queen’s movement altering and looked up to see that one of the sloop’s yardarms had gotten entangled with the rigging on the Sun Queen, holding the two ships together.

  The Sun Queen slewed to starboard, slowing, as the sloop dragged at her. Sailors were hurling curses and threats back and forth between the two ships, the voice of Ang rising above others on the Queen. “Cut it free! Cut it free!”

  Sailors on the Sun Queen ran up into the rigging, their axes attacking the lines holding the sloop’s yardarm and the yardarm itself, trying to chop it free. On the sloop, sailors were making confused attempts to push the two ships apart.

  Jules wrenched her gaze back to the galleys, seeing that the hulls were coming into sight. The oars were out, swinging in the slow cadence of assist to the sail, giving the galleys a little more speed without wearing out the rowers. She could see the ballistae on each galley, one mounted before the mast and one behind, swinging to aim toward the exit from the harbor. Legionaries were gathered near the bows of the galleys. She knew they’d be armed with crossbows.

  Put herself on those galleys. Imagine herself standing by the helm, seeing her prey trying to escape the harbor. Seeing the two ships entangled. Seeing the Star Seeker about to clear the harbor. Two apparently certain catches, and one getting away. “They’re going to target the Star Seeker with their ballistae!” Jules called to Captain Mak.

  The Sun Queen lurched as the sloop’s yardarm came free, the two ships drifting apart, Captain Mak shouting orders to get the sails trimmed again and the ship moving toward the harbor exit once more. Jules heard the sailors on the sloop yelling curses at the Queen’s crew but felt no sympathy as the Sun Queen began drawing ahead again.

  The thunks of two ballistae shooting came across the water. Jules could see the dark specks of the rocks they’d launched arcing over the water and splashing just astern of the Star Seeker as she made it out of the harbor. Moments later the second galley shot, its projectiles also falling just short of the target.

  “We’re not going to make it, Captain,” Jules said, her eyes on the approaching galleys. “They’ll be on us right after we clear the harbor.”

  “What do we do, Jules? Give me ideas.”

  The Sun Queen continued to pick up speed again, but the galleys were approaching steadily from the east.

  Jules saw the Star Seeker veer south instead of running to the west, cutting across the path of the galleys. “Sir, instead of running out of range the Seeker is maneuvering to keep them launching at her!”

  “We owe them,” Mak said.

  More thunks echoed across the water. Jules saw one projectile splash just short of the Seeker, the second flying above the ship, ripping a hole in the mainsail, and on to splash in the water on the other side.

  How long would the galleys spend trying to catch the Seeker? “They’re going to keep coming this way,” Jules told Mak. “Using their ballistae to try to hit the Star Seeker as long as they can while getting close enough to clear our decks with crossbow fire and then board us.”

  “What do I do, Jules?” Mak asked her, sounding calm, but his eyes telling her how badly he needed an answer that would save the ship.

  She watched the galleys, imagining herself on them, remembering the ways they trained and fought. “They’re going to sprint toward us as we clear the harbor. Trying to get on us before we can get the wind behind us and run. The oars will start attack rhythm when the galleys are about a thousand lances from us.”

  “All right,” Mak said. “Can we outrun them?”

  “No. That’s exactly what they’re going to expect us to try to do, though.” Jules tried to sense the wind and wave, judging the sea outside the harbor as they neared the exit. “We need to do what they don’t expect, what they’ll have the hardest time countering.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Attack.”

  Mak took a moment to reply. “Attack?”

  “Yes, Captain! When I give the word, we should swing the Sun Queen about to the east and tack as straight toward the galleys as we can!”

  More thunks as more projectiles chased the Star Seeker. Judging the distance, Jules knew the galleys would give up on that target very soon. “The ballistae may target us on the next volleys. Captain, did you hear my advice? We need to charge at the galleys.”

  “I heard,” Mak said. “Give me the word when to do it.”

  “Yes, sir.” Despite the tension riding along her skin, Jules felt a moment of joy that Mak was accepting her advice, taking her word on what to do, trusting in her.

  But that also meant the lives of everyone aboard were riding on her. Possibly the future freedom of the world, if she died rather than surrender. Jules tried not to think about that, tried to focus only on what the galleys were doing and the feel of the Sun Queen and the sweep of the wind across her deck and the feel of the water and… “Here they come.”

  Strange how she could say that so calmly.

  The oars of the galleys swept up and around, huge, graceful wings striking the water on each side, moving as if every oar were tied to the same mind and the same muscles, the oars hitting the water smoothly, sweeping back and up in a flurry of white spray, coming forward again, the faint sound of the drum beating the rhythm coming across the water to where Jules stood. Boom…boom…boom… Fast, putting the galleys into a sprint, using up the strength of the rowers as rapidly as water draining through a hole in a bucket. The Sun Queen had cleared the harbor, but Mak held her on course, waiting for Jules to tell him when to turn.

  “Stand by,” Jules said, her mouth dry. The galleys were nearly bow on to the Sun Queen, only the forward ballistae on each able to launch at the sailing ship. Jules saw the ballistae launch a moment before she heard the thunks, seeing two dark projectiles flying at the Sun Queen, flying toward her. One went slightly wide, splashing alongside the Queen. The other passed overhead with at least one tearing sound that marked a sail pierced.

  The galleys were only five hundred lances away, legionaries with crossbows visible in the bows, looking over the curved, raised bow armor that protected them and the rowers behind them. There were other ranks of armor running across above the rowers, widely enough spaced to let the oars move and angled back to protect against projectiles launched at the galleys during their attack run. “Now, sir! Bring her about! As close to directly at the galleys as you can!”

  The Sun Queen yawed as the helm went over hard to port, deck tilting, the masts leaning out over the water to starboard, Mak yelling commands to the sailors to shift the yardarms in order to catch any available wind as the ship came about.

  As the ship swung about, Jules pivoted to keep her eyes on the galleys. The captains of the two Imperial ships would’ve been expecting the Sun Queen to turn. They wouldn’t have been surprised when the turn started. It would take them a few moments to realize that the Queen wasn’t turning away as expected, but toward them. A few moments of surprise. A few more moments trying to adjust to a very different situation than expected. A few more moments realizing what they needed to do. As both galleys raced toward their meeting with the Sun Queen.

  She’d been on galleys practicing for such attacks. Been worried by how the attack plans assumed the targeted ship would behave in exactly one way. Been chastised for suggesting that maybe a ship would try something else.

  They trained assuming the enemy would do as they wanted. With the enemy doing something else, they wouldn’t react quickly, having to think through what needed to be done. Maybe their thinking and their reactions would be slow enough to save the Sun Queen.

  Jules saw orders being called on the Imperial warships as the galleys were just short of passing the Sun Queen on each side. Even though the sailing ship had slowed as she turned into the wind, the galleys had kept charging, the row
ers following their orders, the sails still drawing wind, while the captains of the galleys tried to understand what had happened.

  The oars stopped, suspended in the air, as the galleys swept past the Sun Queen on either side. Only the captain on the galley to starboard had the presence of mind to order the crossbows to shoot, but because of the speed with which the ships were passing the bolts all went wild.

  “Bring us around,” Jules told Mak. “Head south on a beam reach.”

  Mak gave the order, the Sun Queen swinging to starboard to head south, the wind in her sails strengthening. But she was still moving slowly compared to what the galleys could manage in a sprint.

  Jules kept her eyes on the galleys. One was using both sets of oars to back the ship down, the oars digging into the water to slow the galley so it could turn and go back after the Sun Queen. The second galley’s captain was smarter, using the oars on each side in the opposite direction to turn the galley as quickly as possible. But both galleys had been going in one direction at the best speed they could manage. Turning them, getting them going in another direction, meant overcoming all the force they’d put into the galleys earlier. And their rowers were tired now, feeling the strain after the sprint to attack the Sun Queen.

  The after ballistae on both galleys belatedly launched their projectiles. Jules felt a shock through her feet and heard the crunch of broken wood as one of the stones hit the Queen’s hull.

  “As long as they don’t hit a mast, I think we’ve got a chance,” Mak said from beside her. “Blazes, Jules. That was some fine work. You called it perfectly.”

  “Thank you, sir.” She pointed to the galley that had turned most quickly. “That one’s still going to give us trouble.”

  “How much longer can he push the rowers?” Mak asked.

  “That’s a good question.” Jules watched the galley building up speed. The other galley had fallen well behind, the exhausted rowers unable to get it moving at a decent clip and the single sail no match for the three-masted Sun Queen. But the Queen had lost speed turning into the wind and needed time to build up her own pace again, putting her in danger from the faster galley. “He’s going to come across our bow to force us to either turn or back down. If we ram him we might cripple that galley, but that’d leave us helpless against the other.”