Chapter 57

I could have called in support from Oak Hall but I didn't. I'd already made a mess of things with Ingrid and I didn't want to alienate her any further by taking over and coming to her people's rescue. Another reason I didn't call in for help was time. It was something that I'd come to learn about from Miranda Scott in the time she sailed with me off of Minos. One of the reasons we got off lucky during the raids was because it took the networks time to organize an effective response to anything that I did. The same rules applied to me. That was why I had to have Elsa and her people standing by while I was in Upper Walpole. You just can't whip up an army and deploy it without some preparation if you want them to do what you had planned for them to do. So instead I left it to the locals to sort matters out on their own and while they did that, I turned my attention to planning my raid on Tobago. For that I would need help from Oak Hall.

Tobago laid a good day's sail from Olaf's Berth. It was to the north of Ingrid's Reach and to the east. With a strong wind behind us we could easily make it before dusk. Unfortunately, doing so would open us to a number of risks, risks that I didn't really feel like taking. Perhaps it was because of what Ingrid had said to me or because of what I had seen at the village and stockade, but for whatever the reason, I didn't want to endanger lives if I didn't have to. Besides without the aid of radar, no one was going to come out to play at night. Attacking tomorrow would be more practical. It would also let me make a few arrangements.

I learned a few other things while waiting to sail from Olaf's Berth. Mai Woo came and provided me with some more intelligence. It turned out that the consortium formed by Gold, Bronze, and Onyx had decided to run their own version of 'Pirate Quest'. While Kessler and his men had been raiding pirate enclaves to the north-west of Ingrid Reach, the networks had been kidnapping ships from various other Earths and they had been dropping them down off the coast of Tobago. Those craft were then set upon by the pirates. In the weeks since I had settled Kessler on Ingrid's Reach, the networks had teleported in almost three dozen ships and boats. Most of those craft had been small pleasure vessels and their crews, made up of day sailors, were ill prepared for what befell them. Mai Woo showed me the numbers and it was appalling. Over two hundred men, women, and children had been transported by the networks and the pirates had killed nearly eighty percent of them. Those that they had kept had been women and they had faired just as poorly as those that had been slain. They had been raped and abused and turned into whores. Learning this just made my blood boil.

It didn't take much to motivate my crew to put on their armour and draw their weapons and prepare for battle. The sight that had greeted us on landing had been enough. When they learned about what had been happening to all the outworlders, it drove them over the edge. Most of them wanted to know why I was dragging my heels. I had to reassure them that I had a plan.

We sailed before dusk that day. It was late but my plan called for us to ride out the night at sea and then to strike at dawn. My men grumbled about that, not certain as to what I was up to, but they trusted me and agreed to do what I said. Ingrid sailed with us.

Our course took us north-west for a couple of hours before we rounded the western headlands and turned east. From there we sailed into the oncoming night along the top of Ingrid's Reach. Halfway down its length we turned north-east and headed out to sea. The night sky was clear and we could see the stars and the moon without much effort. With lookouts posted and extra men on watch, I left the ship in the hands of Tagus and his quartermaster. Once in my cabin with my party, I sat down for the night and started to plan what would happen the next day.

Dawn found us off the western coast of Tobago with the wind behind us and the sun rising in our faces. It found us dressed for action, armed and ready to go. It also found us cutting a straight course towards the pirates' base of operation.

I was standing in the bow of the craft with my spy glass casting my gaze about. Gunners were at their stations as were archers. I had Tobias and his men stationed on the poop deck with my mates and Tagus and his helmsman. I wanted my archers high above what threats we might encounter that day. His party consisted of a mix of crossbowmen and Wu Chin archers with fire arrows. As for a more direct fighting force, I had a party of Wu Chin warriors formed up under Dork. I had a good idea that we'd need them.

Our approach did not go unobserved. The pirates had a boat out patrolling the waters of the bay that sheltered their fleet and the lookouts on the craft were alert. It was one of the armed junks and it reacted as I would have expected it to. A signal flare was launched into the air to herald our presence and then the vessel adjusted its sails and turned out to sea to confront us. Through my spy glass I could see it tacking to take advantage of what breeze it could find and as it came about, I got a good look at the opposing ship.

To my amazement the pirates had strung nets over their bow guns and over the poop deck of the vessel. The nets were held high off of the deck by tall posts so that men could move beneath them. At a glance it was obvious that the pirates had placed the nets as an obstruction against of ballistae flung fire projectiles. They obviously hoped that anything we threw at them would be stopped by the nets before the projectiles could do any damage. I didn't know whether their strategy would work or not, but it was something that I now needed to take into mind. I quickly passed the word to all of my gunners to aim carefully. If we got lucky and I was hoping we would, we could possibly put a few projectiles beneath the netting or perhaps we could set the netting ablaze. We'd have to see.

The flare from the junk roused the people on the shore and on the other junk. While all the longships were pulled up on the white sands of the beach, the other junk had been sitting at anchor just off the coast. With the alarm sounded, its crew hurried to their stations and the skipper of the vessel started to prepare the ship to sail. Quickly men were put to work on the windlass and the ship's anchors were hauled onboard, one at a time.

It would take the second ship time to make itself ready for action and in that time, I knew that we would be engaged by the first junk and the fleet of longships that were being pushed into the sea. Noting this I put my spy glass away and turned to my men. Seeing that they were ready for action, I moved across the deck and past them, heading towards the poop deck and Tagus to give him my final orders.

"Tagus, you old lizard," I called out to my friend, "we about to have a little fun. Keep your bow towards the oncoming junk until I tell you otherwise. Our goal is to press by it and head into to the centre of the fleet of longships. I want you to get in as close as you can get before bringing the Sea Nymph around and taking us back out to sea."

"I'll do it," Tagus shouted back at me, hissing as he spoke, "but I'm not going to be happy about it."

It was the reply that I had expected and I chuckled at that and turned back towards the main deck to wait what was about to happen. I didn't have to wait very long.

The first sign we had that we were under attack was a puff of smoke coming from the bow of the junk followed by a second one. That was followed by the plop of a pair of cannonballs falling short just off our port bow. I grimaced at that and shouted at my men to prepare for incoming. It wasn't long in coming. A minute later another puff of smoke appeared in the bow of the oncoming junk and another cannonball plopped into the blue waters of the bay, this time just off our starboard bow. That shot was followed by another and this time the ball passed through our forward most sail. At that point I ordered my own people to open fire. The way I saw it, even if the oncoming vessel had protective netting, a barrage of flaming projectiles might just make the ship's captain nervous enough to make a mistake.

Nimue was in command of the two ballistae in the bow of the Sea Nymph. At my command she ordered her gunners to engage the on coming ship. Their first shots fell short, but it didn't take long for them to find their mark. When they did, the first pair to hit, they hit the netting on the oncoming ship. The result wasn't completely as you'd have expected. The first two projectiles hit and then bounced off the taut netting and then rolled off of it. One plopped harmlessly into the bay but the other caught on the edge of the netting and when it fell it hit the railing. The clay projectile shatters and the oil inside burst immediately into flames. By then Nimue's gunners had fired off several more projectiles. The ballistae could be cocked and loaded faster than the cannons could and they had a higher rate of fire. The third and a fourth projectile had hit the netting and both of them had bounced off harmlessly into the sea, but the fifth and sixth projectiles did not. Both caught on the netting and hung there waiting for fate to take a hand in things. By then the crew of the junk were busy trying to put out the flames that had started along its starboard railing and its gun crew had fired off another couple of rounds. Considering the frantic nature of the situation on the junk, it was to no surprise that both cannonballs simply passed through our forward most sail and then plopped into the sea.

It was then that fate took hold and the situation changed from frantic to chaotic. We were now coming parallel to the junk on our portside and one of the port ballistae lobed over a projectile that scored a direct hit with one of the clay projectiles tangled up in the netting. The result was that both projectiles shattered. The oil in them splattered everywhere and flames burst into existence. Suddenly the netting was engulfed in fire and black smoke started to rise up heralding our success.

From where I stood I could see men rushing forward in an attempt to haul the forward powder charges out from under the burning netting. Seeing this I ordered our port ballistae to concentrate their fire on that area as we started to slip by the vessel. As well I shouted up to Tobias and his archers and ordered them to open fire. I certainly didn't have to tell them twice.

The junk started to veer off to its starboard at that point, the crew rushing about in a panic as more projectiles dropped down on them and more fires sprung up. Amazingly the enemy crew got off a broadside as we skirted by them. Four small cannons opened up on us and one actually struck us. The ball smashed into a support post of our port railing, close to our aft-castle and it sent up splinters into the air. Surprised I hesitated for a moment and simply watched as we continued on passed the enemy craft.

I didn't hesitate for long. A light bulb popped on and I turned and shouted up to Tagus once more. I told him to bring the helm over hard so that our steer chasers could bear on the enemy vessel as we went by it. When he yelled back that he understood, I took off into the aft-castle and headed towards the stern in a hurry. When I reached the aft gun deck I shouted at the gunners to prepare to fire and to continue to fire until the target was out of range. Hurriedly they rolled their gun carriages into position. A moment later the junk appeared behind us and the gunners touched off their cannons. In quick succession to eighteen pound ball flew out and towards the passing ship.

The balls hit their aft-castle on the port side and they tore holes in them. Quickly the gunners reloaded their cannons and then rolled them back into position. Again the guns spoke, sending their cannonballs flying through the air and filling it with a massive cloud of smoke. The last salvo hit as well doing further damage. After that, the guns fell silent as Tagus corrected his course and the enemy vessel slipped out of range. Leaving the gunners cheerfully readying their cannon once more for when I would have need of it, I left them and headed forward again and back onto the main deck.

By then Tagus was bearing down on the advancing fleet of longships. They were strung out in a single line as if their sheer numbers could intimidate us and force us to come about and flee. I just shook my head at that and laughed. Then I shouted up to Tagus and reminded him to aim for the centre. He shouted back that he knew. I just chuckled and turned my attentions to what was about to happen next.

There really wasn't much to worry about with the oncoming fleet of vessels. The longships were all opened decked, rowed craft that had no armament of any kind. The strength of that kind of vessel was its ability to carry a large contingent of men and deliver them deep into the heart of an enemy's stronghold by travelling up unobstructed rivers. They certainly weren't made for fighting it out at sea against a bigger and stronger opponent. If they were very lucky they might be able to grapple us as we passed by each other. Only by getting their crew aboard the Sea Nymph in force would they begin to be a threat and I wasn't going to let that happen.

We were on them in no time at all. Tagus drove the Sea Nymph towards the centre of the line of ships and instinctively the helmsmen of the approaching ships started to veer off in an attempt to skirt around us. As the longships started to break formation, I gave the order to Nimue to open fire. Immediately the gunners did as I commanded.

The longboats had nets strung from the bowhead to the top of their mast and then to their stern. The first couple of projectiles hit the netting and then they bounced off and plopped harmlessly into the water. I wasn't concerned and told Nimue to keep up her attack. While she did that, I called up to Tobias and told him to have his archers ready with fire arrows. He shouted back his acknowledgement and I turned my attention back to the battle at hand.

While Nimue's gunners had very little success setting the longships ablaze their fire did prove to be an effective deterrent. The incessant and very accurate barrage forced the longships to veer off as we closed on them, opening a gap in their ranks for us to pass through without having to ram our way through and while the bow ballistae might have failed in setting the pirate craft ablaze, the ballistae mounted amidships and the fire arrows did not. With the angle of trajectory changed as we came parallel to the other ships, our ability to score hits improved. Within seconds of opening fire the ballistae on either side of the Sea Nymph registered success. Projectile after projectile struck into the waists of the ships passing us and within no time the vessels were ablaze. When the fire arrows struck home and exploded the effect was spectacular. Men leapt into the waters of the bay as flames shot up around them and wood exploded into deadly fragments.

It was a very grizzly mess that we left in our wake. Of the six longships we had set two ablaze with their crews either dead or floundering in the waters of the bay. By now the second junk was already bearing down on us and we had very little time to act. As their bow cannon spoke I yelled up at Tagus to heel the Sea Nymph over to the port. He did and the shots fell short. I then yelled at him to bring the Sea Nymph to the starboard and take her in towards the junk. Obediently he did as I commanded.

The pirate junk got off another blast of cannons before we were able to close with her. This time we weren't so lucky. One ball hit the aft-castle wall near the starboard railing and it spit out splinters in response. The other ball struck down a sailor rushing about the deck tending lines. The stone ball bowled him over and tore him apart. Men gasped in horror at the sight and I had to admit that it was horrible to see even for one as hardened to the carnage of Game World as I had become.

The pirate tried to grapple us but failed. They also put a broadside into us. This time they succeeded. Fortunately their cannons were only four pounders and for the most part, they hit the side of the Sea Nymph and bounced off. None of them penetrated the hull, although I learned later that there had been some splintering below decks. In response we struck them with our ballistae mounted on our starboard side and hit them with fire arrows. They in turn struck out at us with fire arrows as well. Only a handful struck the Sea Nymph and of those that had only three did any damage and that damage was confined to the structure of the aft-castle starboard outer wall. They actually put a hole in Dork's cabin wall.

Again we shot past the pirate junk. As we did, I shouted at Tagus to bring us about and to take us back out to sea. With an acknowledging cry from the lizard-man, Tagus heeled us over to our port and we turned sharply and began to come about. As we did, the pirate junk tried to turn with us. I watched with curiosity as the skipper of the other vessel heaved his craft over in our wake. Then I responded as you'd expect given the opportunity that the pirates had just presented us. Once more I rushed into the aft-castle and made my way astern so I could alert the gunners in the aft gun deck to prepare for action. In truth, the men were already alerted to what was happening and their guns were primed and rolled into position. All they needed was for the junk to cross their line of fire and they would do all the rest.

I left them to it and returned to the main deck. By now we were losing much of the winds that had driven us in through the pirate fleet and Tagus had ordered our oars into the water. The oars were beating a steady pace and we were maintaining a small lead on the trailing junk while heading away from the island and back out towards the sea. I could easily see that the two longships that we'd torched had already settled below the waves and that the other longships were trying to rescue anyone they could from drowning. It was clear that the longships were no real threat to us and I shouted to Tagus to take us pass them and out towards the other junk. That would be our ultimate target.