The Dark Empress slipped away from the jetty amid cries of distress and bellows of rage from the reserve port guard who were even now making their way down to the waterfront to find their compatriots largely unconscious or incapacitated. From where Ghassan stood on the command deck he could make out more and more figures appearing from between buildings and rushing around the port. The town guard were now fully alerted and ever more reinforcements were being drafted into the harbour area. Ghassan smiled. They weren’t the worry, unless they were superhuman swimmers.
He glanced away to his right as the Empress began to turn under the power of her determined oarsmen. They were the worry: the four Imperial daram docked further along the waterfront. Even now he could see their crews scrambling around on deck like a colony of ants, rushing to get the vessels underway and in pursuit of their escaping prize. He knew two of those ships well; knew their captains and some of the crew. They were good men and very capable sailors. Any pirate worth his salt would be soiling his trousers at the sight of those four beginning to burst into life.
Ghassan nodded with satisfaction.
Of course, he wasn’t a pirate… not as such. But then he could hardly claim to be a naval officer these days. What he was was an interested third party with a good, objective viewpoint. A smile slid into a grin. And, of course, because he was neither soldier not pirate, he was bound by no rules.
He staggered slightly as he tried to keep his gaze locked on those ships while the Empress completed her swing around and the reverse rowing stopped. Like one of those wind-up Pelasian toy birds, everything fell mechanically in to place; this crew were every bit as good as those of the Wind of God had been. The oars were repositioned once again and the ship drifted to a stop before beginning, very slowly, to pick up forward momentum. Staggering again, he looked down. The wound in his thigh, though it had been expertly dealt with, still weakened him and if he turned sharply or unexpectedly on that leg, he momentarily lost the strength in it.
Righting himself, he turned toward the stern to keep his eyes on the port as the Empress began finally to come straight and head out toward open sea. The commotion on the dock was immense. He watched tensely as artillery was cranked and loaded on the towers marking the seaward end of the port walls, where they gave way to the lower and non-defensive harbour wall. These catapults were a new defensive measure against invasion since Imperial control had once more been asserted and it was they that were the first hurdle to overcome. Nothing for it but to pray and row. There was nothing they could have done with the artillery given their time and resources, but the pirates had two things on their side: firstly surprise; the Empress would hopefully be out of range before they were ready to fire; and secondly, even if that wasn’t the case, the artillerists would have drilled for this moment, but would never yet have had the opportunity to fire a live shot in a combat situation. Their crews were trained but green and inexperienced and Ghassan knew just how hard it was to operate artillery effectively for the first time.
He nodded as he judged the distance. One tower might…
He held his breath as there was a distant ‘twang’ and a dull thud. A rock the size of a wine cask hurtled through the air from the nearest tower, followed almost instantaneously by a second from the other side of the port.
The near shot was clearly very badly aimed and not only fell some six hundred yards short of the target, but also around three ship-widths off to starboard. The other tower was far out of range and clearly no threat as the missile from there disappeared with a distant splash.
Grimacing, Ghassan turned back to the Imperial ships. They were already getting underway and, having been docked with their stern to land, as was the traditional way of the navy, they had no intricate manoeuvring to perform before they made for sea. There were times that any good captain had to rely on the abilities of others and when he himself had no bearing on the outcome of events… Ghassan hated those times.
Two of the four ships were already slipping from the jetty, with the others already moving. They would be very close on the Empress’ tail, or possibly even ahead of her. Even now, though he couldn’t see it, he knew damn well that the artillery crews on all four ships would be loading and priming their own fire throwers and catapults, though they wouldn’t begin to use them until they were clear of the harbour.
There was the sound of pounding feet and Ghassan turned to see one of the men, someone he vaguely recognised, running toward him.
“Yes?”
“Sir, Ursa wants permission to unfurl the sails.”
Ghassan shook his head.
“Tell mister Ursa the sails stay furled for now. Oar power only until I give the order.”
“Sir?”
“Just tell him.”
The man shrugged and ran off. Ghassan turned back to the four daram sliding through the water straight out to sea on an intercept course. He couldn’t tell just yet…
He was still concentrating on the four ships and frowning into the night when he heard more boot steps. Without turning, he cleared his throat.
“No sails, mister Ursa.”
“We’ve got to catch the little wind there is to get out ahead! Look at that… the enemy ships have unfurled their sails. We’re going to lose the lead we have in minutes!”
Ghassan smiled enigmatically.
“I may not be Samir, Ursa, but I have commanded a daram for years and I do know what I’m doing. I’m rather hoping that they match our speed or even outpace us, but I want to be ready to slow to a halt any minute.”
Turning, he unleashed what Ursa considered to be a mad grin.
“Here’s your next job: we’re angling toward the centre of the harbour to head out to sea. Before we turn, keep a sharp eye out. If everything is going according to plan and the Gods are smiling on us tonight, you’ll spot a rowing boat. When you do, we need to stop and take its crew aboard. If it’s not there, then we’re in trouble and we might have a hell of a fight on our hands.”
Ursa narrowed his eyes.
“You’re almost as irritating as your brother, sir!”
Ghassan laughed.
“Why thank you. Now keep an eye out.”
Ursa nodded and peered off into the darkness, the sea sparkling and reflecting flashes of moonlight here in the harbour where the waves were low and the water remarkably still. The two men stood watching in a strange silence, while all about them was chaos; the roaring and grunting of the oarsmen as they heaved to bring the ship toward the centre of the harbour, the distant shouts and cries on board the enemy vessels, the commotion on the docks and the towers. It was almost unreal, standing calmly in the middle of this, particularly for Ursa, apparently, who appeared so taut he could snap at any moment.
Moments slid past with the dark water as the five vessels converged on the entrance to the harbour. Ursa ground his teeth.
“They’re going to get there first and be able to block us in!”
“Faith, Ursa… faith” Ghassan replied. “Without faith, even Gods fail.”
The big, bald pirate glowered at him and mumbled something that sounded unflattering under his breath.
“There!” Ghassan called.
The first officer blinked. Damn it, this man’s eyesight was good. It took a moment peering into the dark waters for the burly man to pick out the shape of the boat bobbing around in the darkness.
“Full stop!” he bellowed at the crew. The oarsmen, taken by surprise, took a moment to sort themselves out, but very quickly the Empress slowed to a halt, just beyond the small boat. Its four occupants rowed as fast as they could to catch up with the pirate vessel.
“This had better be important” the big man grumbled to his commander. “Those four ships are way out ahead of us now.”
Ghassan smiled.
“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised shortly, Ursa.”
The big man looked down at the four new arrivals who were beginning to climb the rope ladder at the side. Three men and a woman, all dressed in low-class utilitarian clothes and all dark grey and black.
“Who the hell are these people?”
Again Ghassan turned his smile to his second in command.
“My brother has the honour of knowing a great number of people in low places in the port of M’Dahz. I persuaded a few of them to rise above the waterline for an hour or two, in return for the promise of considerable recompense.”
“They’re port dogs? Some of them have morals that would make an executioner blush!”
Ghassan nodded.
“But they have their uses, Ursa. We will be giving them passage out of the port for now and putting them ashore once again when we meet up with my brother.”
“If we meet up with your brother!”
That grin was starting to get on Ursa’s nerves. Something about the tall officer’s face actually managed to make his enigmatic smile even more irritating than captain Samir’s. As he grumbled under his breath, the last of the four dishevelled villains from M’Dahz climbed aboard.
“Get underway as fast as we can, mister Ursa. Still just the oars, though. Make for the harbour entrance…”
Ursa shook his head.
“Look sir. The navy are already there. They only have to manoeuvre into position and they can pull us to pieces.”
“Yes,” Ghassan grinned “that could well have been the case. However, you will find in a moment that it actually isn’t. As soon as we’re at the harbour entrance I want hard a-port. Swing round and follow the coast west. As soon as we’re out of harbour and in open sea and making for Pelasian waters you can unfurl as many sails as you like, but until then I want the tight manoeuvrability of oars alone. Your port turn might have to be the sharpest you’ll ever make.”
Ursa narrowed his eyes.
“It would help us poor mortals if you and your brother occasionally shared your plans with the rest of us.”
“And spoil the surprise? Watch and learn, Ursa.”
The Dark Empress cut through the waves, bearing down on the entrance to the harbour where the four imperial ships in tight formation had just arrived. From his position, following them, Ursa was surprised to hear sudden cries of alarm from the vessels ahead.
“What’s happening?” he asked, of no one in particular.
Frowning and squinting into the distance, he watched the ships which, having begun to bank for positioning to blockade the Empress in, suddenly started jerking wildly around, two even colliding lightly as they continued on a roughly straight course, heading directly out to sea. There was a desperate commotion and the four ships were suddenly trying to sort themselves out and reverse their oars.
“What did you do?” he asked, turning to his temporary captain.
Ghassan smiled.
“Our four friends here have spent the last hour or two emulating what Asima did to my ship before you attacked us. These captains had no reason to bank until they reached the open sea, since they were facing the entrance while in dock. As soon as they got there ahead of us, they hauled on the rudders to turn and discovered that some villainous scoundrel has sawn most of the way through them. If you listened you could hear the cracks as they gave way and left them with no way to maneuvre.”
His smile widened.
“They’ll get back on track with steering oars, just like we did, but you’ll remember the disadvantage that put us at. And, of course, because they’re facing directly away from us, they can’t fire their artillery without taking out their own masts.
Ursa shook his head as he grinned.
“You’re a clever bastard, sir… a mad one, but a clever one!”
“I hope your oarsmen are as good as they think. You’ve only got a small space there to take us to port without colliding with those ships.”
Ursa squared his shoulders.
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem, sir.”
Ghassan nodded as the heavy man ran off to issue the orders. Brushing that stray lock of black curly hair out of his eyes, he watched the havoc aboard the four daram as they desperately tried to manoeuvre. The Empress would be a dot on the horizon before they even made it back to the dock for an emergency refit.
“Alright, Samir. I’ve done my bit. Now let’s see what you’ve been up to.”