“Just one.”
“That should be simple enough to fit in. We don't have any hidden compartments, but we'll be able to outrun the enemy.”
“But they have weapons and we don't,” Jamie said. “I'd like some way to fight back if we get forced into it.”
Kelvin saw Bailey make a thoughtful face. “Actually...”
“What about it?”
“Can we salvage something from your ship, since you're not going to be using it? Consider it the payment for your passage and carrying the goods.”
“What are you thinking of?” Shane asked.
“I think we might be able to play around with some new weapons,” she grinned.
Kelvin looked at Ryan again. “So is this agreeable to you?”
“I don't really have much of a choice, do I?”
“No, you really don't. But we'll be fair with you. And besides, spitting in the face of raiders always makes for a good day.”
“First we need to go about the rest of our business,” Jamie cautioned. “We need to load up the ship.”
Shane nodded. “OK, Kelvin and Brandon will take care of the purchase. The rest of us will go back to the ship, switch the cargo, and try to do whatever Bailey's thinking about. That good?”
“That's good. Anything else we need to get when I buy stuff?”
“Just stick with the pearls.”
Kelvin nodded and stood up. On to their real reason for coming to Dux.
“So this is your plan?” Shane said. He gritted his teeth and lifted with Ryan's help.
“Yeah, carry it over here then set it down on the rear deck. And make sure it's facing the right way,” Bailey said.
Shane strained and almost tripped as they moved the heavy metal tube, but somehow they managed to get from one vessel to the other. Jamie and Bailey helped ease it into place, and then they quickly bolted the weapon's brackets into the deck.
“Not the most sturdy thing, but it's jury-rigged, so it will have to do.”
“Couldn't have picked something lighter.”
“Well, then pick a port with heavy cranes next time,” she said. “And be thankful that this is the lighter version. There's no way you're going to be able to lift a full-size tube.”
Shane looked back at Ryan. “I'm surprised you have these. They couldn't have been cheap.”
“They weren't. But we were dumb and bought them on a whim one day.”
“You could have resold them.”
“No one buys small tubes like this. It was impossible to get our money back, so we kept them.
“Lucky for us they were far enough forward that a shell didn't wipe them out,” Bailey said. “We'll mount the other one was well, and then I'll see about setting up the trigger system.”
Shane nodded. “Facing backward, though?”
“It's the only way we can do it with just two of them and no reloads,” she said. “I don't know for sure if we can outrun them, but even if we can it might only be by a few knots. We're probably going to end up getting chased from the stern, so if we do this right we can shove at least one of these right down their throats.”
The torpedoes might be small, but Shane imagined they do a serious amount of damage if they scored a direct hit on the enemy hull. At the very least it would deform the bow and slow them down, though Shane wanted to send them to the bottom. In his opinion that was where all raiders belonged.
He groaned and started to move off the ship. “Well, that other tube isn't going to move itself. Come on. Let's get this over with.”
Chapter Fourteen
The ship steamed out of the bay, its hold filled with crates of deep pearls and one of blood lotus. Brandon didn't notice much difference, even with all the extra weight aboard. It might become more apparent if they had to go to full power or perform violent maneuvers, but for now the ship seemed to be handling all the cargo in the hold well.
He glanced down from the top of the pilothouse toward the newly installed weapons on the deck. Brandon had never used torpedoes before, and he had no idea whether the jury-rigged system would actually work, but it was worth a shot.
One glance back toward the harbor confirmed his suspicions. Brandon opened the speaking tube into the pilothouse.
“We're being followed. They're keeping their distance for now, but I'm guessing they're gonna speed up and try to catch us once we're out in open water.”
“Sucks for them. They're probably not going to be able to catch us,” Shane said.
Brandon eyed the other vessel warily. “Uh, you sure you want to bet on that? It's a double funnel.”
“Even if it's two engines they're going to need to use some of the power to power the steam guns. And then we have the compound engines.”
Brandon frowned. “Those have been around for a while. I'm sure that someone else read a book and figured out how to make them in here.”
“Be fair. Do you really think that they're smart enough to figure that out?”
“Do you really want to take a chance on that? Because you're really starting to sound arrogant.”
“I'm just that good.”
That made Brandon smile.
“We'll try to outrun them, but I'll assume that they're going to be able to close on us. Keep me posted on what they're trying to do. I don't want to get trapped up against the coast.”
“Got it.”
Brandon closed the cap of his speaking tube and looked back at the torpedoes again. Jamie leaned against one, watching the enemy ship approach. She seemed to sense his glance and looked up.
“I sure hope you all know what you're doing.”
“It's a perfect example of that leadership you seem to be looking for,” he said dryly.
“Not exactly the kind I'm looking for. We could have gotten out without attracting all that attention. Not to mention you charged next to nothing to transport their cargo. You should have taken a cut.”
Brandon leaned against the railing, still keeping his eyes on the enemy ship. “So this is what it's about, huh? Low risk and money. Is that all this is to you?”
“What else should there be?” Jamie asked. “We're gearing up to fight back against the Iron Guild. We need a war chest, and we need to keep them off our backs.”
“Plenty,” he said. “There's other things to consider. You heard Ryan. The sea chart they have is going to be really valuable.”
“Provided they give it to you. Do you have any guarantee that they will, unless you're going to hold the cargo?”
“We don't, but why would we hold the cargo? That makes us no better than the Iron Guild.”
“So you're leaving it up to chance?”
Brandon scowled. “Why are you so cynical about it?”
“Maybe because the Iron Guild compromised my guild with their intelligence network and then completely destroyed it?”
He nodded. “OK, I can't really say anything about it. I'm not exactly the most positive person myself. But even thinking about it cynically, it makes sense.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. This isn't going to be the first attempt at an alliance, and we all know how the last ones ended up. How is this going to be any different, unless we start building trust between the different guilds now?”
Jamie looked out over the ocean and didn't speak for a minute.
“I don't think that's unreasonable to think that. But there's no guarantee it'll work either.”
“No, no there isn't,” Brandon said. “And I think I'm trying to rationalize it right now. I can come up with all these reasons why we did it, but that's not the reason we wanted to do it.”
“Then what is?”
“Because we're sick of the raiders and we're sick of the Iron Guild just bullying other players while no one does anything about it,” he said. “I know they're technically doing things within the rules, but it's not right. And I'm sick of standing around watching them do it. I think the others are too. That's why we're going to try to sink them instead of just run from them.”
“Whatever. I'll take it,” he said. “You can't say that you don't want to hurt them, can you?”
He heard her sigh.
“No. I really can't. I don't like the risks your taking, but I can't say I'd be unhappy if you sunk them,” she said. “So I'll do whatever I can to help you, since you guys have decided on this.”
“Know what you're doing?”
“Bailey gave me instructions. Either we're going to let them close in and hit them at close range...”
“That's dangerous.”
“Way too dangerous, and she thought so as well,” Jamie agreed. “The other solution was to travel in a straight line, get them to pursue and then stay in the straight line as they catch up to us. Hopefully they won't see the launch, which means they won't deviate their course and will run right into the torpedoes.”
“What kind of range do those things have?”
She pulled out her guidebook. “According to the codex, about one thousand yards max. More like eight hundred. Which still means we'll be well within gun range.”
“They weren't able to kill the other ship.”
“That was a miracle. Are you planning on betting our fate on another one?”
Her acidic tone made him smile, for some reason.
“You know,” Brandon said, “I'm starting to like you. I finally end up in a position where I'm the optimist.”
“Not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not, but whatever,” Jamie said. “At least you all seem to have good heads on your shoulders, even if I disagree with your methods.”
Brandon resumed watching the enemy ship approach.
“You know why? I'm not a fan of doing things for stupid reasons,” he said. “I'll gamble. But it has to be for the right reason.”
“Know anything about these guys?” Shane asked Ryan as he stood at the wheel directing the ship.
“They're out for blood.”
“Well, beyond that. Is there a particular way they like to attack, what their ship capabilities are, that kind of thing.”
“I don't have a lot, no. They have one heavy steam cannon mounted on the bow. It fires slow, but if it hits it's powerful. I tried to dodge it as best I could.”
“Yeah, I don't plan on taking a hit,” Shane said. He throttled down the engine a few steps. “Let's let them catch up. And not show them our full speed.”
He wanted as much information as possible before they committed themselves to the fight. If he could he'd get them to fire on them a few times while dodging the shells. It was a risk, but naval gunnery was notoriously difficult with the instruments players had available to them. A hit on a fast-moving ship was unlikely, and they could gauge how fast the enemy weapon fired.
Once they knew that it was all about maneuvering and possibly drawing the enemy into the right spot for a torpedo attack. Shane would flee if they had to, but he wanted to sink the enemy ship.
“We just passed the exclusion zone,” Kelvin spoke up.
Shane opened one of the speaking tubes. “Brandon, we just passed the exclusion line. Are they speeding up?”
“Hold on a second. Yeah, looks like it.”
“OK, stand by.” He opened the speaking tube to the engine room. “Bailey, how are we for power?”
“Holding steady. We've got plenty if we need it.”
“OK. I've got the engines on reduced power, so we should be fine.”
“Got it.”
Brandon's voice came echoing down the return tube. “Shane they're firing.”
He saw a geyser of water shoot up a second later ahead and to starboard, though the shot had missed wildly.
“Shot landed. Count,” he ordered Kelvin.
“Counting.”
Shane spun the wheel to the right, pointing the ship toward the shell splash to throw off the enemy's aim. They'd be adjusting their shot, but to do that they'd be traversing their cannon to a new direction. Aiming toward the first spot would hopefully catch them off-guard.
He maintained the heading for a few seconds, then swung the wheel back to port. Shane focused on the sea in front of him, repeating the knowledge he had learned over and over in his head. Keep moving, change direction frequently, and above all else, don't become predictable or lose his bearings. The enemy gunners had to estimate their shots, and being predictable only made their jobs easier.
He heard a faint thump.
“They're firing again,” Brandon reported through the speaking tube.
Shane watched another geyser of water shoot up, this time to port. He steered toward the splash.
“Time?”
“That was about a minute?” Kelvin said.
That surprised him. “A minute? What the heck are they doing?”
“I had a hard time telling at first, but I think the gun was pretty big,” Ryan said.
Shane nodded. That probably explained it. A larger caliber gun needed more steam to shoot its projectiles, and that meant siphoning more off from the boiler. Firing too many shells in succession could quickly drain the vessel's steam power, either slowing them down or leaving them dead in the water in an extreme case.
“So we'll assume that they're trying to conserve energy so they can keep up,” he said. “That means we can smoke them if we need to, but for now let's see where this goes.”
“Playing with fire, huh?” Kelvin said.
“At least they're not firing explosive shells. That takes away some of the danger.”
Solid shot was far cheaper than explosive ammunition, but against unarmored targets it tended to be far less effective. Projectiles would often go through one side and out the other, and while it could cause severe damage it was nothing compared to having a ship explode in the midst of their hull.
“Just don't get this tub shot out from underneath us,” Kelvin said.
“I'm sure Bailey would love to hear you call this thing a tub,” Shane replied. He turned the wheel again.
“Huh, I've said worse about our ships.”
“Yeah, don't you end up sleeping on the couch after that?”
“Of course I don't. She knows as well as I do that a lot of our ships have been piles of junk.”
Shane grinned and watched another geyser shoot up, closer this time, but still off the mark.
“Think they're just that bad, or what?” he said. “They were able to score hits earlier.”
“The first one caught us by surprise,” Ryan said. “We had to repair the ship while underway, and one of the other crew got killed in the beginning.”
“So you started off the chase with a gimped ship. OK, that's understandable.”
“Is it really worth wasting the torpedoes on them?” Kelvin asked. “If they're that incompetent...”
“They're still smart enough to get the jump on people that aren't aware,” Shane argued. “And we're going to have to get rid of the tubes anyhow. I don't know if anyone would listen to them, but if they telegraphed a message before they left port, but if they did we might have people looking for us.”
“Don't you have your vessel set to anonymous?” Ryan asked.
“Sure we do. How many ships have you seen with two rear-facing torpedo tubes?”
“OK, point taken.”
“So we're just ditching them?” Kelvin said.
Shane nodded. “Yeah. As soon as we launch them we're unbolting the things and chucking them in the sea. I'm sorry we can't get more than one use out of your tubes, but we have to maintain secrecy.”
“No, I understand. They're yours anyhow,” Ryan said. “My price for passage. I'm just glad that someone's getting use out of them.”
Another geyser of water shot up directly in front of them, this one much closer.
“Um, Shane?” Brandon's voice echoed down through the speaking tube. “They're starting to find the range. Might want to start thinking about speeding up.”
“How close are they?”
“About fifteen-hundred yards? They're full-steam ahead.”
Shane glanced back at Kelvin. “If we launch our torpedoes now will the enemy ship close the distance before they run out of propulsion?”
“How fast are we going?”
“About ten or eleven knots.”
“And they're catching up. Let's estimate fifteen, sixteen knots for them.” Kelvin scribbled something on a piece of paper. “Well we'll need to wait a little, but we're close.”
Shane nodded and opened up the speaking tube again. “Brandon, have Jamie get ready to fire. After the next shot I'm going to straighten out our course and then start pouring on the coal. Hopefully they'll go straight as well to try to catch up.”
“And if that doesn't work?”
“Then we're already fast enough to outrun them. We ditch the tubes and head for port.”
Shane was confident that they'd be able to escape without much trouble. The only thing that truly concerned him was the final shot the enemy would get off before he could execute the plan. So far their gunnery seemed lackluster, but the last shot had come close. If they were able to make an adjustment…
He pushed that thought aside and tried to focus. It didn't matter. Right or wrong they were already committed to this plan, and Shane would see it through to the end. And in his opinion, ridding these waters of one more raider was worth the risk.
“They're firing,” Brandon warned, and Shane braced for the worst.
Even through the pilothouse walls he could hear the sound of the shell passing dangerously close. Another geyser shot up, this one only about a dozen yards off the port side of the bow. If it had been a fragmentation shell Brandon and Jaime might have been pulped.
“Hang on!” he shouted up the speaking tube. Shane straightened the wheel and pushed the throttle forward, slowly at first, but then bringing the engines up to full power. The ship sped through the ocean.
“They're following,” Brandon said.
“Straight line?”
“Straight line.”
“Then waste 'em.”
“Got it.”
A moment later Shane felt a vibration.
“Torpedoes away,” Brandon reported. “We'll get the tubes off.”
Rising Tide: A LitRPG Novel (Age of Steam Book 1) Page 15