by Jamie Davis
An hour later, things had gone from bad to worse. They were able to repair the damage to the rudder, splicing a cable that ran from the ship’s wheel to the rudder mechanism to restore steering. That little bit of good news didn’t alter the stark tactical facts facing Cari and the Vengeance.
“Cari, they’re changing course again,” Helen said from beside her on the quarterdeck.
The sultanate ships had been arrayed in a line of four ships across the horizon. Once they saw the Vengeance coming their way, the outer ships changed course and headed towards the centermost ship directly ahead of their prey.
Now all four ships sailed in a straight line, one behind the other, arrayed like an arrow pointed directly at Cari’s ship.
“I was afraid they’d do this. I hoped they’d remain spread out to keep us from turning to either side. This proves they’re working with the Duke. They know what’s behind us. That’s the only way they could know we can’t turn and run the risk of the trailing ships catching us.”
“In a line like that, they’re gonna maul us. It’ll give every single one of them a full broadside shot at us as they pass.”
“Have a little faith, Helen. There’s always a chance we can make it by them.”
“All I’m saying is, even if they capture us and put us in chains, there’s always another day as long as they keep us alive.”
Cari shook her head. “They can’t afford to let any of us live. We have Jaycee with us. Most of the crew now know who she really is. They aren’t calling her Janey anymore. I’ve seen a few even bow when they pass her on the way to the ship’s mess.”
“So, they’ll kill all of us to keep her existence a secret once and for all.”
“Yep, and once she’s gone, there’s nothing to keep the duke from either putting Timron on the Crystal Throne as a puppet or taking the throne outright for himself. I’m not going to let that happen. Our only option is to fight our way past them. If we can minimize the damage, we might be able to keep running west and slip away once night falls.”
Helen forced a laugh despite the dire situation. “Ever the optimist.”
“When there’s no other choice, why not? Let’s get everyone something to eat. They’ll be in range in another hour. There's nothing else we can do until then. Cycle the crew below in shifts for a quick meal until everyone has a turn. The least I can do is let them fight on a full stomach.”
Helen headed down to the deck to pass along the orders and Cari returned to her usual place beside the helm.
“How’s she handling, Katie?”
“It’s a little stiff, ma’am. There’s more damage to the system than just that one cable, but the fix will hold well enough.”
“Good, keep us on course directly at them. Maybe we can scare them off. After all, they’re about to do battle with the Dread Raider Cari.”
That made Katie and the other members of the crew standing on the quarterdeck laugh.
Cari liked hearing them chuckling and chatting amongst themselves. She had a good crew. If anyone could fight their way through this, they could. Of course, they relied on her to do the impossible and she didn’t have any more tricks up her sleeve for this one, but they didn’t have to know that.
“Katie, go below and get some food with the rest of the quarterdeck crew. I’ll man the wheel with Percy here.”
“Thank you, ma’am. You have the helm.”
Katie and the others disappeared below leaving Cari holding the ship’s wheel staring ahead and testing every course correction or template she could think of using her navigation skill. Nothing changed the probable outcome of the pending fight.
“You’re doing it again, aren’t you, ma’am.”
Percy’s question interrupted her train of thought.
“What’s that, Percy?”
“That thing you do before you start breaking all the rules and sailing the ship in impossible ways.”
“I’m just thinking, that’s all.”
“Uh-huh,” the boy replied. He didn’t sound convinced.
How could she tell him she had nothing to save them this time? She decided instead to give him a task in the coming fight.
“Percy, I need to give you an order and it is one you must keep until your very last breath.”
“Anything, ma’am.” His chest puffed up with pride at her request.
“You know who little Jaycee is, right?”
“She’s the Crown Princess Jaycee and next in line for the Crystal Throne. The whole crew knows that.”
“I want you to make sure that no matter what else happens, to the ship, the rest of the crew, or to me, that you’ll keep her safe. I don’t care if you tie her to a hatch cover so she floats away from the ship as it sinks, keep her safe. Can you do that?”
“That means I’m kind of like one of the Empress’s Dragoons, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, I guess it does. Are you up to taking on that kind of responsibility? The Dragoons are the best of the best. The ones I’ve met are some of the toughest fighters I know.”
“I can do it, Cap’n. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Good. I knew I can count on you. Why don’t you go and check on her and make sure she gets some food, too?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Cari returned to reviewing the data in her heads-up display. She scrolled through the various currents, winds, and movement vectors, trying in vain to find a way out of their current predicament.
* * *
———
* * *
“Bring us about to starboard, Katie. Cross the bow of the second ship.”
The first Sultanate ship had traded two broadsides with the Vengeance on her way past. Between the two ships, the Sultanate vessel had taken the lion’s share of the damage. The lead ship now listed to starboard and its foremast was down.
They were out of this fight. Now to take on the next one.
After testing several ideas as she prepared for the coming battle, Cari opted for a novel tactic to try and maximize her opportunities to inflict damage on the enemy ships as they passed by her. It also served to spread out the damage to her ship rather than taking it all on one side.
The Sultanate ships sailed in a line spaced several hundred yards apart. There was just enough space between them to allow the Vengeance to turn and cross over the line to the other side after passing the first ship, zig-zagging between them.
This is what she did.
This allowed them to bring their relatively undamaged and fresh port broadside to bear. The starboard side was a chaotic mass of splintered wood and overturned cannons right now anyway.
Her move confused the other ship at first and the Sultanate captain ordered his helmsman to turn the ship, taking it out of the battle line.
Perfect.
“Fire!” Helen’s bellow was loud and clear despite the sling that now cradled her broken left arm.
The turning Sultanate ship had exposed her bow to the Vengeance’s broadside and Cari’s gun crews made them pay for the mistake. Cannonballs tore down the length of the ship, wreaking havoc both on the main deck and on the lower decks as well.
The foremast cracked and canted to one side. Though it didn’t fall completely, the loss of its sails would keep this ship out of the fight, too, once Cari passed them by.
First, she had to survive the remaining broadside guns of the other ship, whose crews were thirsty for revenge.
A loud boom sounded as they fired in unison when the Vengeance sailed directly beside them, headed towards their stern.
The effect was devastating. Bodies flew amidst splintered chunks of the ship’s hull as the cannon fire slammed home.
“Mr. Dawkins, get me a damage report from below as soon as you can. Katie, as soon as we pass their stern, bring us to Port and take us across the bow of the third in line.”
Both nodded and responded in unison with an “Aye, Cap’n.”
“Helen, get as many of the starboard guns back in place
as you can. We’re going to try it again on number three.”
“I’ll do the best I can,” the first mate called out in reply.
Cari knew she would but she found herself wishing she had Rodrigo and Stefan manning the gun crews instead. Their good-natured rivalry seemed to buoy the spirits of their men and women to new heights.
She shook her head. They weren’t here and they had their own missions to worry about. She needed to keep her mind on the task at hand.
It looked like Helen would get three-quarters of the starboard broadside back up and ready to fire in time. It was more than she expected to see after the pounding they took.
Most of the crews on those guns were wounded and more than a few of the crews were working short-handed. They’d only get off one shot across the bow, then they’d get pounded again.
At this rate, she wouldn’t have any guns left at all by the time they reached the last ship in the line, if they made it that far at all.
It was going to be a total crapshoot. At this point, Cari had no inkling what the outcome would be. As long as they could keep the masts intact and the rudder repair held, they could keep going. Once they made it past the final Sultanate ship in the line, they were home free. No one would be able to turn and catch them.
There were a whole lot of “ifs” in her plan and each pass of another ship’s guns had a better chance of crippling the Vengeance beyond repair.
The ship tilted as Katie spun the wheel to bring them around across to the other side of the line. This captain was ready for Cari’s zig-zag plan and held his course, waiting for his chance to fire on her.
This time, both ships fired simultaneously in a thunderous combined blast that shook everyone to the core aboard both ships.
Something wet sprayed across Cari’s face and chest and she wiped her hand across her eyes to clear her vision. Her hand came away covered in blood.
Beside her, a headless Katie Beckett slumped to the deck in front of the wheel.
Ignoring the horror of what just happened, Cari grabbed the spokes of the wheel which had already started spinning as the ship lost control for a few seconds. She pulled the ship back into line to continue on course while she tried to assess if there was more damage.
Unfortunately, there was, more than she ever wanted to see.
The entire starboard side was blown open and exposed. Cari could see two of the lower decks through the jagged fifteen-foot-wide hole in the main deck and hull.
Bodies, downed lines and rigging, and splinters as big as her arm lay littered across the deck.
Up above, the top of the mainmast had snapped off two-thirds of the way up the shaft. Sails and cross spars hung precariously over the deck, threatening to break free at any moment and crush the desperate crew working to help their injured comrades below.
The Vengeance had slowed a little but still had enough headway to make the next turn and cross over the path of the fourth and final ship in the line.
She still had half of her port broadside intact. It would have to be enough to fight off the fourth ship as they slid by.
In her heart, if she allowed herself to dwell on it, Cari knew they weren’t going to make it, but she refused to give up or surrender.
Giving up meant that little girl hiding in the captain’s cabin down below would die at the hands of evil men who hated her only because of who her parents were.
Helen climbed up to the quarterdeck, which was harder than usual given her broken arm and the fact that both the starboard and port stairs had been blasted to bits by one of the cannon balls.
“Cari, we’re about done. I don’t think we have another one in us.”
“We have to. Get the people back on the port side guns. There are still half of them loaded and ready to fire.”
“What’s the point?”
Helen’s anguished plea broke Cari’s heart. She had to press forward, though.
“The point is it’s always darkest before the dawn. Get back down there and man those guns, Helen. If we don’t cripple this fourth ship, we don’t stand any chance at all. Giving up is not an option. Fight on.”
Helen stared at Cari, meeting her gaze for a few long seconds before she nodded and dug deep to find the strength to carry on.
“Good woman. Don’t worry, we’ll see this through, one way or the other, together.”
Chapter 38
Cari pulled the wheel around and started back to starboard, heading across the bow of the last Sultanate ship in the line. If they could somehow make it past this one, they still had a chance.
Helen had managed to pull together a small skeleton crew to man the final working cannons on the whole ship.
The half broadside would have to be enough to do the job.
Cari craned her neck to see past the helm at what was happening on deck.
“Let me take the wheel, Cap’n. You’ve got more important things to do.”
Cari looked to her right and saw Percy, a bloody bandage across his head, a cutlass shoved in his belt, and a grim smile on his face.
“You look like quite the little raider,” she told her cabin boy.
“I have to be. I work for the Dread Raider Cari. Let me take the wheel. I can do it.”
Cari gestured at the helm. “I leave the task to you, sir. Once we clear the bow of the other ship, turn hard to port and get us as close to them as you can.”
“I’ll get it done, Cap’n.”
“Good man.”
The two of them were alone on the quarterdeck now. Percy would have to be good enough. It wasn’t like she had anyone else to hand off the task to after Katie and the rest of the quarterdeck crew were killed.
Cari gave him a pat on the back and turned to watch their progress and the work taking place on the deck below to get the guns ready to fire.
Francesca came out from the hatchway in the center of the main deck. She looked around and saw Cari on the quarterdeck. The young woman ran over until she was close enough to be heard.
“The carpenter’s mate sent me.”
“Where’s the carpenter?” Cari feared she already knew the answer.
“He’s dead, ma’am. Killed in the last broadside. His mate sent me to tell you that last blast staved in the hull in two places. He’s managed to brace one enough to stop the flow of water but the other is a temporary patch that is leaking like a sieve. He doesn’t have the manpower left to do any better. We’re taking on water and he doesn’t think the remaining undamaged pumps will be enough to clear it.”
“Head back down and keep helping him as best you can. Tell him to keep at it. I know he won’t let this ship sink while he’s around to do anything about it.”
“Aye, ma’am, I’ll pass along the message.” Francesca started to turn away and then turned back to Cari. “Cap’n?”
“Yes, Francesca?”
“It’s been a wonderful ride serving with you, ma’am.”
“I’ve enjoyed having you along as well, Francesca.”
The other young woman nodded and ran back to the open hatch and climbed down to the lower decks.
Cari hoped they both lived to talk together again.
The deck shifted under her feet and the ship turned back to port, coming down the side of the last Sultanate ship.
“Here we go,” she heard Percy yell behind her.
She laughed in spite of the severity of the situation. It was as good a thing to say at any.
“Fire as you bear, Miss Doolan. God be with us!”
A few seconds later, Helen’s hoarse cry sounded. “Fire!”
The remaining guns of the Vengeance fired as one. The blast was followed by the full broadside of the enemy ship.
The whole ship shuddered under the pounding blows from the other ship’s cannonballs slamming into her. Cari felt rather than heard a massive crack and she looked forward to see the foremast collapse to the deck as a two-foot section of it was blasted out by a cannonball.
The ship listed to port as well, t
elling Cari they were taking on water on that side. She hoped the carpenter’s mate and his small remaining crew managed to stop the water from pouring in.
The Vengeance continued past the other ship but slowed and would soon be adrift with no working sails aloft.
“Percy, go get the princess from my cabin. We have to prepare to get her to safety.
“Aye, ma’am,” Percy said, groaning.
Cari turned and saw the boy was holding his hand against his side. Blood seeped around his fingers and stained his shirt.
She started to move towards him but he waved her off.
“I’m well enough, ma’am. I caught a bit of the splintered quarterdeck rail in that last broadside. I’m alright. I’ll fetch her and be back before you know it.”
Cari didn’t trust her voice. She just nodded in reply as he limped away.
As the cabin boy climbed carefully down from the quarterdeck on one side, Cari walked to the edge and jumped down to the main deck and started searching through the wreckage looking for survivors.
Helen picked her way through from the bow.
Neither of them found any survivors other than themselves by the time they met amidships.
“Any ideas, Helen? I’m open to suggestions.”
The question brought a smile to the first mate’s lips amidst the grime and blood from the ravaged ship and crew.
“The small boat mounted on the forecastle is still intact, though everything else around it is crushed to splinters, if you can believe that.”
“So, I guess we row from here.”
Helen shrugged. “You asked.”
Cari glanced at the sky. The sun was lower in the west than she expected.
“It’s getting on towards night. It’s gonna take those last two ships at least an hour to turn and come back to finish us. Maybe if we take the boat and row directly into the sun, it’ll hide us behind the Vengeance long enough for it to get dark. Then we can rig a small sail and try and get away in the night.”
“I love how you never say die, ma’am. I’ll go and get the boat ready to be lowered over the side. I think there’s enough loose wood and ripped sail canvas up there to put aboard so we can try to rig a sail.”