Crusade (26 page)
Authors: TAYLOR ANDERSON
“Well, you said
Nerracca
’s making six knots.”
Nerracca
’s making six knots.”
“Thereabouts.”
“If we light off the number two boiler,
Walker
can make thirty for a while. Hell, we could sustain twenty-eight if nothing pops.” He glanced around at the expectant faces. “That’s a hell of a lot of horsepower.”
Walker
can make thirty for a while. Hell, we could sustain twenty-eight if nothing pops.” He glanced around at the expectant faces. “That’s a hell of a lot of horsepower.”
“You mean, rig a
tow
?” Matt breathed. Spanky nodded.
tow
?” Matt breathed. Spanky nodded.
“But will it be enough?” Garrett asked skeptically. “I know
Nerracca
’s mostly wood, but her hull is incredibly thick and she’s . . .
huge
! Especndant of Allosaurus, according to Bradford. The things were rare and Pete had never seen one, but by all accounts they were one of the few “dinosaurs” of this region that weren’t stunted. The Lemurian scouts had discovered tracks and blood on the pipeline. The monster must have been lying in wait for passing prey, hunkered slightly back in the dense foliage along the trail when Scott came ambling by. It was a terrible loss and Pete shuddered to think about how it must have been. Even so, the irony of the coxswain’s death wasn’t lost on him.
Nerracca
’s mostly wood, but her hull is incredibly thick and she’s . . .
huge
! Especndant of Allosaurus, according to Bradford. The things were rare and Pete had never seen one, but by all accounts they were one of the few “dinosaurs” of this region that weren’t stunted. The Lemurian scouts had discovered tracks and blood on the pipeline. The monster must have been lying in wait for passing prey, hunkered slightly back in the dense foliage along the trail when Scott came ambling by. It was a terrible loss and Pete shuddered to think about how it must have been. Even so, the irony of the coxswain’s death wasn’t lost on him.
Anyway, since Pete had operational command of Baalkpan’s defenses, Jim cheerfully reported to him when he arrived. There wasn’t even the tiniest hint that Mr. Ellis considered it inappropriate and Pete was grateful for that. The irony of a naval lieutenant in command of a destroyer reporting to Mrs. Alden’s son was even more bizarre, to him at least, than the way poor Scott had gotten it. Ever since then, though, Jim had been down at the dock working night and day, with hundreds of Lemurian “yard-apes” crawling all over his ship. By Nakja-Mur’s command, every possible assistance, regardless of expense, was placed at the disposal of the young lieutenant and his wounded destroyer.
Nakja-Mur had certainly stepped up to the plate; Alden had no complaints about that. He no longer questioned what things cost. The High Chief had finally completely grasped the concept of total war, and everything else had dimmed to insignificance. Nothing was as important to him as saving his city and its people and he’d do whatever it took. With Letts’s help, the High Chief of Baalkpan had blossomed into a kind of bureaucratic prodigy. In a government like that of the United States, Nakja-Mur would have been performing all the duties usually associated with the secretaries of state, commerce, agriculture, public works, and war. He didn’t really know doodly-squat about any of those things, but he was smart enough to know it, and he delegated all the hands-on work to people who did. He just made sure the wheels were greased and he arbitrated disputes. He was also a genius at sorting out priorities and making sure the most important projects got the assets they needed the quickest. He relied heavily on Alden and Letts to advise him as to which projects those were, but since Baalkpan’s defense and the support of the AEF were almost everybody’s top priority, there was rarely any disagreement between them.
The exception to this unity of purpose was still represented by what Letts called the Run Away Party, which was enjoying a resurgence that began with
Fristar
’s return and was reinforced by the terrible news that the offensive was turning into a desperate retreat. The “Run-Aways” were still a minority since most of them had, of course, already run away. But Alden figured that as soon as the new scope of the threat they faced became known, the Run-Aways would gain many converts. There was no Lemurian president, or anything of the sort, to rule the collection of independent Homes and peoples from other “land” Homes that had gathered at Baalkpan. The leadership was more like some sort of screwy legislature of equal representatives. Kind of like the city-state setup of ancient Greece, Alden thought. Unlike the captain, Pete didn’t know much about history—beyond that of the Marine Corps—but he’d heard of the Spartans and he knew about Thermopylae. He hoped they weren’t facing a similar situation. He knew one of the problems the Greeks had faced was an inability to work together. But Nakja-Mur chaired all the meetings since he was High Chief of the “Host” Home. Hell, throw in speaker of the house while you’re at it, Alden thought. So far he’d managed to keep everybody’s eye on the ball.
Fristar
’s return and was reinforced by the terrible news that the offensive was turning into a desperate retreat. The “Run-Aways” were still a minority since most of them had, of course, already run away. But Alden figured that as soon as the new scope of the threat they faced became known, the Run-Aways would gain many converts. There was no Lemurian president, or anything of the sort, to rule the collection of independent Homes and peoples from other “land” Homes that had gathered at Baalkpan. The leadership was more like some sort of screwy legislature of equal representatives. Kind of like the city-state setup of ancient Greece, Alden thought. Unlike the captain, Pete didn’t know much about history—beyond that of the Marine Corps—but he’d heard of the Spartans and he knew about Thermopylae. He hoped they weren’t facing a similar situation. He knew one of the problems the Greeks had faced was an inability to work together. But Nakja-Mur chaired all the meetings since he was High Chief of the “Host” Home. Hell, throw in speaker of the house while you’re at it, Alden thought. So far he’d managed to keep everybody’s eye on the ball.
Pete gazed out across the city below and wondered yet again at the ingenuity of the people here. Insteadlike those that proved so effective in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Like its predecessors, this one was festooned with heavy guns that covered the harbor entrance and there were defenses around it similar to those that encircled the city. There were also sufficient provisions within that it could hold for quite a while if it was ever cut off from Baalkpan. Brister had named it Fort Atkinson, after
Mahan
’s captain who’d been killed in the battle with
Amagi
. Brister had admired Captain Atkinson very much. He was proud of the fort and Pete was too. He was proud of everything they’d done to prepare for a possible attack. Now, as he stood waiting for Nakja-Mur to join him for their afternoon bull session, he fervently prayed that all the defenses he’d helped design and build and all the citizen-soldiers he’d trained would never face the test they’d been preparing for.
Mahan
’s captain who’d been killed in the battle with
Amagi
. Brister had admired Captain Atkinson very much. He was proud of the fort and Pete was too. He was proud of everything they’d done to prepare for a possible attack. Now, as he stood waiting for Nakja-Mur to join him for their afternoon bull session, he fervently prayed that all the defenses he’d helped design and build and all the citizen-soldiers he’d trained would never face the test they’d been preparing for.
A tapestry separating the balcony from the Great Hall parted, and Nakja-Mur strode through to join Sergeant Alden with his own goblet of nectar in his hand. His face was expressionless, as usual, beyond a small, clipped frown that didn’t reveal his teeth. His shoulders sagged and his tail drooped and it was clear he was exhausted.
“Good afternoon, Gener-aal Aalden,” he said by way of greeting.
Pete grimaced. He hated it when Nakja-Mur called him that, especially in front of others. “Good afternoon, Nakja-Mur, U-Amaki Ay Baalkpan.”
“Preparations continue to proceed well?” Nakja-Mur asked.
Pete shrugged. “Well enough. We started building up the overhead protection for the batteries today, now that we know about
Amagi
.” He shook his head. “Not that it’ll do much good against ten-inch guns. That’s one thing we never planned for. I’ve also started working on more shelters for troops and medical facilities. It’s mostly revetments to protect from fragments, but it’s better than nothing.”
Amagi
.” He shook his head. “Not that it’ll do much good against ten-inch guns. That’s one thing we never planned for. I’ve also started working on more shelters for troops and medical facilities. It’s mostly revetments to protect from fragments, but it’s better than nothing.”
“These ten-inch guns are very bad?”
Pete nodded. “They’re more than twice as big as
Walker
’s.”
Walker
’s.”
“But the guns you helped build for my people are as well.”
“True,” Alden agreed, “but as we’ve discussed many times, those guns, as powerful as they are, are still no match for
Walker
’s in range, power, or accuracy. I wish they were, but we just don’t have the facilities to make anything like that yet. As for
Amagi,
her guns are bigger still than the best we’ve been able to make and they can shoot ten times as far.”
Walker
’s in range, power, or accuracy. I wish they were, but we just don’t have the facilities to make anything like that yet. As for
Amagi,
her guns are bigger still than the best we’ve been able to make and they can shoot ten times as far.”
Nakja-Mur nodded solemnly. “You’re saying we have no real defense against this
Amagi
? Not even now that there are two of your fast iron ships?”
Amagi
? Not even now that there are two of your fast iron ships?”
“No. As you can surely see for yourself,
Mahan
’s in no shape for a fight. Jim’s killing himself trying to get her ready and hopefully he’ll have time. But even if
Walker
and
Mahan
were brand spanking new, they’d be no match for that damn thing. We’ll think of something. We have to. But right now I sure don’t know what it’ll be. Pray, I guess.”
Mahan
’s in no shape for a fight. Jim’s killing himself trying to get her ready and hopefully he’ll have time. But even if
Walker
and
Mahan
were brand spanking new, they’d be no match for that damn thing. We’ll think of something. We have to. But right now I sure don’t know what it’ll be. Pray, I guess.”
Nakja-Mur nodded. “I will certainly do that,” he said. “I will pray that it never comes. It may not, you know,” he added hopefully.
Just then, Ed Palmer was escorted onto the balcony by a pair of Nakja-Mur’s guardsmen, who paused and waited to be summoned close. Ed accompanied them and Pete’s heart sank when he saw the signalman’s ashen face.
“My guess is,” Pete said before Ed spoke a word, “we should have been praying already.”
A skept Matt didn’t think the Grik could catch them. On the other hand,
Amagi
would soon be in range of her big guns. With darkness falling, she wouldn’t have a target, though, would she? Once she got behind them, she’d never catch up either. Not if eight knots was all she had.
Amagi
would soon be in range of her big guns. With darkness falling, she wouldn’t have a target, though, would she? Once she got behind them, she’d never catch up either. Not if eight knots was all she had.
A couple of Grik ships, either because of better seamanship or cleaner hulls, were drawing ahead of the pack. Matt had a good eye for geometry and there was no way
Walker
would drag
Nerracca
past those two, at least.
Walker
would drag
Nerracca
past those two, at least.
“Sound general quarters,” he ordered at last. The raucous “gong, gong, gong” reverberated throughout the ship and hats were exchanged for helmets. Matt knew the consensus was that no one wanted to go in the water with a life jacket on, but he ordered them worn regardless. Sandra suggested that the possibility a crewman might be eaten was more than offset by the protection against crossbow bolts and flying debris that the jackets afforded them. The Lemurian destroyermen hated the jackets even more than the humans did. In their case it was because, for the most part, they were way too big. They wore them nonetheless.
Bernard Sandison was the last to report, as usual. He had the farthest to go from where he was supervising the preparation of the torpedoes. He plugged in his headset, turned to the talker, and gave a thumbs-up sign.
“All stations manned and ready, Captain,” Reynolds said aloud.
“Very well. Who’s in the crow’s nest?”
“Bosun’s Mate Chack, sir.”
Matt nodded. Early on, Lieutenant Garrett had worked very closely with the burly young Lemurian. He’d picked up ranges well. Matt didn’t have the perspective of the lookout, but those two lead ships were obviously in range. He wanted to knock them out before they got dead ahead, when only the number one gun would bear. “Inform Mr. Garrett he may commence firing when ready,” he said.
On the fire-control platform, Garrett listened to Chack’s report as it came through his earpiece. He echoed it to Sandy Newman, who was operating the mechanical fire-control computer. “Load one, two, and four. Range to target four O double O. Angle is zero six zero, speed seven knots.”
“On target!” chorused the director and the pointer.
Garrett knew they didn’t have the ammunition to waste on an “up ladder.” Since there was still some visibility, he would fire a single salvo and hope they could correct from there. Chack had good eyes; he should spot the fall of shot.
“One round each, salvo fire. Commence firing!”
The salvo buzzer alerted the bridge crew and a moment later the ship shook perceptibly with the booming roar of three four-inch guns. In the deepening twilight the tracers quickly converged on the target. A bright, rippling flash erupted amidships of the first enemy ship and a chorus of exultant shouts rose up. Matt was excited as well. Chack was right on the money.
“Silence!” bellowed Chief Gray on the fo’c’sle, right behind number one. “Grab that damn shell, Davis, before it goes over the side!” His yell was loud enough that half the ship must have heard.
Still grinning, Matt turned to the talker. “By all means let’s have some quiet so the men can do it again.”
The next ship in line was destroyed almost as quickly, but it took two salvos instead of one. It must have maneuvered to avoid the sinking, burning hulk in front of it. More ships were cracking on, though. It was as though the destruction of the first two only sp D tons of seawater poured inside her through gaping holes and opened seams. As tough as the Homes of the People were, they were never designed to absorb the type of punishment
Amagi
was inflicting.
Amagi
was inflicting.
For a long, torturous moment, Matt said nothing. He just continued to stare at Gray with a look of inexorable determination. The salvo buzzer rang again and the number one gun fired into the night. Then . . . he blinked. It was as though the nightmare that had surged from his subconscious mind was suddenly subverted by the one he was living now.
“Secure from flank,” he said in a subdued voice.
“Captain!” shouted Sandison from the starboard bridgewing, “Small craft are coming alongside!” Matt raced to join him and peered over the rail. A shoal of small double-ended sailing craft, about thirty feet long, were struggling to catch up with the destroyer. Matt immediately recognized them as boats the People used to hunt the gri-kakka. Much like human whaleboats of the past, they carried the hunters close enough to strike their prey with a lance. Most Homes carried dozens of the extremely fast things and launched them from the large internal bays Matt had first seen on
Big Sal
. The gri-kakka boats were packed to overflowing.
Big Sal
. The gri-kakka boats were packed to overflowing.
“Get boarding nets over the side!” Matt shouted. “Slow to two-thirds!”
Immediately, as soon as the nets were rigged, boat after boat thumped alongside and terrified Lemurians swarmed up to the deck. Most were younglings.
“What the hell are they doing?” Gray demanded.
“They’re trying to get as many off as they can!” Matt shouted. “Get down there and start packing them in!”
Gray was stunned. “But how many can we hold?”
“As many as they send us! Now get your ass down there and get them below! We have to keep the ship trimmed and you’re the only one that can do it. Use all the help you need!” The Bosun dashed toward the ladder. Matt realized Queen Maraan had joined him. With her black fur and clothing she was almost invisible in the dark. Only her silver eyes and the tears matting the fur around them were visible, reflecting the light of the fire that raged aboard
Nerracca
. More shells shrieked down and churned the sea.
Nerracca
. More shells shrieked down and churned the sea.
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