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The attacking crafts were swift and unfamiliar.
“Mister Crang, come hard to starboard! Accelerate engine to full speed!”
“Aye, Captain!”
“Commander Arlen,” addressed Commodore Knight, “signal the other ships to accelerate and take evasive actions. We need to deal with these flies before we get in range of those brigs!”
The lookout had sighted them on the horizon - a trio of brigs, a barquantine, and four schooners. But then these smaller, unidentified craft had come in from behind them, like flies buzzing a horse, bringing with them chaos.
They were small craft, very maneuverable, and hard to target. They had small sails, a twin catamaran hull, and only a trio of forward cannons. As they passed, Commodore Knight estimated they had crews of no more than a half-dozen, maybe fewer, and they were not much more than glorified rafts with sorcerous engines.
But they were a dozen such craft, moving at three times the speed of any of the Knight Fleet’s ships, and they could turn in a tenth of the space any of her craft required. Hitting them with the broadside cannonade would be virtually impossible.
“Sergeant Novick!” called Captain Orvin. “Break out the heavy crossbows. Concentrate fire on them with those and with the deck cannons.”
“Aye, Captain!” replied the sergeant-at-arms.
“Commander, signal the Tiger’s Claw, Stiletto, and Broadsword to make a break for it,” ordered Commodore Knight. “We need them in position to take on those brigs when they get in range.”
“Aye, Commodore!” replied the commander.
The Talon was jolted again as two of the tiny craft sped past, having fired before clearing the hull.
“Deck gunners, keep an eye on them as they come around!” barked Captain Orvin. “Lead them - and we might have a better chance at scoring some hits!”
“Sergeant, target heavy crossbow fire on their sails!” ordered Commodore Knight.
Two more of the small craft shot past, but a blast from a heavy crossbow connected with a sail, and the craft careened out of control, hitting another of the attackers, and both soon burst into flame and crashed into the sea.
“Captain, something big on the horizon! Cannot identify!” cried the lookout.
Commodore Knight took up her scope and looked towards it. A low, flat craft with a large trimaran hull was purposefully hanging back, out of range. Aria surmised that was the base for these small nuisances.
“Crow’s nest, keep an eye out for more of these small attackers!” ordered the Commodore.
“They’re not doing a lot of damage,” remarked Captain Orvin.
“Not yet, but they are keeping us from getting into a good position to deal with the fleet of larger craft we’re going to be meeting soon,” responded Aria.
“If they can split us up enough, this is going to get complicated,” agreed Captain Orvin.
“That’s probably their plan,” saidCommodore Knight. She was watching their attackers and considering her next move. “Commander, signal the Tiger’s Claw, Stiletto, and Broadsword again. Tell them to ignore these gnats and to take on one of the brigs. Hit and fade.”
“Aye, Commodore.”
“Lieutenant Zaffir!” called out Commodore Knight. “Get the other lantern, and signal the Earl, Baron, Magistrate, and the Rapier to concentrate on the other brig, hammer and anvil. Once more, they need to ignore these little nuisances!”
“Aye, Commodore!” replied Lt. Zaffir. She ran up the stairs to the foredeck, took up the signal lantern, and began sending the message.
“Captain, signal the Minotaur and Lordling to take on a pair of the schooners, and the Pegasus and Scimitar to attack the other two.”
“Very good, Commodore.”
“Mister Crang, keep the wheel hard a-starboard, but bring the engines up to flank speed. We need to change position if we’re going to do anything useful against that barq.”
“Commodore, you do realize they have us majorly outgunned,” remarked Captain Orvin as he signaled the orders.
“That’s why we have to keep moving. We use our superior speed and maneuverability against them,” replied the commodore. Again, the Talon was jolted by fire from the small craft. “These flies are an annoyance, but I’m not convinced they are much of a threat beyond that. Best ignore them, for now, and retain the deck guns and heavy crossbows to deal with them as they can.”
“The barq is changing course!” called Lieutenant Zaffir from the foredeck. “I think they’re turning to give us the broadside!”
“Mister Crang, hard a-starboard, cut engine! Mister Proggott, sidesails down fifteen degrees!” ordered the commodore.
The barq was not only almost twice the size of the galleon, but it was also armed more heavily. Its cannon very likely had greater range than those on the Talon, which was why they were preparing their shot.
“Lieutenant Palvern, ready starboard cannon for attack!”
“Aye, Commodore!”
Everyone had to grab onto something as the mighty ship turned - as though on a pole - hard to the left, then began to drop towards the ocean’s surface.
“Mister Crang, engine to full!” ordered Captain Orvin.
At this distance, the thunder of the barq’s cannon was more of a fizzling pop, but in seconds a few impacting shots rocked the Talon. Several sailors were thrown to the deck, and for a moment, the ship lurched, but soon it was accelerating.
“Lieutenant Proggott, sidesails to twenty degrees up!”
“Aye, Commodore!”
“Mister Crang, accelerate engine to flank!” ordered the captain.
“Aye, sir.”
“Ms. Palvern, prepare to fire the broadside!”
The Talon accelerated and was rising. The fizzle and pop of the cannons firing once more from the barq reached them, but splashes were heard as the shots missed and hit the water below.
“Fire starboard cannon!” ordered Captain Orvin.
The Talon rocked as her cannons fired.
At this distance, they were not likely to hit, though the increased acceleration of the galleon and the ascent would serve to better their range. Still, it was not likely they would do more than worry their attackers.
Commodore Knight took up a scope and was looking out to observe the rest of her fleet. Were they holding their own?
Minotaur and Lordling were on either side of one of the enemy schooners, pounding it. Another was on the surface, aflame. Clearly, they had managed to best their adversaries.
Pegasus and Scimitar were split, each dueling a schooner. Scimitar, from this distance, appeared damaged, but it was out-turning the schooner and about to deliver a full broadside. Pegasus was clearly doing some sort of hit and fade, evading the larger opponent’s side cannon while inflicting as much damage as they could.
Earl, Baron, Magistrate, and the Rapier had the brig surrounded, and they were delivering quite the punishment. Magistrate, however, was listing to port and smoking.
Tiger’s Claw, Stiletto, and Broadsword had forced their opponent to the surface. The brig was burning and clearly sinking. But as Commodore Knight looked more closely, she noted that Broadsword was slowly losing altitude and was clearly damaged.
The sound of cannon shot whizzing by turned Aria’s attention to the barq. The large craft was maneuvering back towards them, intent on attack.
“All hands, prepare to repel boarders!” called the commodore.
Sergeant Novick was moving fast. He swiftly broke open the locks and began to issue swords, knives and crossbows to crew.
“Starboard cannon, prepare to fire broadside!” ordered Captain Orvin, drawing his own cutlass.
The barq was much swifter and maneuverable than any Commodore Knight had previously engaged. They clearly were more intent on fighting it out with boarding parties than relying on cannonade to settle matters.
The huge ship swiftly overtook them, and lines were fired into the deck of the Talon. Crossbow fire followed and then came the sound of screaming crewmen from the Cromah barq coming aboard.
Commodore Knight was not surprised that they were soldiers, not sailors. They clearly had come prepared for this fight all along.
“All hands, full combat!” called the captain. Commander Arlen grunted and dropped at Aria’s feet, having taken a crossbow’s energy bolt. The Commodore stooped to check on him, a shot missing her as she did so.
Arlen was alive but unconscious.
A trio of soldiers had ascended the stairs to the aft deck, swords in hand.
Crang ducked low and hacked off the leg of one with his broad machete.
Orvin slashed with his cutlass, slicing throat, chest, then belly of an opponent.
Aria made one swift stroke of her very sharp cutlass, and the soldier dropped, his head lolling off his neck, barely remaining attached.
The main deck was chaos and carnage. Sailors were fighting off soldiers as more came down the lines onto the Talon’s deck.
“Cut the lines from the Cromah ship!” cried Captain Orvin.
Sailors did their best to disengage the attacking soldiers and cut the offending lines. One or two more were fired into the Talon’s deck.
“Mister Crang, prepare to cut engine!” called the captain.
“Aye sir!”
“Lieutenant Palvern, prepare to fire broadside!” called Commodore Knight.
“Lieutenant Proggott, make ready to bring in the side sails!” shouted Captain Orvin.
The officers responded as best they could, fighting soldiers and barking orders.
Three more soldiers came pounding up to the aft deck, but Orvin killed two swiftly, while Commodore Knight exchanged blows with the third for a few seconds before slashing him from navel to nose.
“Now, Proggott!”
“Cut engine, Mister Crang!”
“Fire broadside, Milia!” called Commodore Knight.
It was as if time froze for a moment, and the next actions happened in slow motion.
The starboard cannon all fired, but not in sync, in a random succession. The Talon lurched hard to the left as she began to drop to the surface. The cannon shot sent debris from the close-range impact with the barq across the deck.
Soon the underside of the barq was over their heads, and the Talon hit the surface hard.
Even knowing it was coming, no one remained standing when the Talon hit the surface. But the crew of the galleon had practiced for something like this, and they were up swiftly, ferociously attacking the boarders as they attempted to stand back up.
The Talon was listing heavily to the right, and she suspected they were taking on water.
“Mister Crang, bring engine back online!” called Captain Orvin. Aria saw him wince as he attempted to put weight on his right leg. He grabbed at the wheel housing. “Mister Proggott, roll out the side sails, up angle fifteen degrees!”
Aria stood at the top of the stairs, guarding against any more attackers, protecting the injured captain and busy helmsman. But the rest of the crew were fighting fiercely. Their experienced sea legs provided them an advantage over the more trained soldiers after the Talon dropped to the surface.
“Seaman Yorn, I need you on this deck now!” called the commodore.
Without hesitation, the sailor was up the stairs and before the commodore. He was sweating and had a bruise spreading down his shoulder onto his arm, but he saluted smartly, his blade point to the deck, dripping in blood.
“Support Captain Orvin, sailor. He is your charge,” she ordered.
“Aye, ma’am.”
The Talon was shuddering but slowly lifting off the surface of the water. A lot of wrenching, creaking, groaning, and cracking sounds came from the hull.
“I think that surfacing was not so good,” remarked the captain dryly.
The barq had lost their prey when the galleon had dropped out of range. The damage the Talon’s cannon fire had done left numerous smoking holes in the side of the mighty craft and likely quite a bit of unseen harm.
The rest of the Knight Fleet was moving in, on the attack. Aria still saw several of the tiny, unfamiliar attack craft, but as she had predicted, they were hardly more than an annoyance. Her fleet was working well around them.
The Talon was ascending a bit more gracefully, now, but it was still too slow. And the sound of water pouring through the holes in her lower hull and back into the sea could not be missed.
“Sergeant - offer no quarter to any survivors,” ordered Captain Orvin bitterly.
Aria heard a groan, and she immediately dropped beside Commander Arlen, who was conscious again but looking unwell.
“Take it easy, Commander, we’re not in the clear yet.”
His pulse was strong, but he was very pale. Aria did not doubt he was going into shock.
She arose and glanced down at the deck. “Trung, Naravvon, get up here right now!”
The two sailors moved smartly, ascending the stairs rapidly. Trung had a cut along his forehead that looked very ugly but was no longer bleeding. Naravvon’s blade had obviously drunk its fill of blood and bone.
“Carefully get Commander Arlen to the medics belowdecks. Then get that cut taken care of, Mister Trung.”
“Yes, Commodore!”
“Aye, ma’am!”
They gently lifted the respected officer and carefully took him down the stairs. Another pair of sailors, still with blades in hand, also played escort.
“Mister Novick, see to it the deck guns and heavy crossbows are manned! Those damned flies are still out there!” called Captain Orvin.
“Aye, sir!” replied the sergeant-at-arms.
“You will need to get to the medics yourself, Captain,” remarked Aria, gesturing at the leg he was holding off the deck.
Orvin shook his head. “Not until my ship is secure, Commodore.”
While she was concerned for her wounded friend, she could not have been prouder.
The barq, now behind them, was slowly dropping towards the surface. Gashes and holes were all about it, and smoke and flame were visible from various points. The surviving ships of the Knight Fleet had done quite a lot of damage.
The Talon shuddered, and Aria had to grab the rail to not be thrown.
“Captain, we need to come down!” called Chief Crang. “She won’t stay aloft at this height!”
“Lieutenant Proggott, make adjustments to take us down to half height!” called Captain Orvin.
“Aye, sir!”
Aria glanced up and no longer saw the sailor in the crow’s nest who should have been there.
“Someone climb to the crow’s nest and tell me what’s still out there!” ordered the commodore.
The sailor nearest the mast looked to Lieutenant Zaffir, who nodded her head in approval. Her hair was disheveled, and Aria noted that the young officer had a bloody shoulder.
The commodore counted herself fortunate to be unhurt.
The sailor was atop the mast and looked shocked at whatever he saw. He carefully climbed in and disappeared below the lip a moment. He emerged with the spy glass, looking unwell.
“Seaman Jerin is dead,” he reported. He looked out. “The barq is losing altitude - looks like our fleet has torn her to pieces. The rest of the enemy craft, save a bunch of those little things, are surfaced and burning or gone.”
“What about our ships?” questioned the Commodore.
He glanced about, before reporting. “Broadsword is on the surface, but under sail. Magistrate...Magistrate is sinking, Commodore.”
Aria cursed under her breath. “The rest of the fleet?”
“Attacking the barq and dealing with about...nine...no, eleven of those little craft.”
“Check to the horizon, southeast. Is that large ship still there?”
The sailor turned and was clearly looking a moment. “Yes, Commodore. It’s...it’s just sitting there, ma’am. It does not appear to be in motion. But it is in flight.”
Aria turned. “Mister Crang, come about to a heading of one-four-seven.”
“Aye, Commodore.”
“Best speed, if you please.”
“Commodore, the Talon is not in the best fighting shape...” began Captain Orvin.
“That ship is the base of those little gnats,” commented Aria. “I surmise it is staying out of range because it is not well armed. As the others finish with the barq, they will join us. We cannot travel very fast just now.”
“Chief, what’s our best speed?” questioned Captain Orvin.
Crang grunted. “Maybe a bit better than one-half, sir.”
“Lieutenant Zaffir,” called out Commodore Knight, “send someone to locate Mister Gallant and get an assessment of our damage.”
“Aye, Commodore.”
“The barq is breaking up!” cried the lookout.
Aria turned and watched as the immense ship came apart. Its pieces fell to the surface of the sea and began to sink.
Aria looked to the deck. “Mister Gorvam?”
The quartermaster had been directing sailors to clear up the bodies. He ascended the stairs to the aft deck. His cutlass had been cleaned, but the Commodore did not doubt it had been well used.
“Ma’am?”
“Master Chief, signal the Stiletto, Earl, and Baron to see to the Broadsword and Magistrate. Then signal the Pegasus and Minotaur to do what they can with the remaining small attack craft. Lastly, signal the Tiger’s Claw, Lordling, Scimitar, and Rapier to flank us and await further orders.”
“Aye, Commodore.”
“Captain?” came the call from Lieutenant Zaffir. “Sir, Lieutenant Gallant is badly wounded. Lieutenant Reff reports that the hull has cracked in about a dozen places, overall structural integrity is poor, three of our side sails can only be extended to half, and we’ve a dozen wounded and another dozen or so killed.”
“Take control of the situation, Ms. Zaffir. Work with Lieutenants Reff and Yonnis...”
“Yonnis, Captain, is among the dead, sir.”
Captain Orvin paused. “Very well. Work with Reff and get crews together to try and shore up our damage. Portside cannon?”
“Portside batteries are at ninety percent, Captain.”
“Very good. See to it, Lieutenant.”
“Aye, sir.”
Orvin looked to Commodore Knight. “If those gnats get too close, they might be trouble, now.”
“Agreed. Let’s hope the corvettes can keep them occupied.”
“Commodore!” cried the lookout. “Tiger’s Claw, Lordling, Scimitar, and Rapier are still dealing with the flies but they are approaching.”
“Chief Gorvam,” addressed the commodore. “Signal Tiger’s Claw to take the other three ships, and to flank that monster to the southeast. We’ll meet them there, but they should attack as soon as they get in range.”
“Aye, Commodore.”
The remaining small attackers, Aria noted now, were concentrating on harassing the healthy ships of the Knight Fleet. Either they were ignoring the damaged Talon or they had not noticed that once their barq was down that the galleon was still aflight.
The other galleon, pair of sloops, and schooner were accelerating, moving out to meet the large ship hovering above the sea. As Aria had suspected, the ship was slow and had been what appeared to be in a retreat, turning to head back towards the Cromah shore.
Even with the damage they had sustained, Talon would be on that ship in only a few minutes.
The rest of the Knight Fleet’s craft were sweeping out, moving to overtake and flank the large unidentified craft. The remaining small attackers were doing their best to harass them but mostly were ignored by the larger ships.
“Port side cannons, make ready to fire!”
Lieutenant Palvern passed on the order. Even with the damage, death and chaos, her crew was ready.
“Mister Crang, can you coax anymore speed from the engine?” questioned Captain Orvin, sounding stronger.
“I’ll try, Captain,” he responded.
Chief Crang dialed up the engine control. After a longer than normal pause, there was a response, and Aria felt the acceleration of the galleon.
“Two-thirds, Captain,” stated Crang.
“Very good, Chief.”
“Enemy craft is trying to get clear,” remarked Master Chief Gorvam.
The Talon was jolted again.
“Attackers on us, Captain!” cried the lookout.
“Deck guns and heavy crossbows concentrate fire on these damned gnats!” called Captain Orvin.
The sailors wielding the heavy crossbows and three-man crews with the deck guns were moving back into position, targeting the small attackers.
The large craft lay ahead, but it gave no sign of opening fire. The rest of the Knight Fleet were nearly around it and ready to fire.
“Mister Crang, prepare to come to starboard!”
“Aye, Captain!”
“Portside cannon, make ready to fire broadside!” ordered Captain Orvin.
“Aye, Captain!” replied Lieutenant Palvern.
“Mister Gorvam, signal the rest of the fleet to open fire. No quarter. I want this thing at the bottom of the Ealantic,” ordered the commodore.
“Aye, ma’am,” replied Gorvam, giving the signal.
They were close enough now to see that the large trimaran had no cannon. Sailors were racing about with deck guns, attempting to get into position, but they would not have the range.
“Mister Crang, best turn to starboard,” ordered Orvin.
The Talon did not turn as fast as she normally would have, but the mighty galleon was in motion. Cannon fire from the Tiger’s Claw, Lordling, Scimitar, and Rapier was already tearing into the massive craft. The attackers were being all but ignored, still.
“Fire broadside!” barked the commodore.
The Talon shuddered harder than usual as the portside cannonade opened up a volley. Shot tore the hull of the trimaran like tissue paper.
“Second volley!” ordered the captain.
There was a pause, and once again, the Talon lurched to starboard as its portside guns fired in unison. The trimaran, already lower above the surface than a normal craft, soon was dropping to the wave tops.
Commodore Knight watched with grim satisfaction as the unusual craft met its end.
“Captain, come about. We’ll let the others finish this thing off. We need to see to the less fortunate craft in our fleet.”
“Aye, Commodore.”
Aria looked back and watched as the rest of her fleet obliterated the remains of the bizarre trimaran craft.
The smaller attackers were dwindling, having also finally worn out their tricks.
Ahead, the Broadsword was still upon the water, but the Magistrate was nowhere to be seen. There was debris all about, and with the damage to the Talon’s hull, Aria was loath to surface her galleon.
“We need crews to repair our hull, Captain,” remarked Commodore Knight. “If we don’t, we can’t surface.”
“I agree,” replied Orvin. “Master Chief, send someone below and see to our repairs. Make certain they understand we need the hull patched before we can surface and make further assessments.”
“Aye, Captain,” replied Gorvam.