On Another World Ch. 10

I still worry.

Yes, Master. You are in need of an update to Kahn's progress?

Yes.

I think that things are progressing much slower than he would like. He has been in a terribly evil mood as of late. She paused a moment and then went on as if whispering. There is a great deal of dissention in the ranks here. I wish I could say more, but I simply do not know the extent or how it will affect things.

Then, she paused briefly. Master...I have been summoned. I must go now.

Try to take better care of yourself.

I shall, Master. Never forget that I am thine. Contact was cut. I got back to business.

After my talk with Noj-jah, I summoned Captain Kraygar. When he arrived, we began to put the next phase our plan together. His men were divided into ten, ten man teams. Each led by a senior sergeant. We sent eight teams to the east along the strand for more training. They would 'practice' their new skills in the countryside. Another team was sent west to keep an eye on Kahn's forces. That was Team 1, the best of them, or as they referred to themselves, The Thorn. They said they were going to be a thorn in Kahn's side. Tiq-qah, who was almost completely healed from her incident, had asked for and received permission to lead them.

The next two weeks went by at a snail's pace...even though there are no snails on Terrania. Very early one morning, I was summoned to the wall...urgently. The frantic guard told me the battle was beginning.

I arrived within just a few moments. The sun had not yet risen. I starred. My enemy was starting his move.

My first sight of Kahn's army did not exactly fill me with confidence. I had never seen...nor even imagined so many siege engines. Trebuchets, catapults, onagers, even a battering ram at the rear of their formation. Hundreds upon hundreds of them, perhaps thousands. Information received from Noj-jah and the Silent Service, let me know that there were at least 70,000 troops camped throughout the swamp, concealed from my line of sight. All Kahn's siege engines were just out of range of our largest shooters.

I turned to General Guerrae and said. "It would appear that we have our work cut out for us."

"Indeed! But, I think it unlikely that they will ever be able to breach the wall."

"Perhaps...." I said doubtfully. "Kahn is not a foolish man. The Mongol people where he comes from are among the most feared warriors in their land.

"They cannot even lay siege to us. How could they?"

"Then it hit me. "How big is Zoqeland's merchant fleet?"

"Why, it's second to none, M'lord...." The proverbial light coming on.

"Dammit!" I cursed, mostly to myself. Instantly, I knew what my enemy's plan was. "How soon can we get another couple of divisions on the strand?"

The general frowned. "I see...probably not soon enough."

"See to it!"

"It shall be as you say, M'lord."

Kahn's plan as I saw it was to put a large number of troops ashore to the east of Gateway to cut the supply lines. I calculated some where near the middle of the strand would be best. He would also have to attack many of the coastal cities as well, such as Edisekal and Eetnas. Depending on how Gateway was set on supplies, this could be a major problem. There were small docking facilities at the south end of the wall, but they were not large enough to keep the city supplied in the event of a siege. I quietly sighed. I had a couple of weeks before, sent eight of Kraygar's teams out on training exercises. They were all smart men and would know immediately that we were being invaded and act accordingly. We would not be completely shut off.

As if reading my mind, Guerrae said. "We have food to last a cycle or more. Other supplies, the same."

Still thinking of the limited port facilities, I asked. "Are there any ships docked here now?"

"Three, M'lord."

"Have their captains see me later today. Have them all make preparations for getting under way." After a moment of thought, I said. "General, take me to the dock. I want to speak to those captains personally as soon as possible."

"Yes M'lord."

About an hour later, I was speaking to the three captains in an office overlooking the dock. "Kahn is going to land troops along the Strand, to cut off our supply routes. We must find a way to prevent that."

"We shall get started on that as soon as possible!" Said the largest of the three, a Seaborne named So-Larri. He reminded me of an old New England whaling captain. They were standing to depart when the door burst open. A young Qoo-jan boy dashed in. "M'lords...a ship!" He said pointing back out the door he just came through.

We all ran to the nearest tower and I looked through the 'far eyes' to see the ship. The 'far eyes' are a large mounted set of high power binoculars. Very much like the 'big eyes' used by the U.S. Navy back on Earth. Looking through them, I could see the ship clearly. It was obvious that it was very heavily damaged. The foremast was gone. The mainmast appeared to be broken in half. There was plainly a great deal of jury-rigging to get her under sail power. And then, I recognized her...the Sea Hawk! There was also a great deal of damage to the hull. Many of the shooters were damaged or destroyed. And there, on the quarterdeck, stood Sa-khonsu, the Sea Hawk's sailing master, a bloody bandage covered half of her head.

When, a while later, the Sea Hawk moored, physicians and other medical people were the first on board her. Sa-khonsu, having spotted me came straight to me. "M'lord. The captain was badly wounded, but is expected to survive...as are most of the other mates. However, the second mate is dead. All together, 17 dead, 40 wounded."

"Tell me what happened." I said; happy to see her and to know that So-lonni, the Sea Hawk's captain had also come through whatever happened.

"We were set upon, M'lord...by the Great Kahn! I was sure that we would all die, but Captain So-lonni was brilliant!"

"How did you escape?" I asked.

"We didn't, M'lord."

"But you were outgunned more than four to one!"

"The captain defeated her, M'lord. I've never seen the like in all of my life. I've been sailing master on here for a long time and he had me doing things with the ship, I did not think possible." Sa-khonsu took a breath and then went on. "At the end, the Great Kahn was on fire...and then...and then." She paused, a wondering confused look came over her features. "Then there a bright flash of light and a horrible sound...then a huge ball of fire...and then...she was just gone!"

"Gone?"

"Yes, M'lord. She was there...and then she wasn't." She held her two fists in front of her, threw them out quickly spreading her fingers, and made a simulated exploding sound with her mouth.

"She blew up." I said. It was not a question.

Sa-khonsu looked confused again for a moment and then smiled. "Yes, M'lord!"

This was not good news. Kahn had gunpowder...or something like it.

A man ran up to us and identified himself as the Dock Master. "How may I be of help, M'lord?"

"First thing, get repair crews on the Sea Hawk. Then...."

We were interrupted by the sound of a distant explosion. "Merciful Kriegor! What was that?" The Dock Master asked.

"An explosion...." I said. The Dock Master looked at me as if I were speaking in a strange unknown language. "I'll try to explain later." I said as we ran out the door. We got to the wall at the water's edge and looked. There was a naval battle, taking place about a league from the beach. A Zoqelander ship-of-the-line was attacking Terranian frigate. A large cloud of smoke hung in the air behind the frigate. Apparently, the explosive ammunition was fused the same as the fire rounds. The last shot seemed to have been fused too long and the round detonated after it had passed its target. As was usual, the larger Zoqelander ship was more heavily armed, but was slower and far less maneuverable than the Terranian frigate.

A man who was looking through the near by 'far eyes' said. "It's the Green Falcon, M'lord. Sister Ship to the Sea Hawk."

I went to the 'far eyes' and had a look for myself. The ship from Zoqeland was named Mongolia. I mentally rolled my eyes. Kahn's idea, no doubt. The Mongolia was nearly twice the size of the Green Falcon and probably had three times the firepower, which fortunately, was all but negated by the smaller ship's speed and maneuverability.

Unfortunately, any advantage the Falcon had could quickly be erased by a lucky shot using the new explosive ammunition being used by the Mongolia.

Then, the Green Falcon turned into a southerly direction and was heading away from us, with the Mongolia in pursuit. Some time later, they both sailed over the horizon and we lost sight of them.

I looked up and saw why. High, thin clouds told me that there was a storm coming. No ship wanted to be anywhere near land in a storm. And this one would be interesting. Sea storms as they are called on Terrania are much larger and faster than Hurricanes are back on earth, but are rarely as powerful. Winds seldom exceeded 100 kph (kilometers per hour) by metric measurement on my old home world. However, using the same units of measure these storms traveled at nearly that speed across the surface here.

I nodded as the wind did shift and picked up just a bit. The sea storms, just as their counterparts on Earth were cyclonic and usually had a large eye in its center. Also, the storms spin counter-clockwise on Terrania's northern hemisphere. Nice to know that physics worked the same...even eight and a half light-years away.

Guerrae looked up and saw the clouds moving in. "It will be here in just a few hours."

I nodded. "We have much to do." I knew Kahn would be landing troops on the strand before too long. "Have Captain Kraygar report to me immediately." The general spoke to a runner who ran off as fast as he could.

We made our way back to the central part of Gateway near its main gate. The wind had gained some speed but was not blowing hard yet...from almost due east. I started thinking...trying to come up with some kind of advantage. Then it hit me...I thought. I wonder.... As the beginnings of an idea started to form in my brain. I said to General Guerrae. "A good strong wind from the east should increase the range of our shooters, is that not right?"

"It should do so...dramatically."

"Prepare fire shot, a lot of fire-shot. Perhaps we can take out quite a few of their siege engines."

"Yes M'lord, it shall be as you say."

Then suddenly, without warning, Kahn's trebuchets, catapults and onagers began to fire. The siege was underway. They started with fire-shot, just as I knew they would. Their intent would be to set the wall on fire. The stonite, of which the wall was constructed, would burn...but not easily. They would need to keep sustained fire for quite a long time. And that appeared to be Kahn's plan. A huge wall of fire raged at the base of Gateway's wall.

The battle for Gateway had begun in earnest....

To be continued....

First, I ask you to excuse any errors here. I sent this to an editor and heard nothing back. Then I sent it to another...with the same lack of response. So, I submitted it as is because it is long overdue.

For those of you who have enjoyed this series so far, thanx! There will be more to follow, but I must warn you that in the next chapter, I have little or no sex planned...and maybe even the chapter after that. That could change, but right now, it's very unlikely. I want to concentrate on the story.

On another subject...for those who haven't noticed, most of the cities on Terrania, with the exception of Tertapolis, are actually named after cities in San Diego County, California, which is where I live. They've just been spelled backward. Edisekal is Lakeside, etc, etc....

As always, constructive comments welcome.

DS