2569 A.D.!

THE DULARNIAN QUEEN

AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN

By Jerome B. Bigge

Chapter Seventeen

      "Your slave girls are a `saucy' lot," I smiled, Emily and Kathi a study in "provocativeness" in their short leather skirts. The crew of the North Star often having a hard time keeping their minds upon their work with such feminine delights prancing about. I had put Emily over my lap this morning, given her the spanking she had coming, then used my fingers to make her "submit" to me. Many Dularnian mistresses "finger" a slave girl, making her come. Impressing upon her that she is totally and completely "theirs"! It serves to keep the wench more "docile" and "submissive" to her mistress, and appears to be almost "unknown" outside of Dularn... La-ra down in the stern cabin, putting things in order for me.

      "No more `saucy' than my wife," he teased, giving me a quick "pat" after glancing to see that no one was looking at us then as we stood side by side on the quarterdeck next to the captain. It was a lovely day, a hint of "spring" in the air, a breeze from the west rippling the water as the North Star swung to her anchor waiting to take us out to sea. I would travel under sail, and reserve the ship's steam engine for times when it was more need- ed. The Diana lying there at its dock like a beached whale, in need of a new coat of paint judging from the looks of the hull. The Orca looked little better, both armored battleships useless for anything but war. My present sea going attire a royal blue woolen tunic and hose, a leather jacket for warmth. Boots on my feet, a long slim sword there at my hip. That of my husband was the common attire of the Wyoming Warrior, along with a fur lined jacket against the piercing chill of the open ocean this early.

      "The crew is still a bit `green'," I spoke to the captain, a grizzled veteran seaman who was old enough to be my grandfather. A man who had commanded ships back in the time of Queen Kathis! Captain Dan Wood the sort of a "sea-officer" I thought highly of.

      "`Aye', your majesty," he answered me, watching them work.

      "Midshipman Wells, `how' is she doing?" I "ventured" then.

      "Best of the `lot', so far as I'm concerned," he answered. "Both boys should take up farming or something else `suitable'." They were both the sons of Senators here in Arsana, and like Tori had done with her daughter, had doubtlessly been sent aboard in the hope that they might learn a little "discipline" here at sea.

      "And the North Star?" I asked, watching the crew run across the deck of my flagship. There was little "trace" now of the battles she'd fought, usually against superior forces, with only my own abilities at command to balance things out. Now she was of an obsolete design, no match for the new Imperial steam frig- ates with their steam powered weapons, their armor plated hulls. We were building two steam frigates of our own, much like those of the Imperials. The Senate had wanted them, and I was tired of "arguing" the issue. We could never "match" the Empire ship to ship and I still considered commerce raiders such as the North Star a better "choice" for Dularn than more "ships of the line"!

      "I think she'd still serve you well if you `asked' her," he answered. Bob had outfitted her last year with higher masts car- rying top gallants, and reinforced her rigging. She was "fast", and could outsail any dammed Imperial with ease in a good wind.

      "I'm going to take her out," I said, the captain nodding. I suspect he had "expected" that I would. The North Star is still "mine" in a way that no other ship will ever be. Paul standing there grinning, well aware that he was to get to see Dularn's fa- mous "lady sea-captain" at work. My "name" being famous now from Alaska down to the southern most reaches of the Mexican Empire.

      "Miss Wells," I spoke through the brass speaking trumpet, "Station yourself at the jib." Tori's sixteen year old daughter doing so, and looking up at me standing there on the quarterdeck. "Lieutenant Hanson at the spanker," I ordered, looking around the ship, seeing where the wind would take her as soon as the anchor came free of the bottom. Fortunately there was plenty of "room" as I feared I might be a bit "rusty" myself after all this time!

      "Hoist the anchor," I snapped, the men at the capstan now doing so, but with considerable difficulty as they had not yet learned how to work together as a crew instead of as individuals!

      "They will `learn'," Captain Wood said to me as I nodded. I was glad that we were at peace. I would have hated to have had to sailed into battle against an Imperial first rate with "them"!

      "I certainly hope so," I answered, not all that "pleased"...

      "Anchor's free!" I heard someone yell, the North Star now freed from the land that had held her. I felt the movement of the ship, the feel of a "living ship" there beneath my boots now!

      "Miss Wells!" I snapped, "Secure that jib!" The girl now doing so, her gang of "landlubbers" under her command slow, un- sure yet in their movements. Where did the Navy get these oafs!? "Lieutenant Hanson, draw in your spanker!" I snapped, the North Star coming about, gathering way, although a crew of slave girls could have done as well as these! And this was my own flagship!! "Helm! Can't you steer a straight course?" I cried, angry now! Well aware too that "word" of this would be all over Arsana in a matter of hours! That people would question my own "competence"!

      "I'm sure they will `improve' with `time'," my Prince said.

      It was rather "chilly" in the stern cabin, although those gathered there no doubt found it as "warm" as the "domain" of the EVIL ONE himself as they listened to the words of their Queen...

      "The North Star is a ship whose `record' is unequaled in the history of our country. Yet today I saw her being `handled' in a way that embarrassed both me and the ship! I know that we are `at peace', that there is no `war' between us and the Empire of California, but yet there is absolutely no `JUSTIFICATION' for what I saw today! And so help me LYS I will either see this ship handled as she used to be or I will make you all rue the day that you were born!" The tone of my voice as I spoke rising higher and higher until my last few words were almost an angry scream!!!

      "We will have sail drill, battle drill, we will all take turns at command until this ship once again is the pride of the Dularnian Navy!" I snapped, pacing back and forth there before them, the sweat cold on my face as I fought to control my anger! "And you will never again `embarrass' the Queen of Dularn as you have all done with your obvious incompetence!" I snapped in fury! "Now get out there all of you and start putting this crew of oafs to work learning how to sail a ship instead of plowing a furrow!"

      "Remind me never to `provoke' you," my husband smiled as the last of them left, Kathi then closing the cabin door behind them.

      "I don't understand IT!" I snapped. "We used to have a navy `second to none' in the quality of our seamanship, but `THIS'..."

      "We `did' get out of the harbor without hitting anything or running the ship aground, and the crew did `manage' to set sail," he smiled, gripping me by the upper arms as I stood there now.

      "With me giving orders every inch of the way!" I said.

      "Then we were `lucky' you were here," he smiled back.

      "Kathi, answer that door!" I snapped, hearing a knock.

      "Yes, Miss Wells?" I snapped, seeing her standing there.

      "I'm `sorry' I couldn't `do' better," Diane said to me.

      "That's the `fault' of your officers," I said to her then.

      "No one wants to `join' the Navy now," she spoke softly. I knew the rate of pay was less than that in the merchant service. Also in the merchant marine you didn't have the "discipline", and you didn't have to worry about getting "shot at" by anyone! Pay rates are set by the Senate, and taxpayers "vote" for whoever will give them the most "services" for the least "taxes" in turn. It is one thing to build warships, another to "man" them with trained men and women capable of effectively fighting such ships. I suppose they had that problem back in the past too. As someone once said, you "get" what you're willing to "pay" for, and right now, Dularn wasn't willing to pay for a first class navy anymore!

      "Just `do' the best you can," I said, "That's all anyone can ask of you," I added, Diane nodding, bowing, and then leaving...

      "You `know' that girl, don't you?" Paul said to me then.

      "She's the daughter of the captain of my guards," I smiled.

      "That `Tori Wells' who almost gave her life for you?" he smiled back, having heard the tale of my adventures with the as- sassin. "Who" had hired her to kill we'd never found out as yet.

      "Ohh!" Emily breathed as she sat there to one side, the ship now suddenly heeling over as it changed course, Captain Wood now putting my orders into effect, his voice audible through the top of the deck just over my royal head! Kathi, more "wise" in the "ways" of a ship, giving her a grin. The North Star now coming about again, the yells of the captain making me smile just a bit! La-ra there by the stern windows, sitting on the bench beneath.

      "We are `tacking' into the wind," I said, my husband nodding as he stood there, the creak and groan of the fabric of the ship a "familiar" sound to me that brought back memories of the past.

      "I don't think I should have `fed' Emily all those sausages for breakfast," he said. The palace cook having outdone himself in giving us a breakfast fit for royalty. I had wisely eaten little of it, well aware too that it had been some time since I'd been at sea. Emily had knelt at his side like a dog to be fed...

      "Kathi, fetch a bucket for your master," I said to the wench as her master then went to Emily and cuddled the seasick slave!

      "Didn't think," he said, Emily looking more miserable by the minute as she sat there, her head down, starting to "sweat" now. Kathi bringing the bucket, and setting it down in front of Emily.

      "Kathi can take care of her," I said, watching him there with her. He'd owned Emily for years, and no doubt felt consid- erable affection for the ripe bodied dark haired Wyoming woman.

      "I'll stay with her," he answered, looking up at me.

      "As you wish," I said, taking my leave of them.

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