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diff --git a/old/61371-h/61371-h.htm b/old/61371-h/61371-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 744bed8..0000000 --- a/old/61371-h/61371-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1531 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Captain of the Kali, by Gary Wright. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } - -.ph2 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } -.ph2 { font-size: medium; margin: .83em auto; } - -.poetry .stanza -{ - margin: 1em auto; -} - -.poetry .verse -{ - padding-left: 3em; -} - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Captain of the Kali, by Gary Wright - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: Captain of the Kali - -Author: Gary Wright - -Release Date: February 11, 2020 [EBook #61371] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN OF THE KALI *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="368" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>CAPTAIN of the KALI</h1> - -<h2>By Gary Wright</h2> - -<p class="ph1">Sail down the wind, Kali! Victory waits<br /> -across the seas—and so does death!</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Worlds of If Science Fiction, January 1963.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>John Ward, God Helper, hung in his chair like a damp, empty uniform. An -open, four-foot port showed a circle of blazing blue sky and a regular -glimpse of a high, curving topsail. The humid, hot salty flavor of a -strange sea blanketed the cabin, and sparked a sudden thought:</p> - -<p>"What the hell am I doing here?"</p> - -<p>There was no prompt answer. The wind rushed and moaned. The roiling -water crashed and hissed under the stern. The following ship heaved its -topsail into sight again, and withdrew it. A lilting chant drifted like -smoke on the wind.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse"><i>We ride the wind down like sleek, skimming birds.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>The seething foam furrows follow true.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>The sky is clouded with our singing sails.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>We ride the wind down, down the wind.</i></div> -</div></div> - -<p>He was Comet Colonel John Ward, Terran Confederation, Earth; he was -certain of that. Age? Forty-two, more or less. Specialty? Historical -Naval Tactician. If you had to call it something you might as well -call it that. Hobby? Sailing. But, God, Snipes and Lightnings aren't -ships-of-the-line! Reading? Well ... lyric poetry and ancient history, -if you must know. Present Occupation? God Helper. No, call that -Commander Advisor to the Kali, Aqua. Future? Oh, hell-yes; right up -the....</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse"><i>Wide shouldered, wave exploding, trim twin-hulled we come.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>First, the sky tall, fine first-liners.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Then the seconds, flanking fast.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Lean and level slide the frigates.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>All around us flash the corvettes.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Ride the wind down, Kali seamen, down the wind to Ande-Ke.</i></div> -</div></div> - -<p>Six months ago he had a future all outlined, but six months ago he was -a shining God Helper, come in glory. Now he was simply a God Helper, -and sometimes not even that.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse"><i>We are the Kali. The fortunate ones. Yes!</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Heirs to our wind and water world.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Like our ships we are tall and proud.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Like our wind we are wild and restless.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Like our sea we are strong and savage.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>This is our world, wide and lonely.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Ride the wind down. Kali brothers, down the wind to Anda-Ke.</i></div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Six months on this barely discovered, one per cent land area, -behind-the-galaxy planet, with piercing Confederation insight: Aqua. -Where the land was scattered about like pepper on an egg, and even the -wind tried to run backwards.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse"><i>Down the wind at Anda-Ke—there is trouble.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>There we meet the stupid Grimnal.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>There the challenging, groveling Grimnal.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>He will plead for his wives and children.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>And, as proper Kali seamen.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>We will keep them soft and happy.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>After, we send their men away,</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Under the hungry gray-green water:</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Under the wind as we ride the wind down, down the wind to victory.</i></div> -</div></div> - -<p>And here he still was, trying to show some life-loving, song-singing, -battle-mad, contrary-thinking, conceived of leather and salt spray, -five-foot humanoids how to fight a sea war.</p> - -<p>And that was really quite a joke. The Kali and the Grimnal had been -at this for a hundred years, and doing quite well. They were in no -danger of getting overpopulated for one thing, and had evolved a dual -power political system over the entire planet before the invention of -an explosive. But now, being newly discovered by bigger and better -dual powers, they were being shown how to fight in a bigger and better -way. Only the Grimnal seemed to be learning, however. Oh, the Kali -listened, and even followed directions, but they seemed incapable of -understanding that slamming two corvettes upwind into the guns of eight -first-liners was simply not good military tactics.</p> - -<p>They had a game. Something like Tag in reverse. One man was It, and -everyone on ship tried to catch him. He could go anywhere, do anything, -even cut the rigging as long as it didn't endanger the ship. The more -daring he was, the better. Ward had watched one make a hundred and -fifty foot dive from a skysail yard with the ship making about twenty -knots in a heavy sea. How do you go about explaining caution to a -people like that?</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>But he had to. Somehow. Since the big boys had taken sides the Kali had -been losing. Or, more accurately, Ward had been losing.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse"><i>All the Gods are busy Beings.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>We know.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>But even They have noticed now</i>,</div> -</div></div> - -<p>Ward's wandering mind snapped back. This was a new verse.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse"><i>And sent a sky man down to help us;</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Sent a Helper down to lead us.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>But the ways of Gods are strange.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>The Grimnal leaps from isle to island,</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>While the Kali stand and watch him.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>While the Gods and Helpers falter.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Ride the wind down, Kali brothers. At Anda-Ke we stand the test.</i></div> -</div></div> - -<p>A polite cough from behind reminded him that Captain Tahn was still -in the cabin. The Kali coughed to express anything from rage to sheer -joy, and this one probably meant that Ward's hearing the last verse -was an accident. Ward swung around and glanced at him, but the Kali -deliberately kept his slitted eyes on the chart before him. Ward was -reminded again of the Kali likeness to the long vanished American -Indian: black, straight hair; narrowed, snapping black eyes; high, -angular cheek bones. But not much beyond that. If you took a fine -featured Sioux of long ago ... shortened him about a foot, thinned -him down—bones and all, raised his shoulders to a perpetual shrug, -stretched his arms so that they still reached his hips, then starved -him for a month ... you might be close. But if you took a picture of -him then, and looked at it slightly sideways, you would almost have it. -An extremely thin, short, shrugging strip of muscled rawhide.</p> - -<p>Tahn coughed again; the your-attention-please cough. He swung a chart -around for Ward to see. It was a rough drawing of Anda-Ke, the largest -of the Grimnal Group, and more or less the home island. It looked -somewhat like a startled elephant: mouth open, trunk arced out at an -angle. The mouth was Anda Bay, and was guarded by Anda Passage where -the lower lip came within two miles of the upper. The trunk was Pelo -Head, and was broken about halfway down by Pelo Break. The area between -the drooping trunk and the neck was the Grimnal Sea. It was into this -that the Kali fleet was charging like a peanut sailing for the mouth.</p> - -<p>Tahn tapped a pencil-like finger at the rearmost reach of Anda Bay.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"There," he said, in the Kali-Confederation mixture they found to be -the shortest distance between two cultures. "Anchored there like marks -on a sail. Feeling so safe in their home. Thinking we do not dare come -after them. Grimnal rafts just waiting to go to the bottom."</p> - -<p>"And the gliders?" Ward asked. "Are they returned? We have no -information but the tales of two natives."</p> - -<p>Tahn glanced at a water trickling, time-measuring device hanging from -the overhead.</p> - -<p>"Soon the gliders return, but...." He shrugged, somehow.</p> - -<p>"And those are not rafts," Ward went on. "The natives said three, two -and single gun rows. That means first and second-liners, frigates and -probably corvettes. And they said 'many,' which means anywhere from -fifty to two hundred."</p> - -<p>Tahn coughed his agreement.</p> - -<p>"But with Grimnal stupidity," he said, "they can do no more than run -around in terror as we shell the city and fire their ships. We have -this won."</p> - -<p>Ward looked down at his bands, caught a deep breath, and continued.</p> - -<p>"I have said before. We are not fighting just the Grimnal. We are -fighting God Helpers too. Men like myself have come to help the -Grimnal." He caught Tahn's flickering glance and added quickly, "Men -who are probably better fighters than I am."</p> - -<p>Tahn coughed and leaned his head sideways, fairly equivalent to a -casual 'so what?'</p> - -<p>"False Gods. False Helpers," he said.</p> - -<p>Ward held his breath and swung back to face the port. Great, sizzling -Hell! He wondered if his opposite with the Grimnal had such problems. -Probably not. Problems weren't allowed in the United Peace Worlds. And -with the Grimnal preference for island life over the sea, it apparently -took little urging to make them want all the islands in the world.</p> - -<p>"You realize," Ward said without turning, "that they have probably -known of our coming for days."</p> - -<p>"Good."</p> - -<p>"And what would they still be doing at anchor?"</p> - -<p>Cough, cough. Probably meaning how the hell should I know?</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph2">II</p> - -<p>If only they didn't have this towering independency and conceit, Ward -thought. They used to fight as individual ships. Then they weren't -the least surprised if a lonely frigate was blown to splinters by an -overwhelming Grimnal force. In fact, it was a thing of joy and beauty -forever.</p> - -<p>It was only by the very fiercest thundering had he gotten this fleet -together under Tahn, and only Tahn's high position had kept it -together. And God only knew how much longer it would hold together. The -Grimnal had shown remarkable organization. Ward had pointed that out, -and that was a gross mistake.</p> - -<p>The Kali wanted nothing to do with what the Grimnal did.</p> - -<p>A sharp rap sounded on the cabin door and a Kali slipped in. He made -the casual motion that could be a salute, a greeting or a wave good-by, -depending on circumstances.</p> - -<p>"Two gliders return," he said happily. "In the bay are two -first-liners, four second-liners, five frigates and some corvettes. All -at anchor. Just waiting for us."</p> - -<p>Ward nodded.</p> - -<p>"How many corvettes?"</p> - -<p>The Kali's face wrinkled in dismay.</p> - -<p>"Fifty-six," he said softly.</p> - -<p>Ward smiled to himself, and ran the Kali fleet by in his mind.</p> - -<p>Eighteen first-liners mounting a hundred-twenty guns apiece. Eleven -second-liners mounting eighty to ninety guns. Twenty-four frigates -mounting fifty to sixty guns. Fifty-two corvettes mounting ten -to twenty guns. A strong force, but not as strong as the Grimnal -potential. Firmly, he said:</p> - -<p>"We will run down almost to Anda Passage—then wait."</p> - -<p>The Kali glanced at each other. Tahn coughed.</p> - -<p>"Not to go in?"</p> - -<p>"No!"</p> - -<p>"Why?"</p> - -<p>Ward took a deep breath and told himself to stay calm.</p> - -<p>"We know there are land guns along the Passage. We know that even -without them three first-liners could hold it against anything. We know -that those ships in the bay are not the whole fleet. Where are the -rest?"</p> - -<p>Double cough. Double head bob. Two helpless expressions.</p> - -<p>"We outnumber," Tahn said hopefully.</p> - -<p>Ward muffled a smile. At least they were learning something.</p> - -<p>"We cannot go in, Tahn. It's a trap."</p> - -<p>Tahn was quiet, his whole body slowly coming to what Ward knew was hurt -pride and anger.</p> - -<p>"Then we wait?"</p> - -<p>"We wait."</p> - -<p>Tahn was nearly rigid, his voice fighting its cage of control.</p> - -<p>"We wait like before?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was Ward's turn to let a tingling moment pass. This was the first -overt mention of his past actions. He must walk softly. Kali temper was -like nitroglycerine; one touch the wrong way....</p> - -<p>"We wait only to learn of the other Grimnal ships," he said evenly. "We -let them make the first move in order to see what they are doing. Then -we strike—hard!"</p> - -<p>After a long, breathless moment, Tahn coughed. It was one that Ward -never heard before, but judging by sound, it was not meant to be -pleasant. Ward stood up, stared directly at Tahn and said quietly "I -charge you with honesty, Tahn."</p> - -<p>It was a serious phrase. Tahn made the equivalent of a nod.</p> - -<p>"There is much talk," he began, his voice higher pitched. "We ask -ourselves why we do not fight. The Grimnal takes many islands; land -that is ours. He does not defeat us, but we do not stop him. We wait as -you tell us. We wait and see our islands lost.</p> - -<p>"The Kali are ashamed, and the Grimnal laughs. We cannot go home and -face our women and children.</p> - -<p>"You come to show us how to fight, you say. But we do not fight. We -wait. You tell us things that will make us win, but we do not fight. We -wait. You hold us back. We ask ourselves why."</p> - -<p>He straightened, obviously grabbing a big piece of Kali courage.</p> - -<p>"There is an answer why. Perhaps you help other Gods than ours. -Or—perhaps you are afraid."</p> - -<p>There it was. Stark and ugly. Ward looked at Tahn for a long time, then -straightened to his full five-eleven.</p> - -<p>"As a God Helper I am charged with honesty at all times," he said, and -let it sink in for a second.</p> - -<p>"I see many more things than the surface of the sea and the direction -of the wind. What I do for the Kali is for the good of the Kali. If -you follow me, you go to victory. If you do not follow, you go to the -bottom."</p> - -<p>The Kali glared with glittering eyes. Tahn's cough was a bark.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps some will follow."</p> - -<p>Their parting salute was crisp as they spun and left.</p> - -<p>Ward eased himself back to the chair and stared at the door. This was -the ragged edge. They fight the one coming, or else.... And if they -lost it, the Confederation could mark off the Kali, John Ward and the -planet.</p> - -<p>He remembered all too clearly the other engagements, if you would -call them that. And he remembered too the disappointment, chagrin and -outright anger of the Kali, and his own frustration.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Engagement One: Taley Point. They had surprised a small Grimnal force -close in to shore on the leeward side. After trading shots at extreme -range. Ward gave the order to withdraw. Reasons? Shallows, reefs, a -raising wind, and nightfall. The Grimnal was gone in the morning. The -Kali had been stunned. It was the first time they had ever withdrawn -with whole ships.</p> - -<p>Engagement Two: Gola Island. They had chased a smaller force into port, -but Ward had held off because of intense shore fire. The Kali did not -sing for three days.</p> - -<p>Engagement Three: Bari Sea. They were closing with a nearly equal -force, yet out of range, when a large wind devil, one of the freak, -contrary winds, had slashed across both fleets; shredding sails, -splintering masts, effectively crippling both forces. Ward gave the -order to heave to and repair damages, as the Grimnal did the same. The -Kali were astonished. Such a thought was madness with the enemy in -sight. But they followed orders, and did not smile when he appeared any -more.</p> - -<p>Engagement Four: Darel Sea. (Oh, the Darel Sea!) They were closing at -glider range when a lucky Grimnal had sneaked in and managed to fire -bomb a first-liner. Without that ship they were greatly out-gunned -and, leaving a frigate to take off the crew, they slipped off downwind. -It was a near rebellion, but Tahn had held them. Then the wind came -up, bringing the Grimnal force with it. And both the frigate and the -burning first went down fighting. The Kali had cried, probably, Ward -thought, more in admiration than in sadness.</p> - -<p>And now, as a result of a vote of ships' captains, they were headed -straight for the Grimnal's heart; and Ward wondered if he was anything -more than a passenger. He knew he had been tactically right in each -case, but the Kali knew he was morally wrong. So who had it, the head -or the heart?</p> - -<p>And what about this thing of being afraid? That hurt. He didn't believe -he was afraid. Honestly, he really couldn't say. He had, as a fact, -never fought a battle in his life.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He used to play a game in the scouts. What did they call it? Capture -the Flag, or something like that. Each side had a hidden flag and the -other tried to get it. He was always the planner. How'll we do it, -John? And he would tell them, and keep away from the rough stuff, and -they nearly always won.</p> - -<p>But violence fascinated him as a spectator. Later his reading took him -in that direction, and later still his studies. In the middle of his -life he found he was one of the leading historical naval tacticians in -the world. He started writing historical novels, under a pseudonym, of -course, and soon became the world's authority.</p> - -<p>Then someone blundered into Aqua.</p> - -<p>For a couple hundred years the Terran Confederation and the United -Peace Worlds had been at war. Not an open, honest, stand-up-and-get-it -war; but an undercover, half ignored, let's-get-the-kids-to-fight war. -A galaxywide game, played for planets, using local cultures. And always -according to the rules. No new technologies. No new weapons. Use what -you have at hand. Play it fair. Because if you do not, neither will -we—and together we will eliminate the universe.</p> - -<p>Aqua was a natural. It had a war already underway. Deep in the -secretmost catacombs of Confederation Central a voice said: "Find a man -who knows ancient naval tactics. Find a man who knows sailing. Find a -man who knows combustion firearms. Find a man. Now!"</p> - -<p>And the order went rattle-rattle, click-click, wink, blink ... and -reached out and touched Doctor John Ward.</p> - -<p>Although <i>Colonel</i> Ward's training had filled three straight days, -there was one thing they forgot to tell him—what do you think about, -really, when someone fires a cannon in your face?</p> - -<p>A knock came at the door. Ward rubbed his face back into an expression -of awareness.</p> - -<p>"Come."</p> - -<p>Tahn entered briskly and strode to the opposite side of the table. His -eyes held a level, challenging look.</p> - -<p>"Gliders say there are Grimnal coming up behind us along the coast. -About—uh—two hours distant."</p> - -<p>"How many?"</p> - -<p>"There are four firsts, five seconds, twelve frigates and some -corvettes."</p> - -<p>Ward patiently tapped the table.</p> - -<p>"How many corvettes?"</p> - -<p>"Twenty-three."</p> - -<p>Ward was thoughtful for a moment.</p> - -<p>"We still have them. But it still is not their whole force."</p> - -<p>"We hit them?"</p> - -<p>I'd better answer this one right, he told himself. They were now just -below Pelo Break, about two hours from the Passage. There was about an -hour of daylight left.</p> - -<p>"After the sun dies," he said, avoiding the word "wait," "we will swing -to meet this new force. If the wind holds straight and steady, we will -come across to them like sharks in the night."</p> - -<p>"Sharks?"</p> - -<p>Ward grinned.</p> - -<p>"A very savage deep sea fish of my world."</p> - -<p>Tahn relaxed, and a twisted smile came over his narrow face.</p> - -<p>"It will be a short fight," he said softly.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph2">III</p> - -<p>Aqua's sizzling sun was getting hazy as it settled behind lower Pelo -Head, outlining the violent peaks like teeth in some savage jaw. Ward -stood on the bridge of the first-liner, <i>Bad Weather</i>, and watched the -fleet and the late returning gliders. He never failed to marvel at -these ships—sleek, sea-flying catamarans, steady, tall and wonderously -beautiful. Their twin hulls skimmed the seas with hardly a roll. Their -speed was something you had to feel to believe.</p> - -<p>He watched the second-liner. <i>South Bird</i>, come around to catch her -glider.</p> - -<p>Both soaring upwind, they aimed for an intersection. As they drew -closer, two long booms with netting between were extended over the -stern. Slowly they angled together. When it appeared that the glider -would crash the bridge it pulled up, stalled and fell softly into the -net.</p> - -<p>He never failed to exhale a long breath after such a landing—catching, -rather.</p> - -<p>Launching was even more spectacular. The ship raced out on fast beam -reach with its glider poised upwind on its two poles. Then a streaking -corvette hissed up under the stern, swung slightly upwind, caught the -braided stretch-line and actually yanked the glider aloft. Ward was -quite sure it was something he never wanted to try.</p> - -<p>The <i>Bad Weather</i> was coming around now. He caught the white flash -of her glider high downwind. Tahn came to stand by him, his quick, -cat-like motions betraying his eagerness.</p> - -<p>"They bring more news," he grinned. "The Grimnal in Anda Bay is -starting to raise sail."</p> - -<p>Ward frowned.</p> - -<p>"They think to trap us between them. Perhaps they expect us to race -into the Passage after dark."</p> - -<p>Tahn coughed his pleased cough.</p> - -<p>"But our—uh—tactics, is it? They are to keep out of the Passage?"</p> - -<p>Ward smiled.</p> - -<p>"For now. We fight them as two separate fights, not as one. We will -overwhelm each in turn."</p> - -<p>Tahn's cough was one of agreement.</p> - -<p>"Yes," he breathed. "Just as long as we fight."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" width="327" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>They turned to watch the glider make its long floating approach. It had -dumped its spoilers and was losing altitude, when it suddenly climbed -impossibly fast, spun completely around and exploded in a hundred -pieces.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Tahn leaped to the rail, stared, then keened the Kali howl of alarm. -Ward squinted downwind in puzzlement, then saw it—the seething, wild -slice of a wind devil arcing toward the fleet.</p> - -<p>Curling, lashing, faster than any ship, it bore down on them in a track -of boiling foam. Other ships took up the cry. Knives flashed as sheets -were cut and sails crashed down. Seamen ran aloft to furl the wild -cloth. Some of the leading corvettes tried to turn and run out of the -way, but the wind was too fast.</p> - -<p>A corvette suddenly lifted her bows, flipped over backwards and slammed -down like a thrown stone. A frigate lost her sails and masts in less -than two seconds. Another corvette rose sideways on one hull, spun and -broke in two. The wind shriek became deafening.</p> - -<p>Another frigate lost its masts, lifted on its stern and fell back in -an explosion of water. The first-liner, <i>Thunder</i>, lost its masts and -rigging, put its bows down as if stepped on, spun a full ninety degrees -and finally relaxed. A corvette went tumbling end over end into the -side of a second liner, which immediately lost its masts and half its -bridge. A corvette went streaking out of the fleet at blinding speed, -one hull hiked entirely out of the water, and disappeared in a wall of -spray.</p> - -<p>It was abruptly silent.</p> - -<p>The foaming wind track left the fleet and slashed toward the open sea. -With a soft flutter, then a breeze, the westerly quietly resumed its -push. The Kali appeared on deck again and slowly gazed about them. And -the fleet lay dead in the water.</p> - -<p>Ships lay heading in all directions. Wreckage, lines and bits of sail -littered the water. A frigate lay listed hard over. Damage reports were -coming in to the <i>Bad Weather</i>: the <i>Thunder</i> dismasted and leaking; -another first dismasted; one second leaking badly, perhaps going down; -three other seconds dismasted; one frigate sinking fast; two more -dismasted and leaking; two more dismasted; six corvettes lost; four -dismasted and damaged.</p> - -<p>Tahn was grim as he scratched marks on a slate. Twenty-one ships out of -action in less than a minute. Ward cursed and slammed the rail. Damned -planet! Damned Grimnal! Damned everything! Tahn coughed beside him. -<i>And</i> damned coughing!</p> - -<p>"There is more news," Tahn said quietly. "We just fished out a glider -flyer who had returned from cruising Pelo Head."</p> - -<p>Ward turned. There seemed to be a smile flickering on Tahn's swarthy -face.</p> - -<p>"He says there is a great Grimnal force coming into the Break from the -north. Sixteen firsts, eighteen seconds and ten frigates. There are no -corvettes."</p> - -<p>Ward's whole body seemed to tighten. Thanks to a damned wind the trap -was sprung.</p> - -<p>"Can they come through the Break?" he asked, more to stall for time -than gain information. Tahn coughed three times.</p> - -<p>"It is a brave thing to do. Even for Kali it would be brave. It is bad -water in the Break. The wind goes up; the current comes down. It is -slow, but it can be done."</p> - -<p>"How slow?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Tahn tilted his head, stared at where the slice of the Break was barely -visible on the horizon, and shrugged, almost.</p> - -<p>"Maybe—uh—two hours. Maybe more." He coughed. "Maybe less."</p> - -<p>Ward glared at the crippled ships.</p> - -<p>"And they would try it at night?"</p> - -<p>Tahn coughed assent.</p> - -<p>"There will be a good moon. I would try it."</p> - -<p>Damn. Forces from three sides that, united, would blow them right out -of the water. They could meet any of them alone, but....</p> - -<p>"If we could slip south," he pondered aloud, "we could—"</p> - -<p>Tahn snarled, his face an unearthly mask in the dimming light. His -breath whistled between his teeth.</p> - -<p>"You <i>polasti</i>!" he hissed. Ward straightened and faced him. The Kali -around froze in their tracks. <i>Polasti</i> was the foulest word in their -language.</p> - -<p>"Kali have died in this water just now," Tahn was barely able to manage -his voice. "They are down there right now. We will not run and disgrace -them! We will stand here. We will put a wall of sails and guns around -this spot, and if we die it will be in honor. We will run no more. <i>We -will run no more!</i>"</p> - -<p>He was trembling when he finished, and Ward expected a knife to make -one final arc. It was impossible to try to explain. It was broken....</p> - -<p>That thought crashed through as a knife never could.</p> - -<p>It's over. The Grimnal will surround this pitiful fleet like a storm. -It's over; we've lost the fight, the war and the planet. And I've done -it. It's my baby.</p> - -<p>The thing seared him, roared through him, shook him—and touched a -secret place. A deep place where he stored his anger. All his past -angers, big and little; covered stifled, caught and hidden. Old hurts, -old dreams, old reproaches screamed and gibbered through him like a -thousand ghosts and devils. They swamped the gentle man. They dragged -him down and gagged him. And something else took his place—something -that had never been allowed to stand before.</p> - -<p>"You stupid bastards!" he roared, wheeling to face them all. "You -God-forsaken fools! A Grimnal baby is a greater fighter than your -bravest man. Look what he has done to you. Look! Like blind animals -you have been led into a trap. You have been put in a cage of your own -ignorance. You call me <i>polasti</i>! I am the only one who can show you -how to win. The only thing you know is to bunch together and be killed -like animals at slaughter. You stand together in one tight group to -make it easy for him. You know how it will be? Look!"</p> - -<p>He sprang to the glass globe that held the magnetized needle, seized -it and hurled it to the deck. It exploded like a small bomb. The Kali -moved back.</p> - -<p>"That is what the Grimnal will do to you. Your bravery will be as that -glass, nice to see—but look at it now!"</p> - -<p>Water from the globe trickled slowly through the shattered glass. The -chips winked red in the dying sun. Only the cry of the wind sounded -through the ship. Ward forced his choking breath to an even rhythm.</p> - -<p>"Now go die like the fools you are."</p> - -<p>He left the quiet bridge and threaded his way to his cabin. Night was -coming softly to the Grimnal Sea.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was dark in the cabin when the knock sounded. There was no answer, -and it came again.</p> - -<p>"Come," Ward said in a very tired, hollow voice.</p> - -<p>The door swung open and someone entered. After a long moment, Tahn's -voice came softly in the dark.</p> - -<p>"No one has ever spoken to the Kali like that."</p> - -<p>Ward did not answer.</p> - -<p>"It is a brave man that can do that. And bravery is something we -understand." There was a silent moment. Tahn coughed. "May I light the -lamp?"</p> - -<p>Ward swung around in the chair.</p> - -<p>"Certainly."</p> - -<p>Flint flicked on steel, a spark glowed, caught, and light wavered in -the cabin. The two faced each other, Ward sagged low in the chair, the -Kali by the lamp. Tahn coughed again.</p> - -<p>"There is a way?"</p> - -<p>Ward let a moment pass.</p> - -<p>"There is a way to try."</p> - -<p>"Fighting?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, fighting."</p> - -<p>Tahn paused the barest second.</p> - -<p>"Tell me."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph2">IV</p> - -<p>The frigate, <i>Windsong</i>, skimmed downward like a low, lean cloud. -Behind her, vague in the dim moonlight, followed four more frigates -and the skating corvettes. Before her, like a gate to hell, gaped the -jagged mouth of Pelo Break. Ward leaned against the bridge rail beside -Resi, the scarred and battered captain of <i>Windsong</i>.</p> - -<p>"Keep close to the eastern side," Ward said. "In the shadow of the -cliffs, out of the moonlight."</p> - -<p>Resi spoke softly to the helmsman, and the <i>Windsong</i> eased into -the shadow. Ward turned and watched the following ships as, one by -one, they slipped out of the moon and all but vanished. He swung -back and squinted ahead. As far as he could see, high, broken cliffs -reared straight from the water on both sides, angling together in the -distance. There Tahn had said, they stood a scant two hundred yards -apart, and the Break turned nearly sixty degrees to the west. That -was the narrows. Ward turned to Resi, wondering if the old Kali fully -understood the plan.</p> - -<p>"If we do not meet them before, we wait for them at the narrows."</p> - -<p>There was no acknowledgement that he could tell. Not even a cough. He -doesn't like this, Ward thought. He relishes the fight coming, but not -me. Despite Tahn's heated pep talk, I am a bad totem. But Tahn had -accomplished one thing—an honor promise from each ship's captain to -follow orders. Ward knew they would, as long as everything went along -with fighting, but the moment something went wrong.</p> - -<p>He remembered Tahn's bark of surprise as the plan unfolded. Then the -argument, and his own firm stand that he command this force. For this -was the crucial contact. The Key. If this failed—it all failed.</p> - -<p>He was sure that Tahn and the rest of the feverishly anxious Kali -would more than whip their end. They were outnumbered, but had an -overwhelming firepower edge. For the hundredth time he reviewed the -thing, looking for the fatal flaw.</p> - -<p>One frigate for the crippled ships, which gave them quite a bit of -firepower right there. Two firsts, four seconds, five frigates (the -<i>Storm Bird</i> had gone down) and four corvettes. They were to make fast -repairs, jury rig, then stand by in the shadow at the mouth of Pelo -Break. If the Kali came back out—fine; they would all rejoin Tahn. If -not—and the Grimnal came—they were a last stand.</p> - -<p>Tahn had the main force of sixteen firsts, seven seconds and thirteen -frigates. He was to intercept the Grimnal coming from behind. He would -run their fleet through, come about, rake them again and run out to -sea. He was to hit them hard enough to stop them, then make them -believe he was running away. After any pursuit was discouraged he was -to come downwind and fly for Anda Passage.</p> - -<p>If the timing was right, he would run right over the force from the -bay, and with a little effort clear them off the water.</p> - -<p>"Then," Ward had added with a half smile, "you can shell the land guns -in the Passage in your spare time. If the first Grimnal force comes -limping in you shouldn't have any trouble."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>No, Tahn wouldn't have any trouble. In the Kali's present mood they -could probably do it with half their ships.</p> - -<p>But hell would be open in the Break tonight. Five slim frigates and -forty-two tiny corvettes against sixteen firsts, eighteen seconds and -ten frigates. Ship for ship; but what unbalanced firepower! Their -advantage would be surprise, if nothing slipped, and maneuverability -where the Grimnal ships would have their hands full just keeping clear -of the cliffs. And this was the fulcrum.</p> - -<p>A sudden flare from the maindeck.</p> - -<p>"Cover that!" Resi snapped. Then to Ward, "They are cooking the liquor."</p> - -<p>Ward nodded. Apparently Resi had a good idea of what was expected. That -was one good thing. The liquor, as they called it, was their explosive. -A revolting, highly inflammable slime brewed of seaweed and fats. It -was prepared in port, but had to be brought to a firing temperature on -board. This was done by heating in large kettles and kept just below -boiling. When a gun was to be fired, a certain measure of this soup was -poured down the muzzle to a sizzling hot firing chamber, kept hot by a -covered charcoal packing and quickly sealed by a lava-stone ball. It -was the gunner's sense of timing then to know when the gun was ready, -and slam the firing stud with a hammer. This slapped flint to steel -inside the chamber—and wham.</p> - -<p>But it was touchy. If the gunner swung too soon, nothing. If he waited -too long, it fired itself. If the chamber was too cool, it would not -fire at all; if too hot, it might go the second the ball was rammed. -A very delicate operation. And in the midst of battle—with charcoal -flying, hot shot coming in, glowing fires under the kettles and spilled -hot liquor everywhere—it was hard to see what kept a ship from blowing -the whole battle apart. But that never happened. The liquor was easily -diluted with water, and they went into battle with special water crews -sloshing down the decks. And the stuff was fast. In the Gola Island -fight, with fairly hot guns, they were loading, aiming and firing in -about ten seconds.</p> - -<p>The <i>Windsong</i> eased along, the narrows loomed closer and Ward began -to tighten. Any second he expected the double bows of a Grimnal -first-liner to slide into sight, followed by another, and another, and -another....</p> - -<p>He felt the urge to move about, to do anything as long as he was -moving. He noticed the Kali were the same. They were as restless as -the troubled waters of the Break—lunging, hissing, swirling, rocking -up and down. They were constantly at the rail relieving themselves, or -rattling the dipper at the water barrel. And he could see the glint of -their eyes as they threw quick glances in his direction. He caught Resi -watching too, and moved away.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They didn't trust him. They were waiting for him to call it off. They -expected him to; probably wanting him to.</p> - -<p>He suddenly found he was quivering like a captured bird. He gripped the -rail hard with both hands to stop. But it wouldn't stop. It galloped -through him, ran him down and trampled him. And in panic he saw what it -was.</p> - -<p>Fear.</p> - -<p>Not simply the fear of failing. It was....</p> - -<p>God! The reality of it! This wasn't like reading a book or writing a -story. This was going to be real shot and flame instead of words and -paper. Real people were going to die, with their blood warm and sticky -and horror in the eyes—and he wouldn't be able to glance away to -ponder it. It was going to roll from start to finish with the reality -of Now and the surety of Death. It was going to flame as fights have -flamed since something first snatched up a rock. And he was going to be -right in the middle of it with these Kali, win or lose, live or die. -And what was he doing here with these strange, alien Kali?</p> - -<p>He raised his head and glanced around. Resi was standing by the -helmsman, talking with his deck lieutenant. Water splashed down on the -maindeck; the water crews at work. There was a breathless quiet over -the ship. He could see them standing like shadows, watching the curve -of the narrows.</p> - -<p>The Spartans must have stood like that at the Pass of Thermopylae!</p> - -<p>And the Athenians on the Plains of Marathon.</p> - -<p>And the Americans at Bastogne.</p> - -<p>And men anywhere, any time before a battle.</p> - -<p>A single, whispering line from an old poem sang through him:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse"><i>Into the Valley of Death rode the six hundred.</i></div> -</div></div> - -<p>There was no alien here but himself.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The ominous walls of the narrows closed and filled the sky. Beyond the -curve, some two miles up, the Grimnal ships were slowly beating upwind. -Suddenly, like a touch of fire to old ashes, he knew what he was doing -here. A long imprisoned breath escaped from him, and a great sigh -seemed to come from the whole ship.</p> - -<p>Resi turned. Ward could barely make out what must be a smile in that -old Kali face.</p> - -<p>"We made it, ho?"</p> - -<p>"Just barely, by God. Have the ships string out as planned, with the -lead frigate in the tip of the shadow where the Break turns into the -moonlight. And be careful of noise. It will carry in here like a cannon -shot."</p> - -<p>Resi coughed and was gone like a cat.</p> - -<p>The <i>Windsong</i> fell dead in the water. The others whispered past like -ghosts. Voices called softly, and the small, shielded signal lights -licked from ship to ship. And the <i>Windsong</i> was alone. Her bows swung -out slightly to allow the foreguns a field of fire. Ward climbed -down from the bridge, strode the water-slick maindeck and gained the -foredeck. The gun crews turned, glanced at him, then turned back. He -could not tell if they were smiling or not. So what. They would have -plenty to smile at in a moment.</p> - -<p>The lead first-liner was about a mile now and keeping well to their -side. Ward squinted at the point of the shadow, but there was no light -flickering there that he could see. Damn!</p> - -<p>The Grimnal ship looked huge in the moonlight, and the Break behind -it seemed filled with sails. It was nearly abreast of the shadow tip, -still holding to their side, and the tiniest flicker of light danced in -the shadow beside it. Ward grinned. David and Goliath.</p> - -<p>The giant first-liner started its slow tum on the very edge of the -shadow, drifting into the dark until only its sails held the moon. The -sails came around, fluttered and filled. The silent hulls came into -sight.</p> - -<p>Ward let out a breath, echoed by Resi. The lead liner was well on its -new tack. The next was starting to edge into the shadows, and behind -that was another, and another, and another. Resi muffled a cough.</p> - -<p>"You tell when?" he whispered.</p> - -<p>Ward nodded. "I'll tell when."</p> - -<p>The Grimnal rode closer, the crash of its bow waves sounding louder. -Ship after ship was coasting past the hidden frigate. Ward's excitement -grew to a pounding thing. They would be able to get them all in range.</p> - -<p>The sails towered over them. A hundred yards. Almost abreast; just at -the narrowest point. Ward took a deep breath, and said quietly:</p> - -<p>"Now."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Resi turned and hissed. Steaming liquor trickled down hungry cannon -mouths. Lava balls were softly rammed home. Muzzles came down. Aimed. -The gunners tensed, raised their hammers—and swung.</p> - -<p>The night came apart.</p> - -<p>A crashing roar racketed through the Break. The walls blasted back -the echo. The <i>Windsong</i> rocked and trembled. Smoke boiled into the -moonlight and dimmed the Grimnal ship. And that was only a small sound. -Over a mile of fire smashed from the shadow and for a quivering second, -it seemed the world had exploded. Then came the thunder, and Ward -flinched.</p> - -<p>Waterspouts climbed in the moonlight. Wreckage spun from the Grimnal -ships. Holes splintered in their sides. The <i>Windsong</i> roared again; -the bobbing corvettes answered. And a deafening, mind dulling thunder -covered the break.</p> - -<p>And the Grimnal did not answer.</p> - -<p>The lightning flared steady now from the Kali line. Resi climbed -halfway up the ratlines for a better look. And still the wounded giants -had not answered. Grimnal were running in all directions on their -decks. Resi let out a howl of sheer triumph.</p> - -<p>"They do not have their liquor cooked!" he cried, swinging to the deck. -"We have them with cold guns!"</p> - -<p>The Kali cheered, and the firing seemed to cease. Ward was shaking -again, but for a different reason.</p> - -<p>"Hey, Resi," he bellowed. "Let's get in there closer."</p> - -<p>Sails snapped and the <i>Windsong</i> came alive. She seemed to leap into -the moonlight. Then a corvette appeared beside her, and another, then -two racing side by side into the smoke. And all the Kali were moving. -The <i>Windsong's</i> men were laughing like children, and the water crews -had everything soaked halfway up the mainsails. What people! Ward -laughed, ducking another bucketful. Resi slid to a halt beside him.</p> - -<p>"We fool them, ho? We fool them!"</p> - -<p>"Closer," Ward yelled. "Under their guns!"</p> - -<p>"But they are not firing."</p> - -<p>"Under their guns anyway," Ward laughed, and added to himself—away -boarders! A few scattered shots were coming from the Grimnal, ripping -overhead. Ward stood a little taller. The <i>Windsong</i> came about, her -starboard bow nearly slashing the looming first-liner. Ward felt Resi's -hand on his arm.</p> - -<p>"It was really <i>you</i> that fool them."</p> - -<p>Ward grinned foolishly.</p> - -<p>"But <i>we</i> whip them, ho?"</p> - -<p>Ward wanted to answer, but it was the starboard guns' turn to speak.</p> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Captain of the Kali, by Gary Wright - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN OF THE KALI *** - -***** This file should be named 61371-h.htm or 61371-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/1/3/7/61371/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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