On Another World Ch. 06

She was the second virgin I had deflowered in as many days. Again, I was not sure how I felt about this. But I shrugged it off. In this case, according to Seq-qah, it was necessary. Noj-jah looked at me with adoration. As with the others, I could feel love coming from her. However, given her origins and her promise to me, I wasn't going to worry about it.

We made love for the better part of two hours. Later as I drifted off to sleep last thing I remember was hearing, I love thee, Master, Seq-qah's voice whispering in my mind.

The next morning, we started out as we normally would. There were now seven Qoo-jans in the slave wagon. Six female, one male. Poor Zeq-qoh locked in a cage with six naked beautiful females. I joked to myself. A part of me felt bad for him. Qoo-jan females could be quite troublesome for any man, at certain times.

Qoo-jan women have normal menstrual cycles. As will any female of any race or species capable of bearing young. With the Qoo-jan, this happens, only four times per cycle. This was preceded by a brief time in which the female sex drive becomes very powerful and for some, uncontrollable.

For this reason, the female is able to secrete venom while biting. This them renders the male conscious, but incapacitated. This allows the female to mount a reluctant male and have her way with him. Unlike the women of Earth, they do not become cranky or irritable during this time. Sex and procreation becomes the only thing of any importance in their existence during these brief cycles of their lives.

I imagined what it would be like for Zeq-qoh if all six girls into this cycle at the same time. I silently laughed to myself, though in reality, it was very unlikely in the extreme.

About an hour after starting, the road curved slightly to the south and came to the beach, and then paralleled it. The day was clear with the exception of a few high clouds in the west. The air was a little cooler this close to the water, but not uncomfortably so.

Seq-qah said to me. "We should be in Edisekal in three or four days, Master."

I told her. "If my calculations are correct, we should be there before the Tushüks get to Eetnas." I looked into her eyes and switched to a telepathic communication.

It is my plan to get to Mitgartten well before them. Then, I shall get them back. I did not have explain to Seq-qah than I meant Verella. Afterward, I could continue west and work on my plan to free Qaj-jah and Qij-jah.

The next two days passed without notable event. On the evening of the third day, while setting up camp, came a loud disturbance from the cage on the slave wagon.

I ran over and was not overly surprised at what I found. Zeq-qoh lay motionless on the floor of the cage. His eyes were open, and he was clearly conscious, but looked unable to move. On top of him was Lol-lah. She had obviously gone into her cycle and was very busy fucking Zeq-qoh as though her life depended on it. I reached through the bars of the cage, grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked savagely. She hissed ferociously, then turned and saw me. She immediately broke into tears, begging my forgiveness. "I am sorry, Master. My cycle has started and I was unable to control my urges."

I released her hair and spoke. "I am not unreasonable. In the future, whenever your cycle starts, you will notify me." I looked at the others, and continued. "That goes for each and every one of you, understand?"

"Yes, Master!" They all said.

I turned to Seq-qah and said. "Get him out of there for the night."

Yes, Master.

Later, as I was going through the nightly ritual of cleaning the Colt, Seq-qah sat next to me. She gently put her hand on my arm and told me. We should be in Edisekal late tomorrow morning, Master.

One of the first things we will have to do is find a ship. I shall look into that. You and Kôjar will look after the others. I do not know at this time, how difficult that will be. We must find one as soon as possible.

Yes...it shall be as you say.

I smiled at her. Always eager to please. I counted myself very lucky to have her. There was no doubt that I could rely upon her for anything. I am fortunate to have you, little one.

No Master, it is I who is lucky to have thee.

I laughed softly. Let us just say that we are lucky to have one another.

Then she asked me. Master, on an unrelated matter, might I share thy bedroll with thee tonight? She looked at me hopefully.

Miss me, do you? I chuckled. Yes Seq-qah, you may. In fact, tonight...I would prefer that.

I thank thee, my Master. Have I mentioned lately that I love thee?

A time or two. I chuckled.

Then I shall tell thee yet again...I love thee, Master. A dazzling smile lit up her face.

With that, we went to bed and made love. As usual, she was very enthusiastic and nearly insatiable. Afterward I slept like the dead.

We arrived at Edisekal at the beginning of the ninth hour the next morning. I went ahead of the others. I made sure that I was armed; it was a prudent precaution when entering a strange city on Terrania.

It was exactly as I had envisioned. The city looked like any seaport one might have seen on Earth during the early eighteenth century. The streets were narrow, but clean. The smell of freshly bake bread and other foods permeated the air. We were heading along the main street toward the docks. The streets were also a beehive of activity. Street vendors hawking their wares, sailors heading to the pubs and brothels...or returning to their ships.

I smiled inwardly at the quaintness of all I saw. I passed an Inn with a sign showing a square-rigged sailing ship with its mainmast looking as if bent at a 90º angle. Below that on the side, were the words 'Broken Mast.' As I walked by, a very drunken sailor staggered out of the Broken Mast and bumped roughly into me. He was a very big fellow, I might add.

"Hey! Watsh where the devil yer goin'" He slurred at me. He was a head taller and easily twice my weight. A sailor so much in every way, he could have stepped off the pages of a Robert Lewis Stevenson novel...even down to the eye patch he wore.

"Might I suggest that it is you, who needs mind your own step, sir?" I asked not unkindly.

"Wha...? You son of a whore!" He yelled pulling out a long thin sword and faced me. A rapier. And a very fine one at that.

I smoothly slipped into a combat crouch, whipping out my katana and then holding it in the traditional two-handed grip. I smiled at him confidently. "You really don't want to do this."

A large crowd had gathered. It seemed that fights on the streets were common and they were waiting to be entertained.

The sailor swung his rapier with a speed that belied his size and his drunken state. "I have your guts for garters!"

If he hadn't been trying to kill me, I might have laughed in his face. In one smooth move, I parried his blow and slashed at his wrist. The sword, his severed hand still holding it, clattered to the street. He stared at the stump, dumfounded.

"That...." I said. "Was for attacking me...and this." I punched him on the chin, knocking him down. "Is for the cheesy cliché."

I wiped the blade of my katana on the front of his shirt, slipped it back into its scabbard and walked calmly down the street. The crowd parted before me like the Red Sea.

After what seemed to be most of the morning, I arrived at the waterfront. It only took a moment for me to spot the ship that was easily my first choice.

The ship was unlike anything I might have imagined. She looked to be a little over 200 feet in length. She was a three masted square-rigger, much like the old square-riggers in so-called early days of America's Continental Navy. The hull on other hand seemed to be a combination of things. Part tall sailing ship, part Viking long boat and part ancient Egyptian warship, complete with a ram at the base of its bow. Yet, she had a grace to her that made her look like she was moving fast, even while still tied to the wharf. The hull was painted a dark blue with only a little white trim. From where I stood on the wharf, she was immaculate.

I was approach by what I can only describe as an old stereotypical sea captain. I instinctively knew he was the ship's captain. "She is the Sea-Hawk. She's a beauty, is she not?" The old man looked me in the eye. "She is being readied for your use, M'lord."

"She is indeed a beautiful ship, Captain. Being readied for my use? To what or whom do I...."

"Lord Granahkt, sir. He asked a favor and I owe him many." He pronounced sir as 'sahr' much like the old-time seamen/pirates back on Earth. Every thing about his speech and mannerisms seem to be from an old 'B' movie about pirates. I chuckled inwardly so as not to offend him.

How did Granahkt know where I was or what I was planning? To the captain I said. "She looks more than adequate for what I have planned."

Aye.... She is not the biggest in the fleet, but the ol' Sea-Hawk be among the fastest." The man saluted me, Terranian fashion, and then offered a hand to me. "I be Captain So-lonni, sir."

"And I am...."

"I know who you be, M'lord." He interrupted and gave me a knowing wink.

"When can we leave?" I asked the captain.

"She'll be ready to sail with the tide, M'lord. How many of you are there?"

"There are thirteen of us, plus two wagons and some livestock."

"Very well then Sir. Bring them the dock and we'll get them loaded." He said to me and went aboard his ship.

Zeq-qoh and Seq-qah soon after arrived with the wagons, and they were loaded in almost no time at all. My 'slaves' were placed in a compartment up forward that was comfortable and spacious for its purpose. Once that was completed, Captain So-lonni gave me what he called his personal guided tour of the ship. Seq-qah and I would be staying in a small comfortable cabin next to his beneath the poopdeck. Then we were shown where we would take our meals, which was the Terranian equivalent to ward room, where all the officers ate. I noticed that even with a great disparity in the male/female population on this world, fully three quarters of the crew were men.

After that, we went to the main deck, where I got my first look at what passed for maritime weaponry on Terrania. There were eight of them on either side of the ship. They appeared to be a curious cross between a ballista and a catapult. The captain went into a lengthy description of the weapons and the ammunition they used. The weapons, simply called 'Shooters' had a maximum range of nearly 3 leagues, but were only accurate to one, This, compared to what I was used to wasn't very far, but was more than adequate for the task at hand. They were fairly easy to load and even easier to shoot. A gun crew consisted of only three sailors.

There were several kinds of ammunition that the shooters could use. The first was a heavy round ball. The balls were not very big, but were all are heavier than the appeared. The second was two smaller balls attached together with a length of chain. There was yet another, which I can only describe as a napalm, round. It was fused so that when used properly, a round would explode just before impact, dousing the target in flames. When used properly, an enemy ship could be set ablaze in very little time.

"So, what do you think of her, Sir?" The captain asked me.

"I must admit that I am very much impressed. Do you know where it is I need to go?" and.

"Aye Sir, indeed I do." He gave me a knowing smile.

We went down below to have an early dinner consisting of some seafood that I was unfamiliar with. The captain told me that we would be departing soon and invited me to join him on the bridge, which was located on the poopdeck. We all ate and chatted a while. He introduced me to his other officers. So-lonni started with his first mate, So-aaron and then his second mate who was named, So-ector. Next, was a small waif of a woman, with long yellow-blonde hair that went past her cute round bottom. "This is Sa-khonsu, the saving master. She is the reason that the Sea-Hawk is one of the fastest ships on all the seas." She was a thin, young looking girl with deep blue eyes.

She nodded to me saying. "Welcome aboard, M'lord." She then added a small friendly nod to Seq-qah. "Physician...."

After that, we ate the rest of our meal in comparative silence. The seafood was a type of fish very similar to tuna on Earth. This was served with something that looked very much like corn yet was a very dark green in color with a red hue. It was all quite good, and I ended up eating probably more than I should have. There was a desert that tasted very much like vanilla pudding, but was black as coal in color. After the meal, the captain stood from the table and told his first mate and make preparations to get away. With that, he turned and left.

Shortly before sunset, the Sea-Hawk got underway. The efficiency of the crew was nothing less than staggering. There were no wasted movements by any of them. They all seem to work as one and I was more than a little impressed.

Part of the ship was similar to an old galley, but this one used no oars. Instead, part of the crew would go below decks and turn a series of handles that led to a large gearbox, which was attached to a shaft that led to a large propeller that could be lowered in port for easier maneuvering. Once at sea, the propeller would be raised into the hull and the ship moved my sail power alone.

Seq-qah and I stood on the bridge with Captain So-lonni and his helmsman taking in sights. I noticed another ship getting underway at the same time as us. It was easily half again as big as the Sea-Hawk, with a midnight black hull and matching sails and masts. I did not think much of it at the time as Edisekal was a very busy seaport. We approach the breakwater, which was in fact a wall about thirty feet in height with a single opening just wide enough to large ships to pass through at the same time. At either side of the opening was a short tower about twenty feet higher than the wall itself. These towers were each manned by no fewer than a dozen soldiers. There also appeared to be three or four of the shooters atop each one. One of the soldiers gave us a friendly wave as we passed by.

Then we were in the open sea. Capt. So-lonni gave the orders to raise the propeller into the hull, then turned to Sa-khonsu and ordered her to set the sails.

"By the gods, there'll be trouble soon enough, I tell you." The captain said, noticing the black ship also leaving the harbor.

"Why you say that?" I asked him.

"That ship...." He pointed behind us at the other vessel. "I would venture to guess that although it doesn't look like it now, that that is a pirate ship. Most likely, they will not attempt to make their move before we leave sight of land."

Captain So-lonni was of a seafaring race of people on one of the continents in the southern hemisphere of this world. They were formidable navigators and could find their way anywhere with a good compass and an accurate timepiece. Their race, called the Seaborne, could just look at the stars determine where they were on the surface of the sea, anywhere. With one look, they could easily determine their latitude and with another, they could determine their approximate longitude, after consulting an accurate chronometer. This was all done by instinct... nothing else was required. No other race of people other than the Seaborne had this unique capability.

As the sun was finally setting, So-lonni said to Sa-khonsu. "Hang every rag, you can. Let us see how fast she is." I knew he was talking about the suspected pirate ship.

Soon it was dark, or dark as it could be with Qoo-jah, Seq-qah's home world, shining brightly in the night sky. With my enhanced vision, I could see the other ship clearly. Clear enough, to see her name, Black Dragon, painted on her hull. It did appear that it was trying to overtake us. She was just over three leagues away.

This continued throughout most of the evening. The Black Dragon gradually decreased the range between herself and the Sea-Hawk. I sent Seq-qah down below and remained on deck to offer whatever help I could. At about midnight, I estimated the Black Dragon to be just under two leagues distant and then I heard a muffled 'thunk' followed a moment later by a splash just off the port side of the ship. The Sea-Hawk was already at 'action stations' and had been for nearly an hour.

I watched as a flag was raised to the top of mainmast of the ship attempting to overtake us. It was black with a crude red skull on it.

"Bloody pirates. I knew they were pirates." Muttered the captain. "We are in for it now!"

"Will we fight?" I asked him.

"Aye, but I'm not sure it's the wise thing to do, but we have no choice. You see the red skull?" He pointed at our enemy. "They mean to kill us all. And they have the advantage. We are armed by sixteen. That blasted scow is probably armed by forty." Armed by sixteen meant that our main armament was the sixteen shooters on the main deck, eight on each side. This did not count the four other smaller shooters, two on the poopdeck and two of the forecastle. The other vessel had forty shooters based on the captain's estimate. "She is bigger and better armed, but we are more maneuverable." To the third mate he said. 'Raise the colors."

On the mainmast, up went the Terranian flag. It had a light blue field with a maroon St. Andrews cross and a gold crown in the center. "Unless you'd rather fly your personal flag, M'lord." So-lonni Asked. I just shook my head and said nothing.

I heard the thunking noise again, followed in a couple moments by the crash of splintering wood and a scream from the forward part of the ship.

"They've the range already." The second mate shouted in alarm.

"Hard a port...." Captain So-lonni ordered. "Fire as your weapons bear."

All portside shooters fired within a second or two of each other. All fell a few yards short. Reloading, while slow, went faster than I expected. We were closing quickly. In what seemed like no time at all we were down to only a couple of hundred yards.

The Black Dragon turned rapidly to starboard and fired a broadside at us. It looked like about twenty balls, four of which struck the Sea-Hawk's hull.

"Keep coming around to port." Bellowed the captain. "Fire!"

Sea-Hawk's eight port side shooters fired again. All struck the Black Dragon in the hull and the main deck. I was able to see that one of her shooters was destroyed and another damaged. "Good shooting! Keep it up!" I yelled to the shooter crews.

Suddenly, crossbow bolts started raining onto the deck, striking two of the Sea-Hawks shooter crewmen. I lookup and saw no fewer then 20 men aloft on the Black Dragon, reloading their crossbows. I jerked my Colt out of the holster, aimed carefully and fired a shot. The silenced Colt let out a muffled 'pop' and of one the enemy clutched his knee and fell. I silently cursed as I was aiming at center mass. The man hit the water and then surfaced almost immediately. I half hoped the man could swim as his ship would make no effort to recover him while battling us. I slowly squeezed off another round. The next enemy sailor grabbed at his stomach and also fell. This one fell right on to one of the shooters, rendering it at least temporarily unusable. His neck obviously snapped on impact ending his suffering.

I continued shooting, killing three more before the rest realized what was happening and climbed down.

The Sea-Hawk began to swing rapidly to the right again, passing astern of our enemy. "Chain shot! Take out her mizzen...." Captain So-lonni ordered.

The Sea-Hawk managed to reverse her course in almost no time at all. Her shooter crews fired their chain shot as they passed the Black Dragon's stern. The first shot missed, but managed to tear a large hole in the mizzen sail. The next shot hit its target, breaking the mizzenmast only about 10 feet above the deck. It felt forward, hitting the mainmast, damaging it and tearing a huge hole in the mainsail. The Black Dragon was now essentially crippled.