Amazon
Category:
Military
ISBN-10: B01ADW2FSY
Type: Fiction
Copyright: Jan. 2016
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
Naval warfare in the age of sail, set in a world much like our own 300 years ago. Action, political intrigue, and plenty of roaring cannons.
Welcome to the "World". The world of pyrates...and of warring nations that have been in conflict for nearly two centuries. A world of roaring cannon, the smell of spent black powder smoke, of whistling iron shot and screaming wooden splinters. A world of warfare in the age of sail. A world not so unlike our own some 300 years ago. In this world an unjustly framed captain and crew of a one-hundred gun first rate ship of the line, once pride of the Brellonian fleet, find themselves throwing in with the pyrates. They soon find themselves the leaders of a revolution of those pyrates, the island merchants, and the last remaining tribe of native people; the residents of the many tropical islands of the Cavanarian Sea. Declaring themselves an independent and sovereign nation free of the Brellonian and Fretellone kingdoms, they are forced to fight for that right, using any means available. From bomb ketches to "flying boats", from a duel between frigates for the honor of their respective captains, to vengeance and reprisals, this first installment of the Pyrates series will take you on a whirlwind romp that only the age of sail can supply. "Wooden ships and iron men" (and girls), political intrigue, and royal wrong doings abound. Being an avid fan of Forrester, O'Brian, Pope, and many of the others that have brought the nautical daring dos of seafarers in that wild age of tall ships and black powder cannon to us, I have tried to create something similar, yet something just a little different. Something to stir that little boy or girl in you that had dreams of far off exploits on exotic tropical seas, sailing under billowing white canvas while chasing the ever elusive life of freedom and adventure. Some come join the fun, and "Huzzah" for adventure!
Excerpt
"'What means this, Captain Mallgran?' he shouted over. 'Why are you not on station in Antiquillia? What orders allow you to be here?'
"'The orders of a just God,' I shouted back. His face turned dark red, but I could see, even across that distance, that he was now getting worried. He looked about his ship and it was then that I knew that he was not at quarters as we were. And I saw a group of curious women and children come wandering up along the side of the Valiant down in the waist. At first this gave me cause to pause. Then I saw how they were dressed, in their finery with wonderful gowns and ruffled shirts and fine silk breeches. One of the young women wore a stunning blue silk and brocade gown, and I will remember that for my entire life. She was an attractive enough young woman, her apparently long dark hair tied back under the matching bonnet. And I saw that gown and remembered how Naomi had always admired such clothing when we were in the shops, but even when I insisted, she would not allow me to spend the money on her, but said it was best spent giving the girls the best life they could have. And now Naomi would never wear such a gown, as we had dreamed she would when I finally made Admiral. And a deep red filtered my vision then, an anger that seemed so full and endlessly deep that I would never survive its cold grip on my heart.
"Even so I was hesitant to do harm to innocents. Then Holgrath shouted across, 'I would have you and your officers come aboard the Valiant, Captain Mallgran. And I will send my marines over to take charge of your crew.'
"'Under what authority, sir?' I called back to him. He stood as if struck, his back straight and his eyes wide.
"'By the authority, Captain, that I am your commanding officer,' he snapped back.
"'I was not aware, Admiral, that you were in the habit of being in command of pyrates, sir!' My reply left him speechless. He was beginning to back away from the rail and I saw the marines filing on deck, their muskets and bayonets at the ready. I looked once more at that young woman's face, forced myself to look away, turning my back on the Valiant, and said in the loudest voice I could muster, 'Run 'em out, Mr. Cribbs.' The sound of the wheels of forty cannon could be heard like a muffled thunder, and above the din I heard Admiral Holgrath shout, 'Just what is the meaning of this?'
"At that I turned toward him and replied across that narrow expanse of ocean that now separated us in less than a pistol's shot of distance, 'Vengeance, Lord Admiral, murderer of our families and our good names. Pure and heartless vengeance.'
"He turned to run from the rail, I turned so as not to see the faces of the women and children in the Valiant's waist, and I said those fateful words that haunt my every sleeping moment, and most of those I spend awake. I said, flat, cold, and calm, 'Open fire, Mr. Cribbs.'"
Again the Captain turned his chair to face aft, his dark eyes following the wake of his beloved ship. He had a lump in his throat and he needed a moment to clear it. Then he turned back to face his nephew and niece, and said, "We opened fire with a full broadside. The entire larboard side of the Valiant disappeared in a cloud of smoke and flying splinters. The screams of all aboard her could just barely be heard above the roar of the cannon. We reset sail and started to pass her, and I finally turned to see the destruction we had wrought. The decks of the Valiant ran red with blood, as our upper guns had been loaded with grape. I saw just a glimpse of blue silk, far down on the deck in the waist, and it was floating in a pool of thick red. I could not take my eyes off that tattered thing that had been a young women only moments before. I tried to tell myself they had all fled, leaving my loved ones…my life…behind to die without so much as a care. It did not stop the guilt and the self loathing. I looked over at Mr. Cribbs, and could tell he felt much the same.
"As we cleared away past the Valiant's bow one of the men let out a holler from our own stern. The mainmast of the Valiant tottered, then went crashing forward and toward her starboard side, tearing away most of the foremast tops with it. There was a thick smoke billowing from the ship's midsection and then a huge tower of flame erupted from that smoke, spiraling high into the sky.
"'Get us clear, Mr. Cribbs,' I shouted, the realization of what was happening suddenly snapping me from my melancholy. 'All full sail, boys, and get this ship clear.'
"I looked back as we began to put distance between us and the now roaring inferno that was the Valiant, and I saw people jumping over the sides in sheer panic. Men, women, children. I did not see Holgrath, though we were already far enough away I would have had difficulty picking him out in particular. We were barely far enough away when the flames reached the Valiant's main magazine, and the huge ship exploded in one enormous ball of fire, mushrooming into the air hundreds of feet, and raining down burning debris for hundreds of yards all around her. The shock wave rolled the Empress nearly on her beam's end, and the crew was rushing about putting out small fires everywhere. The main course was aflame, and crews were sent quickly aloft to loose the sail and let it go over the side. It nearly was not quick enough, and we had a steady fire going at the base of the mainmast for nearly five minutes before the pumps could hose it into submission.
"By the time we had gotten our own problems solved, the Valiant was nothing more than floating debris on the dark water. We sent boats amongst that debris to recover survivors. The force of the blast had been so great that even those who had gone over the side did not survive. There was not one living soul to be found from aboard that ship. With a crew of over seven hundred officers and men, and an unknown number of the gentry as passengers, the Valiant had taken them all with it in its final moments. Or so we thought. Somehow, Lord Admiral Holgrath survived. He must have hid from our crews, fearful of what we might do to him should we find him. And as luck seems with the wicked, he was found two days later clinging to a spar by a passing merchant ship. So we had our revenge, and it was not sweet, let me be sure ye know that."
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