"We might all-"
Ousanas clapped his hands. An instant later, as helpless as a doll, Antonina was lowered onto the deck. Matthew and Leo each held an arm and a leg. Their grip on her was as delicate as possible, under the circumstances, but Antonina was not mollified. The entire process was accompanied by her own monologue.
"You're dismissed! Discharged, d'you hear?" was the only one of her spluttering phrases which was not so vituperative, so vindictive, so intemperate and so utterly foul-mouthed that Ousanas howled with laughter, clasping his hands over his belly.
Once her butt had been firmly planted on the deck, Antonina broke off her tirade and glared up at Ousanas. "You think this is funny?" she demanded.
Still laughing, Ousanas nodded. An instant later-even in her outrage, Antonina was stunned by the speed with which Ousanas could move, without, seemingly, any warning or effort-the aqabe tsentsen was sitting right next to her. He beamed down upon her from a height which was now only measured in inches instead of feet.
"Hysterically so," he pronounced. His next words were drowned under the sound of another rocket volley screaming overhead. Again, he and Antonina craned their necks, watching the rockets' trajectory.
"Can't see where they hit!" complained Antonina. Scowling: "Can't see anything, in this ridiculous position."
Ousanas' grin returned. "Which," he said with satisfaction, "is the whole point. You don'tneed to see where they hit. And ifyou can't see the rockets when they hit, we can hopethey will return the favor."
Antonina's scowl, if anything, deepened. "That's the stupidest thing I ever heard! Those rockets'll go wherever they want to go. You watch!" Deep, deep scowl. "Except wewon't be able to watch because we can't see a damned thing so the rockets'll catch us by surprise and-"
The next volley of rockets caught them by surprise. The Malwa, apparently, had adjusted the angle of the rocket troughs perched in the bows of the oncoming galleys. The first signal of incoming fire which Antonina and Ousanas received was the sudden boom of rockets smashing into the bow-shield and caroming off to either side. They only caught glimpses of the missiles streaking past. Perhaps two seconds later, they heard the erupting warheads. Both of them knew, from the sound alone, that the rockets had exploded harmlessly in midair.
Antonina's displeasure vanished instantly. "Beautiful!" she cried. "Beautiful!"
She squirmed onto her knees, raising her head high enough to be able to see over the side of the ship. Ousanas made no objection. He even gave Matthew and Leo, squatting nearby, a reassuring little wave of the hand. The essence of the gesture was clear.As long as the fool woman doesn't stick her head and her brass tits out where any Malwa can take a shot at her.
Antonina's lips were pursed, now, with a faint worry. "One problem, though. I hadn't thought about it." She pointed forward. "We sure enough protect against bow shots. But the ricochets might hit one of the ships alongside. There isn't any shielding covering most of the ships."
Ousanas shrugged. "Won't matter, Antonina. Luck-good or bad-will happen as it will."
The bow shield bellied again under the impact of a new rocket volley. Again, the boom, almost like a drum; and, again, two missiles caromed by. And, again, exploded harmlessly over the waves.
Antonina, scanning right and left as she stared toward the stern of the flagship, was relieved by what she saw. The Ethiopian ship captains had already recognized the same danger and were responding. Charax's delta was several miles wide, giving plenty of sea room. The Axumite ships, advancing in a single line, were already spreading out.
Antonina watched several more rockets bounce off the shields on other ships and skitter past the entire formation. The angle of the shields, she realized, was so acute that only the worst possible luck could cause a rocket to carom sideways.
"The main thing," Ousanas continued-unlike Antonina, he had not bothered to watch the trajectories-"is that almost all the incoming rockets will be harmless. Once we get in ramming range, they'll stop firing."
He chuckled grimly. "Not even a fanatic Mahaveda priest will want to be in the bow of a ship plunging in for a ram."
Antonina turned back and hunkered lower. She studied the figure of Gersem in the bow. The new Dakuen commander, still peering intently through a slit in the shield, suddenly seemed very young.
Ousanas, apparently, could read minds. "Relax. I pickedhim, even though he's the most junior of the sub-officers,because he's also the best seaman."
"Says who?" demanded Antonina. "You know as much about boats as I do about-"
"Says all theother sub-officers," came the serene reply. Ousanas stretched out his arms, pointing to the Axumite ships ranging alongside them to both port and starboard.
"That's true on all of them. Existing commanders, of course, weren't replaced. But until the boarding starts, command of each of those ships is in the hands of the most capable captain. Rank be damned."
Mention of "boarding" focused Antonina's mind elsewhere. She turned and smiled sweetly at Matthew.
"I forgive you. Now, please bring me my gun."
It was Ousanas' turn to scowl. "What do you need that thing for?" he demanded. "Youaren't going to be storming across any decks."
Antonina shook her head. "Certainly not!" Again, she smiled sweetly. "Whole idea's absurd. Unladylike."
Matthew returned with his mission accomplished. Antonina cradled the monstrous weapon, like a beloved child.
"But you never know," she said serenely. "Shit happens, in a battle."
Ousanas, plain to see, was not a happy man. But he made no further protest. What counter-argument could he advance? Antonina had just pronounced the oldest of all veteran wisdoms. "Shit happens," Matthew and Leo echoed, like a Greek chorus.
Antonina saw Gersem grow tense. Tense. Tense.
She held her breath. She couldn't see a blessed thing forward, but she knew the line of twelve Axumite ships had almost met the fifteen Malwa vessels charging toward them. By now, the enemy would be up to full ramming speed.
Held her breath. Held her breath.
"Relax," said Ousanas. He seemed as stolidly serene as a lump of granite. "O ye of little faith. Malwa galleys? In an open fight at sea-againstAxumites?"
He raised his head, like a wolf baying at the moon. "Ha!"
That cry of derision blended into Gersem's sudden shouting command.
Within a minute, both the derision and the stolid serenity proved justified. And Antonina, once again, made a solemn vow not to meddle in the affairs of professionals.
Gersem timed the order perfectly. The Malwa galley driving straight upon them-bow against bow-was within yards of a collision. The Ethiopian warship, with experienced rowers and steersman, suddenly skittered aside. Then, at Gersem's new command, drove it forward in a quick lunge. And then-new command,bellowed- the rowers on the ship's starboard side lifted their oars straight up in a quick and coordinated motion. The maneuver was a perfectly executeddiekplous, as the tactic was called by the Rhodians who were the Mediterranean's finest naval forces.
Disaster struck their Malwa opponent. The captain of that ship, as was true of all Malwa captains, was inexperienced in sea battle. Inexperienced, at least, against a real navy. As powerful as the Malwa Empire was, it rarely faced a challenge at sea from other kingdoms. The principal duty of the Malwa Empire's navy was to protect its merchant ships against pirates.
Arrogance and brute force are a splendid way to deal with pirates. They are poor methods, however, against one of the finest navies in the world.
The Malwa ship came driving in at full ramming speed. The Malwa captain, seeing that his opponent's vessel had no ram, was almost chortling with glee. He would split the enemy's prow in half, back away, and then finish them off with rockets. Once crippled, the enemy craft would no longer be able to hide behind that bizarre and infernally effective shield.