Chapter 29: The Horde Gambit
Starfox5
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Chapter 29: The Horde Gambit
"Captain! Four Horde frigates and three courier ships ahead!" Seacat reported, yelling down from the top of the mast without taking her eyes off the ships that had appeared on the horizon. None of them looked damaged, as far as she could tell from here.
She shifted her weight and adjusted her grip when Sea Hawk turned the Dragon's Daughter V around. The fleet at the fortress needed to be informed at once so they could prepare for the attack.
"Full speed ahead!" Sea Hawk yelled below her, and Seacat braced for the slight kick that went through the ship when the engine started up. Alcy still hadn't figured out how to accelerate gently.
There it came - she clenched her teeth as the mast briefly swayed back and forth while the ship picked up speed. The wind at their back, and the engine running full throttle - they were setting a new record. Or would be, if anyone kept count.
She focused on the enemy. The horde ships were falling back - and the frigates were outpacing the couriers. Which were a little low in the water. Ah - probably fire ships. Or bombs.
Damn. "Captain! The Horde couriers are weighed down! Possibly fire ships."
"How tricky of them!" Sea Hawk yelled back. "But I can't fault them for such an effective tactic! They must have learned from us!"
Probably long ago - but the Horde hadn't been desperate enough to set their own ships on fire until now. But it meant that they had to stop seven, not merely four ships - and the Alliance fleet, meaning the Salinean Navy, was a little stretched right now. The six frigates at the fortress could stop the Horde frigates, but not if they also had to stop the couriers. And even with the Horde ships weighed down, she doubted that the gunners on the mole could hit all of them before they entered the harbour.
Which left the task up to the Dragon's Daughter V, and the Flying Seagull. But that courier was covering the southern approaches and was unlikely to return in time to engage the enemy - the Dragon's Daughter V couldn't sail south to fetch them, and Captain Gren wouldn't leave her station until she found Horde ships or got relieved.
Damn.
Seacat gave the Horde ships another look, then slid down the mast to fetch the signal flags to inform the Salinean frigates as soon as they were in sight.
This was going to be a tricky battle.
"Ships ahead!" Licy yelled. "Seven - four frigates, three couriers, under sail!"
As expected, then. There had been a small chance that at least one of the couriers would be sent away, but... Seacat studied the ships through the telescope. "They'll be slower than normal, loaded down with whatever." Something flammable, probably. Or explosive.
"But they'll break off before the frigates engage, to draw us out," Sea Hawk replied. He shook his head. "It can't be helped. They'll split south and north. We'll have one frigate cut off the single courier and go after the two others."
And hope the Horde courtier didn't manage to outsail the Salinean frigate.
"That leaves five to take on their four frigates. Good odds to sink them all without taking too much damage. The marines we took on from the frigate will board the first courier we catch and we'll chase the other while they secure the courier," the captain went on.
They'd be lighter, then, and with the engine… It was doable. Barely, she corrected herself as she looked back at the Fortress. "It'll be close."
"Oh, yes. A harrowing adventure, in other words!" He smiled, flashing his teeth at her. "We'll have another shanty to sing after this!"
She smiled at him and nodded.
Provided they survived this, of course.
"Signal the Mermaid's Pride that she's to fall back and prepare to intercept a lone courier."
"Aye aye, Captain."
Seacat quickly did so, waited for the frigate to acknowledge the order, then returned to her spot near Sea Hawk. Alcy was at the bow with a marine as loader, and Horas was ready to handle the sails. And the other marines were getting ready as well. Probably looking forward to the prize money.
She snorted. Well, the odds were in their favour - couriers didn't have big crews. Of course, if the Horde had loaded the couriers down with soldiers… but they would've had to strip down the frigates for such a force, and whatever soldiers managed to get into the fortress would be quickly dealt with by the marines there; couriers simply couldn't carry enough troops for a landing or even a large raid against a port.
"They're breaking up! Two couriers northward, one southward!" Licy yelled.
Seacat confirmed it with her telescope a moment later.
"As expected," she muttered.
She signalled the Mermaid's Pride to intercept the courier heading south even though they already knew their orders - in a battle at sea, it paid to be thorough. But the Dragon's Daughter V was already turning northward, into an intercept course. They had two couriers to stop or sink.
"They're slow," Sea Hawk commented. "They wouldn't escape a normal courier - and they know we have them."
"It's a trap, then," Seacat said. "What are they carrying? Explosives or boarders?"
"Either would work, but they won't have too many of the latter." The captain studied the ships racing northwards through his telescope. "Too low in the water for troops. They wouldn't have so many soldiers to fill the hold. I bet they're fireships."
"Or bombs," Seacat pointed out.
"No. They would be using the engines by now, to get past us and into the port. And they would be lighter than that. And they can't have enough powder to fill the hold to be so low in the water - that would leave the Horde guns dry." Sea Hawk grinned.
"They could've enough powder stored there to ruin our day, should we close," Seacat retorted. "Fill the rest of the hold with scrap metal or ballast, to turn into shrapnel."
"That they could - but I don't think the crew would blow themselves up like that." The Captain shook his head. "One or two, maybe, but an entire crew? I don't think so."
"But they're carrying something!" Seacat insisted. And she was sure it wasn't any good.
"They are. And we'll soon be finding out what!" Sea Hawk grinned. "I'll bet it'll be a harrowing adventure!" He yelled the last word and raised his blade to the sky.
"The closer courier is turning towards us!" Lucy yelled.
Seacat could see it as well, of course - everyone could. While the slightly faster courier continued to run northwards, trying to get around the main Salinean fleet and escape the Dragon's Daughter V, the second had turned about and was now sailing straight for them. And…
"I see a raft on the deck," Seacat said, clenching her teeth. "They're prepared to abandon ship."
"They'll try to ram us." Sea Hawk turned to the helm. "I'll take the helm! Horas, sails!"
"Sergeant! Stand ready but don't try to board them until my command!"
The distance was shrinking fast - the Horde courier had the wind at her back and the Dragon's Daughter V was pushed forward by an engine. Seacat kept a telescope trained on the enemy courier. The Horde sailors were pulling on the sails, but… no smoke yet. But there! They were untying the raft! "They're getting the raft ready!"
"Let's give them something to worry about! Fire!" Sea Hawk yelled.
A moment later, Alcy fired the swivel gun. The shot went wide, though, at this distance. The second shot hit the enemy's bow, but the small explosion didn't do any damage.
Then the raft was flung into the water, half a dozen sailors jumping after it. The enemy helmsman - helmswoman - and captain stayed, though. "They're trying to ram us!" Seacat yelled.
"Not on my watch!"
But for all his claim, Sea Hawk kept the ship pointed straight at the oncoming courier. Alcy fired again - another hit. Bits of planks blew up, but above the waterline. One more shot, then they'd crash...
Then the Dragon's Daughter V swung around, to the North. The enemy courier changed course as well, but slower, pushed by the wind - and hampered by the lack of crew to adjust the sails. It was still rushing towards them, though.
And Sea Hawk turned the Dragon's Daughter V again, southwards. And this time, the enemy couldn't match him - they sailed past the Horde bow with a few yards to spare, then turned northwards again. And Alcy's next shot sent a load of canister across the enemy bridge, shredding both helmswoman and captain.
"Sergeant, board her and stop her!" Sea Hawk yelled, steering the ship towards the enemy's aft.
"Aye aye, Admiral!"
The first grapple hooks were thrown at the Horde courier, and the marines got ready to scramble up the lines.
And Seacat smelt something weird. There was the smoke from the gun, the smell of the sea, but… "Oil!" she yelled. "I'm smelling oil!" She bent over the railing and looked down. The sea was covered in oil. They were sailing in a giant slick of oil!
Sea Hawk cursed. "Cut the lines!" he yelled as he turned the wheel and the Dragon's Daughter V turned northwards again.
And even as the marines were cutting the lines tethering the ship to the enemy courier, Seacat saw a flame appear on the enemy deck - and leap across the deck.
The enemy ship had been soaked in oil, she realised. And the fire was racing down the hull, towards the oil in the water… "Cut those lines!" she yelled, jumping down and raking her claws across the closest line.
That left one, and a marine was already there, raiding his axe to cut it. But the line was taut - they were already dragging the burning ship behind them. "Watch out!" she yelled.
She was too late, though - the marine brought down the axe, not on the knot where the line was tied to the mast, but on the railing, and when the rope snapped, it whipped back - and into the marine.
The man was thrown around and into the mast with a sickening crack at the same time the Dragon's Daughter V all but jumped when she lost the weight of the Horde courier, shooting ahead.
But the oil on the water had caught fire, and the flames were chasing after them - faster than the ship was sailing. How big was the oil slick?
Sea Hawk turned the wheel, and the Dragon's Daughter V changed course, turning north again. Away from the oil slick. But the fire was faster. "Buckets! Grab buckets!" Seacat screamed.
Then the fire reached the ship, licking at the hull. Seacat jumped back when splashes of oil on the planks ignited. "Get those buckets!" If the ship caught fire, they were done for.
Alcy, Licy and the marines raced to the railing at the stern, pouring water down the hull. Seacat checked the rigging - it wasn't burning. Yet.
But they were now clear of the burning oil. Seacat briefly checked on the wounded marine - dead, damn it - then grabbed a bucket herself. She pulled up water from the sea, then emptied it on the railing and rigging at the stern. There were some burned spots on the hull, but no more fire. "We've made it," she reported to the Captain.
Behind them, the courier was ablaze like a bonfire soaked in alcohol.
"Thank you," he replied. "Now let's catch the fleeing courier. We can't let her enter the…" he trailed off.
Seacat looked up. The third Horde Courier had changed course. She wasn't headed towards the harbour any more - she was headed towards the frigates battling it out.
Seacat cursed. There were five frigates against the Horde's four, but if the courier reached the Salinean ships, she might be able to disrupt their formation just enough for the Horde frigates to break through. Provided the Horde ships were prepared to sail through fire.
Which they probably were - this didn't look like an improvised desperate gamble, but a plan. That Horde admiral commanding the fleet was good. "Alcy! Licy! Man the gun!"
The two women rushed to the bow.
"Warn the fleet!" Sea Hawk yelled.
Seacat grabbed the signal flags and climbed up the rigging. She started signalling, hoping that the frigates had lookouts who paid attention. The courier they were chasing was still racing towards the Salinean fleet. The wind hadn't changed, so as long as she was running southwards, she was slower than before. And the Dragon's Daughter V was eating up the distance, thanks to sails and the engine.
But the courier was also closing in on the frigates. And at least the closest had caught her warning - she was suddenly disengaging from the Horde frigate she was fighting. Or tried to - the Horde frigate manoeuvred as well, to exploit the sudden opportunity.
The swivel gun fired, the shot throwing up water behind the enemy courier. They were in range now. But it would be close. Very close.
The Salinean frigate was signalling as well, passing on the warning - and turning to present her broadside to the enemy courier. But that meant she was also exposing her stern to the Horde frigate. If the Horde had timed her reloading cycles… Seacat winced when the Horde broadside struck the frigate in the stern. Such a volley could rip through the entire ship, stern to bow.
And, even worse, it could damage the engine - the struck frigate suddenly slowed down. At least she hadn't blown up. But dead in the water, crew scrambling to put up sails, she was easy prey for the Horde frigate.
And the courier was still running. Alcy fired again. This time, she hit - Seacat saw parts fly from the impact, but the shell didn't explode. A dud. Damn.
And the Horde frigate fired another volley into the Salinean ship. Seacat hissed when the ship started listing.
Even worse - the other frigates were now frantically manoeuvring as well. Two Horde frigates were already trying to break through.
And… "The courier's leaking oil!" she yelled. If they continued their course, they would sail straight into it.
Sea Hawk turned the Dragon's Daughter V away, to avoid the oil slick. He cut it close - closer than Seacat liked - the Horde courier still managed to open the distance again.
Alcy shot, missing once more - the angle had changed. But they were closing in again - running on a parallel course. Seacat could see the crew on the courier's deck handle barrels. *Shoot the deck!" she yelled!
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Alcy yelled back. Her next shot went high, ripping through the Horde courier's sail but missing the deck. "Get us closer!"
Suddenly, shells hit the water around the courier - and around the Dragon's Daughter V. Seacat almost lost her balance and was drenched by saltwater when one shell blew up a little too close for comfort, shaking the whole ship. Who was… Oh. She saw the smoke blowing away from the side of the listing Salinean frigate.
"Checking the hull!" she yelled, already going for the hatch leading to the hold. Such close misses could easily break or shake loose a plank.
And as she had feared - there was a leak in the hold. Water was already collecting on the deck. Snarling, she went to the bilge pumps. "Pumps!" she yelled. "We need people on the pumps!"
She heard the sergeant yell above her, and two marines all but jumped down into the hold.
"This brings back memories," she muttered as they started to pump. She climbed back on deck and took stock of their situation. The frigate had fired her last broadside - she was slowly turning turtle. The Horde frigate which had sunk her was engaged with another Salinean frigate and the enemy courier… Seacat snarled. The Horde ship was headed towards the two frigates.
"Shoot the damn courier!" she yelled, hissing with frustration.
Alcy didn't answer this time. Instead, she fired again. And she landed a hit straight on the enemy bridge. Seacat saw the Horde Captain vanish in the explosion and the sailor at the helm slump over. "Yes!" she cheered - and she wasn't the only one. The marines yelled when the Horde ship started to veer off.
Another sailor jumped to the helm, grabbing the wheel to force the courier back on course, but the short disruption had cost them - the Dragon's Daughter V caught up half a minute later. Seacat saw Alcy and Licy turn the swivel gun, aiming it at the deck instead of the bridge. And from this angle, the deck was a much bigger target. At that range, Alcy couldn't miss.
She didn't. The shell hit the deck and burst. Right next to a barrel of oil two Horde sailors were trying to throw over the railing.
The explosion bowled them over and split the barrel open. A moment later, the oil lit up.
Seacat clenched her teeth at the screams from the burning Horde sailors. She saw one of them jump overboard - and land in an oil slick, which ignited as well.
Sea Hawk turned the Dragon's Daughter V away as more Horde sailors jumped overboard and the courier, burning from bow to stern now, swung around, driven away by the wind.
Then the fire reached the hold, and the courier disintegrated as the stored oil lit up and flames shot up in the sky.
"Hell!" Seacat blurted out before she could stop herself. The first one hadn't been as bad. Must have poured more oil out into the sea before it lit up, she realised.
"A nasty way to go," the sergeant commented next to her. The entire patch of the sea was burning - even those Horde sailors who had jumped overboard wouldn't make it out of that inferno.
She nodded. But they couldn't stop to pick survivors - if there were any survivors; she didn't spot anyone in the water.
"There goes the Horde frigate!" Lucy yelled.
Seacat turned her head. Indeed, the sunk Salinean frigate had been avenged; the Horde frigate was a wreck, dead in the water, with only a few guns firing back at the frigate that was raking her with broadsides.
She quickly climbed the rigging - the Captain needed more information about the battle. It didn't look as bad as she had feared. The third courier sunk, one Horde frigate burning, the second listing, the last one still fighting hard, but with the frigate which had sunk the courier now in range…
She yelled down: "One Horde frigate burning, the others getting sunk! No other Salinean ships sunk!"
She kept watching the battle. There wasn't much they could do, anyway - the Dragon's Daughter V was a courier ship; she had no place in a battle between frigates. Well, not unless things were desperate.
And things weren't desperate. Without the threat from fireships disrupting their formation, and the fifth frigate returning to the battle, the remaining Horde frigates, all of them damaged already, were clearly outgunned.
"Signal them to keep their distance - the frigates might be carrying oil as well!" Sea Hawk yelled.
Seacat scrambled up the rigging. The Captain was right - the Horde frigates weren't loaded down with oil as the couriers had been or they would have lit up after the first exchange of broadsides, but the way one of them was burning...
The Salienan frigates took a little longer than expected to acknowledge and follow the order, but they did obey. And the Horde frigates lasted a little longer, that way. But in the end, the outcome didn't change. All three remaining frigates were set aflame and sunk by the Salineans.
Recovering the surviving Horde sailors from the sea took some time as well. No captain wanted to risk their ships by sailing too close to a burning hulk - a magazine explosion might splatter burning oil on anything nearby. So, longboats navigated the waters, slipping between still burning slicks of oil and drifting wreckage to pick up survivors.
There were more of them than Seacat would have expected, between the bloody fighting and the burning oil.
"What a waste," Alcy commented as they sailed towards the raft the first courier had dropped. "If we'd taken a frigate as a prize…"
"We'd have to share it with the Salinean frigates," Seacat pointed out.
"Still…"
Seacat shook her head. You could take the scoundrel off a pirate ship, but curbing some of the habits might take a little longer. Though… "Those were the raiding frigates that had slipped the blockade," she said. "If they had kept raiding, the Salineans would have had to use a big part of their fleet hunting them down and guarding transports. Sacrificing them like this..." It was stupid.
"Indeed!" Sea Hawk said. "Even if they had managed to reach the fortress and burn the transport ships and the supplies still on them, it wouldn't have been worth it - without the threat of those raiding frigates, the Alliance can easily shop more supplies down the coast. And the ships currently on escort duty are free to return to blockade and raiding stations."
"Probably a landlubber in command. Doesn't get how important the ships are." Shadow Weaver must not have a grasp on the naval side of the war. Seacat smiled at the thought.
Sea Hawk didn't look convinced. "That's possible, but the Horde hasn't struck me as particularly ignorant of naval matters. They came up with engines for frigates, didn't they?"
And there went their good mood. "Yes," she said with a frown. "But why else would they do this? They had a plan, but even if it had worked, they would've been hard-pressed to do enough damage to the port before getting sunk."
The Captain beamed at her. "They might be desperate. If this offensive succeeds, they'll lose a lot of troops, territory and resources."
"Desperate enough to send four of their best ships to be sunk?" That would fit Shadow Weaver. The witch considered anyone expendable, didn't she?
"Perhaps. We'll need more information to find out for sure."
"Lots of sailors and officers to interrogate," Seacat pointed out.
"And they will be interrogated, but I doubt that they know much about the state of the war on land. No, if we want to know about the Horde situation on land, we'll have to catch an officer in command on land."
"A raid on their lines?" Seacat asked. It would have to be the southern lines - the troops cut off in the northern part of the coast wouldn't know much, either - they'd probably be fed lies so they didn't realise how hopeless their situation was and wouldn't surrender at the first opportunity.
"That's dangerous - we'd have to make landfall somewhere without getting spotted," Alcy said.
Seacat nodded. At least a small group could be landed quickly - and picked up as quickly. It was still dangerous, but not quite as dangerous as landing a sizeable raid force. If you had to make several trips with a long boat to land all soldiers, the enemy had a lot more time to gather their own. And if you had to make a hasty retreat, you had to hope you were first in line for the boats - or could swim.
"We don't have the time for that, I'm afraid. But we should have a few opportunities once we strike out along the river," Sea Hawk told them. "Now let's invite some shipwrecked Horde sailors on board," he added, pointing at the raft off the bow.
"Let's hope they'll be reasonable," Alcy said.
"Yes." Usually, you didn't have to worry about that with shipwrecked sailors, but with people who were willing to run a fireship into a guarded port… "Let's check them thoroughly for weapons," she said.
If the Horde sailors had been willing to fight to the death before, then the fight had gone out of them by the time the Dragon's Daughter V picked them up from the raft. But then, seeing your ship sink, finding yourself adrift in the sea… it took something out of every sailor.
Almost every sailor, she corrected herself with a glance at the Captain. And if it happened a few times, you got used to it.
But the Horde sailors they fished out of the water hadn't grown used to losing a ship. They were huddled together, shivering and not meeting the crew's eyes. Half a dozen - Seacat wasn't sure, but she thought the courier might have had a bigger crew than that. Well, that was war.
She looked them over. They were wearing their uniforms, but none of them sported rank insignia. "Who was in charge of this fleet?" she asked.
None of the Horde scum answered. They didn't look defiant - just beaten.
She picked a burly sailor in the front row. "You. Who was in command of your fleet?"
He looked at her. "Force Captain Maris."
Seacat frowned. "That's not a naval rank." Catra had learned the horde ranks quickly - she had to know who could order whom around.
"No." The sailor showed some emotion for the first time, clenching his teeth.
"They put a landlubber in charge of a fleet?" She snorted. The Horde must be getting desperate.
He shrugged.
The others didn't look like they cared, either. They didn't even seem to care much that they had survived.
She returned to Sea Hawk and reported what she had found out.
He rubbed his moustache. "Force Captain Maris… That name…"
Seacat pressed her lips together. If this was another old lover the Captain…
"...doesn't ring any bell at all!" He shook his head. "Perhaps Adora might know them - she was a Force Captain."
"For all of a day," Seacat pointed out. "But she might know them." Wasn't there some training program where cadets on the officer track served as aides? Adora had mentioned something about it, a bit before the field exercise, but Catra hadn't listened since she wasn't being considered for command.
"Well, let's signal the fleet and ask if they recovered the Force Captain," Sea Hawk said. "First-hand information is always the best kind of information."
"No, Maris didn't survive the battle. Splinter from a shell killed him." The officer - a scorpionman who was almost as huge as the woman Seacat had fought in the Fright Zone - shrugged. "Bad luck. The sailor next to him didn't get a scratch."
Such things happened. But the officer seemed to be a little too uncaring about it. "Was he behind the plan to attack the Fortress?" she asked, ignoring how the Salinean officers who were present for the interrogation stiffened at her butting in.
"He said the plan came from Horde High Command," the officer replied.
"And do you believe that?" Sea Hawk asked.
Another shrug. "The captains believed. And if he had been lying, well… It doesn't matter any more, does it?"
"Weren't you supposed to work in concert with a land attack?" Seacat studied the man to gauge his reaction, but he merely blinked. "That would've been a good idea, I guess. But we weren't told anything."
And since any officer had to be ready to take command, should the enemy land a lucky shot, they needed to know the entire plan. That meant they hadn't meant to strike in support of an attack by land. That made the attack even more reckless. Daring - Sea Hawk would've approved - but reckless.
"Did you actually think you would succeed?" Captain Borda, who was commanding the Mermaid's Pride, blurted out. She must have come to the same conclusion.
This time, the officer scoffed. "We managed to sink one of your frigates while being outnumbered and outgunned. And if you hadn't copied our engines, we would've broken through."
"Did you even know that we got engines in our ships as well?" Borda shot back.
"It was unconfirmed intelligence. We prepared for it, but…" Once more the man shrugged.
"You're awfully blasé about losing the entire fleet that had managed to slip through the blockade," Sea Hawk commented.
"As the Force Captain told us: The war will be decided on land."
Seacat snorted. "And you believed it?"
The Scorpionman sneered at her. "That's how it worked last time. The Rebellion fell apart after defeats on land."
"Too bad for you that the Horde hasn't won any battle on land in a while," Seacat spat.
"And Salineas will fight on even if our allies are defeated! You'll never conquer us!" Borda added.
And yet another shrug. "We'll see. For me, the war's over either way."
"That is correct," Sea Hawk said with a smile before turning to the two marine guards in the room - two minotaurs just a little smaller than Horas. "Take him away."
As soon as the door closed behind the prisoner and the guards, Borda shook her head. "With such an officer corps, it's a wonder they have won any battles."
"They only won when they had overwhelming advantages. At sea, at least," one of the officers - Seacat didn't know the man's name - added."
"Now, now," Sea Hawk said, frowning. "The man has just suffered a complete defeat and saw many of his comrades die. He must be still under shock, so we cannot take his attitude at face value. However, I think we can say that the Horde didn't put much faith in this attack."
"The officers didn't," Seacat agreed. "They still fought hard, though."
"And they still lost," another Salinean officer said. "If the rest of the Alliance did half as well as the Navy, we'd have won the war already."
Seacat narrowed her eyes. She was a sailor, and she knew better than to dismiss the naval war like the Horde scum had done, but… "The Horde focuses on the land war."
"Certainly not!" the idiot protested. "That would be foolish!"
"You've heard the prisoner, haven't you?" Sea Hawk cut in. "And they aren't entirely wrong. Should they beat the Rebel Alliance on the continent, the remaining kingdoms would be hard-pressed to defeat them."
"They would have the resources of the entire continent and interior lines," another officer added. "And they could block trade. How long could we, much less the Kingdom of Snows, last without trade?"
"We could always trade directly with the West!" the fool replied. "We control the seas!"
"How long will you be in control when you depend on fuel crystals from the continent to keep your shiny new frigates running?" Seacat shot back. "And how long until the Horde conquers the West?"
"The logistical challenges of launching an offensive against the west are considerable. Without control of the sea, I doubt that they could supply their troops in the field," an older officer - Captain Kunis - pointed out. "However, you are correct: Without the resources of the continent, Salineas cannot maintain a competitive navy. That isn't a new development, though - we had to rely on imported timber for our shipyards for decades."
"So, in essence, nothing has changed," Sea Hawk said. "The Alliance needs every member to defeat the Horde. Fortunately, My dear Mermista is well aware of that and on good terms with the other princesses."
The Captain ignored the frowns that briefly appeared on various officers' faces when he reminded them of his relationship with their princess.
Seacat didn't.
"Now, let's return to port - we have a number of prisoners to deliver, and prepare our offensive. Dismissed, gentlemen."
Seacat didn't bother with the rope ladder hanging down from the frigate. She vaulted over the railing and pushed off of the hull, launching herself across the grab and grabbing the mast of the Dragon's Daughter V. A moment later, she slid down the mast and landed on the hull. "Get ready to return to port," she told the crew.
Behind her, the Captain arrived, jumping off the ladder halfway on the way down and landing next to her. "Huzzah! Another victory for the Alliance!"
"No prizes, though," Alcy complained.
"But fame, which often begets fortune! Why the number of drinks we'll be paid for telling our story…" Sea Hawk shook his head. "My old friends will be so jealous!"
Seacat sighed. Sea Hawk's old lovers were already jealous enough in her opinion. But then, as an admiral, the Captain's reputation would spread with every victory anyway - and defeat wasn't an option, of course. And it was impressive - all the raiding frigates sunk, three couriers sunk, at the cost of one frigate. Not the perfect victory, but a victory nevertheless, and one that meant the sea lanes were safe again from Horde raiders. As were the supplies in the harbour.
She narrowed her eyes as they turned towards the port - Fortress Freedom, Seacat reminded herself with a frown. The shrimp didn't have a good hand with naming things. Was that… "Smoke?"
"It looks like smoke," Lucy confirmed. "From the harbour."
Seacat rushed to the top of the mast with her telescope. And cursed. She couldn't see everything in the harbour from her position - the mast was tall enough and the angle not ideal - but what she saw… one transport was on fire. But how? She couldn't see any enemy ship. Saboteurs amongst the soldiers or dockworkers?
Wait. There was something in the water - a drifting body. And a swimmer wrestling with… tentacles? And the ship was listing…
She had thought there were a bit too few fishmen and fishwomen amongst the enemy crew.
"Captain!" she yelled down. "Looks like they slipped fishfolk into the harbour."
"What?" Sea Hawk replied. "What about our patrols?"
"They swarmed our pickets. They must have sneaked close or something, took them before they could release the warning buoys," Colonel Kilian told them an hour later, standing on the mole. "And with the lookouts distracted by the battle at sea…" He bared his clenched teeth. "Damn saboteurs slipped through, and…" He shrugged, wiping some soot stain from the back of his hand. "You know the rest."
"We do," Sea Hawk said.
"One transport sunk with half the supplies," Seacat added. "That'll set the offensive back a few weeks, at the least." She looked at the wreck blocking one pier. That would have to be cleared as well before another transport could use the pier. Which meant the port's capacity would be reduced.
What a mess.
"Hmm." Sea Hawk rubbed his chin. "If we set sail at once with the Dragon's Daughter V, we should be able to cut down on that. Still, we need to get back to Seaworthy, first, and grab supplies there."
And that would cost time. Damn. One link of a chain broke and everything was held up.
Seacat blinked. A chain link. Oh. "We don't need to sail all the way to Seaworthy!" she blurted out.
"Oh?" Sea Hawk looked at her with a smile. Even Kilian raised his eyebrows.
"We just need to reach the closest port to the north," she explained. "We'll take their supplies and ship them here, they'll send for the supplies from the port further north, and that port will have to get new supplies from Seaworthy."
"Oh, I see. Yes, that should work!" Sea Hawk beamed at her and hit the palm of his hand with his fist. "Good idea, First Mate!"
"That'll disrupt their buildup, though," Kilian said.
"But not as seriously as this disrupted our schedule," the Captain replied, pointing at the sunken ship and the listing second transport. "They have shorter supply lines and quicker communication with Seaworthy."
"And they should have a stock of supplies already," Seacat added. "They've been fighting for months already." And they wouldn't keep their supplies on a transport, anyway.
"Indeed! Let us rush north and secure us a transport!" Sea Hawk declared, pointing to the north. "The Horde might have gained a stay of execution, but not for long!"
"And I'll start a limited offensive with the supplies we have," Kilian added. "Keep the bastards busy and make them worry they failed."
"Good idea!"
Seacat nodded. But Adora and her friends would start their offensive on schedule. They'd bear the brunt of the Horde's reaction.
Damn.
"Captain! Four Horde frigates and three courier ships ahead!" Seacat reported, yelling down from the top of the mast without taking her eyes off the ships that had appeared on the horizon. None of them looked damaged, as far as she could tell from here.
She shifted her weight and adjusted her grip when Sea Hawk turned the Dragon's Daughter V around. The fleet at the fortress needed to be informed at once so they could prepare for the attack.
"Full speed ahead!" Sea Hawk yelled below her, and Seacat braced for the slight kick that went through the ship when the engine started up. Alcy still hadn't figured out how to accelerate gently.
There it came - she clenched her teeth as the mast briefly swayed back and forth while the ship picked up speed. The wind at their back, and the engine running full throttle - they were setting a new record. Or would be, if anyone kept count.
She focused on the enemy. The horde ships were falling back - and the frigates were outpacing the couriers. Which were a little low in the water. Ah - probably fire ships. Or bombs.
Damn. "Captain! The Horde couriers are weighed down! Possibly fire ships."
"How tricky of them!" Sea Hawk yelled back. "But I can't fault them for such an effective tactic! They must have learned from us!"
Probably long ago - but the Horde hadn't been desperate enough to set their own ships on fire until now. But it meant that they had to stop seven, not merely four ships - and the Alliance fleet, meaning the Salinean Navy, was a little stretched right now. The six frigates at the fortress could stop the Horde frigates, but not if they also had to stop the couriers. And even with the Horde ships weighed down, she doubted that the gunners on the mole could hit all of them before they entered the harbour.
Which left the task up to the Dragon's Daughter V, and the Flying Seagull. But that courier was covering the southern approaches and was unlikely to return in time to engage the enemy - the Dragon's Daughter V couldn't sail south to fetch them, and Captain Gren wouldn't leave her station until she found Horde ships or got relieved.
Damn.
Seacat gave the Horde ships another look, then slid down the mast to fetch the signal flags to inform the Salinean frigates as soon as they were in sight.
This was going to be a tricky battle.
*****
"Ships ahead!" Licy yelled. "Seven - four frigates, three couriers, under sail!"
As expected, then. There had been a small chance that at least one of the couriers would be sent away, but... Seacat studied the ships through the telescope. "They'll be slower than normal, loaded down with whatever." Something flammable, probably. Or explosive.
"But they'll break off before the frigates engage, to draw us out," Sea Hawk replied. He shook his head. "It can't be helped. They'll split south and north. We'll have one frigate cut off the single courier and go after the two others."
And hope the Horde courtier didn't manage to outsail the Salinean frigate.
"That leaves five to take on their four frigates. Good odds to sink them all without taking too much damage. The marines we took on from the frigate will board the first courier we catch and we'll chase the other while they secure the courier," the captain went on.
They'd be lighter, then, and with the engine… It was doable. Barely, she corrected herself as she looked back at the Fortress. "It'll be close."
"Oh, yes. A harrowing adventure, in other words!" He smiled, flashing his teeth at her. "We'll have another shanty to sing after this!"
She smiled at him and nodded.
Provided they survived this, of course.
"Signal the Mermaid's Pride that she's to fall back and prepare to intercept a lone courier."
"Aye aye, Captain."
Seacat quickly did so, waited for the frigate to acknowledge the order, then returned to her spot near Sea Hawk. Alcy was at the bow with a marine as loader, and Horas was ready to handle the sails. And the other marines were getting ready as well. Probably looking forward to the prize money.
She snorted. Well, the odds were in their favour - couriers didn't have big crews. Of course, if the Horde had loaded the couriers down with soldiers… but they would've had to strip down the frigates for such a force, and whatever soldiers managed to get into the fortress would be quickly dealt with by the marines there; couriers simply couldn't carry enough troops for a landing or even a large raid against a port.
"They're breaking up! Two couriers northward, one southward!" Licy yelled.
Seacat confirmed it with her telescope a moment later.
"As expected," she muttered.
She signalled the Mermaid's Pride to intercept the courier heading south even though they already knew their orders - in a battle at sea, it paid to be thorough. But the Dragon's Daughter V was already turning northward, into an intercept course. They had two couriers to stop or sink.
"They're slow," Sea Hawk commented. "They wouldn't escape a normal courier - and they know we have them."
"It's a trap, then," Seacat said. "What are they carrying? Explosives or boarders?"
"Either would work, but they won't have too many of the latter." The captain studied the ships racing northwards through his telescope. "Too low in the water for troops. They wouldn't have so many soldiers to fill the hold. I bet they're fireships."
"Or bombs," Seacat pointed out.
"No. They would be using the engines by now, to get past us and into the port. And they would be lighter than that. And they can't have enough powder to fill the hold to be so low in the water - that would leave the Horde guns dry." Sea Hawk grinned.
"They could've enough powder stored there to ruin our day, should we close," Seacat retorted. "Fill the rest of the hold with scrap metal or ballast, to turn into shrapnel."
"That they could - but I don't think the crew would blow themselves up like that." The Captain shook his head. "One or two, maybe, but an entire crew? I don't think so."
"But they're carrying something!" Seacat insisted. And she was sure it wasn't any good.
"They are. And we'll soon be finding out what!" Sea Hawk grinned. "I'll bet it'll be a harrowing adventure!" He yelled the last word and raised his blade to the sky.
"The closer courier is turning towards us!" Lucy yelled.
Seacat could see it as well, of course - everyone could. While the slightly faster courier continued to run northwards, trying to get around the main Salinean fleet and escape the Dragon's Daughter V, the second had turned about and was now sailing straight for them. And…
"I see a raft on the deck," Seacat said, clenching her teeth. "They're prepared to abandon ship."
"They'll try to ram us." Sea Hawk turned to the helm. "I'll take the helm! Horas, sails!"
"Sergeant! Stand ready but don't try to board them until my command!"
The distance was shrinking fast - the Horde courier had the wind at her back and the Dragon's Daughter V was pushed forward by an engine. Seacat kept a telescope trained on the enemy courier. The Horde sailors were pulling on the sails, but… no smoke yet. But there! They were untying the raft! "They're getting the raft ready!"
"Let's give them something to worry about! Fire!" Sea Hawk yelled.
A moment later, Alcy fired the swivel gun. The shot went wide, though, at this distance. The second shot hit the enemy's bow, but the small explosion didn't do any damage.
Then the raft was flung into the water, half a dozen sailors jumping after it. The enemy helmsman - helmswoman - and captain stayed, though. "They're trying to ram us!" Seacat yelled.
"Not on my watch!"
But for all his claim, Sea Hawk kept the ship pointed straight at the oncoming courier. Alcy fired again - another hit. Bits of planks blew up, but above the waterline. One more shot, then they'd crash...
Then the Dragon's Daughter V swung around, to the North. The enemy courier changed course as well, but slower, pushed by the wind - and hampered by the lack of crew to adjust the sails. It was still rushing towards them, though.
And Sea Hawk turned the Dragon's Daughter V again, southwards. And this time, the enemy couldn't match him - they sailed past the Horde bow with a few yards to spare, then turned northwards again. And Alcy's next shot sent a load of canister across the enemy bridge, shredding both helmswoman and captain.
"Sergeant, board her and stop her!" Sea Hawk yelled, steering the ship towards the enemy's aft.
"Aye aye, Admiral!"
The first grapple hooks were thrown at the Horde courier, and the marines got ready to scramble up the lines.
And Seacat smelt something weird. There was the smoke from the gun, the smell of the sea, but… "Oil!" she yelled. "I'm smelling oil!" She bent over the railing and looked down. The sea was covered in oil. They were sailing in a giant slick of oil!
Sea Hawk cursed. "Cut the lines!" he yelled as he turned the wheel and the Dragon's Daughter V turned northwards again.
And even as the marines were cutting the lines tethering the ship to the enemy courier, Seacat saw a flame appear on the enemy deck - and leap across the deck.
The enemy ship had been soaked in oil, she realised. And the fire was racing down the hull, towards the oil in the water… "Cut those lines!" she yelled, jumping down and raking her claws across the closest line.
That left one, and a marine was already there, raiding his axe to cut it. But the line was taut - they were already dragging the burning ship behind them. "Watch out!" she yelled.
She was too late, though - the marine brought down the axe, not on the knot where the line was tied to the mast, but on the railing, and when the rope snapped, it whipped back - and into the marine.
The man was thrown around and into the mast with a sickening crack at the same time the Dragon's Daughter V all but jumped when she lost the weight of the Horde courier, shooting ahead.
But the oil on the water had caught fire, and the flames were chasing after them - faster than the ship was sailing. How big was the oil slick?
Sea Hawk turned the wheel, and the Dragon's Daughter V changed course, turning north again. Away from the oil slick. But the fire was faster. "Buckets! Grab buckets!" Seacat screamed.
Then the fire reached the ship, licking at the hull. Seacat jumped back when splashes of oil on the planks ignited. "Get those buckets!" If the ship caught fire, they were done for.
Alcy, Licy and the marines raced to the railing at the stern, pouring water down the hull. Seacat checked the rigging - it wasn't burning. Yet.
But they were now clear of the burning oil. Seacat briefly checked on the wounded marine - dead, damn it - then grabbed a bucket herself. She pulled up water from the sea, then emptied it on the railing and rigging at the stern. There were some burned spots on the hull, but no more fire. "We've made it," she reported to the Captain.
Behind them, the courier was ablaze like a bonfire soaked in alcohol.
"Thank you," he replied. "Now let's catch the fleeing courier. We can't let her enter the…" he trailed off.
Seacat looked up. The third Horde Courier had changed course. She wasn't headed towards the harbour any more - she was headed towards the frigates battling it out.
Seacat cursed. There were five frigates against the Horde's four, but if the courier reached the Salinean ships, she might be able to disrupt their formation just enough for the Horde frigates to break through. Provided the Horde ships were prepared to sail through fire.
Which they probably were - this didn't look like an improvised desperate gamble, but a plan. That Horde admiral commanding the fleet was good. "Alcy! Licy! Man the gun!"
The two women rushed to the bow.
"Warn the fleet!" Sea Hawk yelled.
Seacat grabbed the signal flags and climbed up the rigging. She started signalling, hoping that the frigates had lookouts who paid attention. The courier they were chasing was still racing towards the Salinean fleet. The wind hadn't changed, so as long as she was running southwards, she was slower than before. And the Dragon's Daughter V was eating up the distance, thanks to sails and the engine.
But the courier was also closing in on the frigates. And at least the closest had caught her warning - she was suddenly disengaging from the Horde frigate she was fighting. Or tried to - the Horde frigate manoeuvred as well, to exploit the sudden opportunity.
The swivel gun fired, the shot throwing up water behind the enemy courier. They were in range now. But it would be close. Very close.
The Salinean frigate was signalling as well, passing on the warning - and turning to present her broadside to the enemy courier. But that meant she was also exposing her stern to the Horde frigate. If the Horde had timed her reloading cycles… Seacat winced when the Horde broadside struck the frigate in the stern. Such a volley could rip through the entire ship, stern to bow.
And, even worse, it could damage the engine - the struck frigate suddenly slowed down. At least she hadn't blown up. But dead in the water, crew scrambling to put up sails, she was easy prey for the Horde frigate.
And the courier was still running. Alcy fired again. This time, she hit - Seacat saw parts fly from the impact, but the shell didn't explode. A dud. Damn.
And the Horde frigate fired another volley into the Salinean ship. Seacat hissed when the ship started listing.
Even worse - the other frigates were now frantically manoeuvring as well. Two Horde frigates were already trying to break through.
And… "The courier's leaking oil!" she yelled. If they continued their course, they would sail straight into it.
Sea Hawk turned the Dragon's Daughter V away, to avoid the oil slick. He cut it close - closer than Seacat liked - the Horde courier still managed to open the distance again.
Alcy shot, missing once more - the angle had changed. But they were closing in again - running on a parallel course. Seacat could see the crew on the courier's deck handle barrels. *Shoot the deck!" she yelled!
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Alcy yelled back. Her next shot went high, ripping through the Horde courier's sail but missing the deck. "Get us closer!"
Suddenly, shells hit the water around the courier - and around the Dragon's Daughter V. Seacat almost lost her balance and was drenched by saltwater when one shell blew up a little too close for comfort, shaking the whole ship. Who was… Oh. She saw the smoke blowing away from the side of the listing Salinean frigate.
"Checking the hull!" she yelled, already going for the hatch leading to the hold. Such close misses could easily break or shake loose a plank.
And as she had feared - there was a leak in the hold. Water was already collecting on the deck. Snarling, she went to the bilge pumps. "Pumps!" she yelled. "We need people on the pumps!"
She heard the sergeant yell above her, and two marines all but jumped down into the hold.
"This brings back memories," she muttered as they started to pump. She climbed back on deck and took stock of their situation. The frigate had fired her last broadside - she was slowly turning turtle. The Horde frigate which had sunk her was engaged with another Salinean frigate and the enemy courier… Seacat snarled. The Horde ship was headed towards the two frigates.
"Shoot the damn courier!" she yelled, hissing with frustration.
Alcy didn't answer this time. Instead, she fired again. And she landed a hit straight on the enemy bridge. Seacat saw the Horde Captain vanish in the explosion and the sailor at the helm slump over. "Yes!" she cheered - and she wasn't the only one. The marines yelled when the Horde ship started to veer off.
Another sailor jumped to the helm, grabbing the wheel to force the courier back on course, but the short disruption had cost them - the Dragon's Daughter V caught up half a minute later. Seacat saw Alcy and Licy turn the swivel gun, aiming it at the deck instead of the bridge. And from this angle, the deck was a much bigger target. At that range, Alcy couldn't miss.
She didn't. The shell hit the deck and burst. Right next to a barrel of oil two Horde sailors were trying to throw over the railing.
The explosion bowled them over and split the barrel open. A moment later, the oil lit up.
Seacat clenched her teeth at the screams from the burning Horde sailors. She saw one of them jump overboard - and land in an oil slick, which ignited as well.
Sea Hawk turned the Dragon's Daughter V away as more Horde sailors jumped overboard and the courier, burning from bow to stern now, swung around, driven away by the wind.
Then the fire reached the hold, and the courier disintegrated as the stored oil lit up and flames shot up in the sky.
"Hell!" Seacat blurted out before she could stop herself. The first one hadn't been as bad. Must have poured more oil out into the sea before it lit up, she realised.
"A nasty way to go," the sergeant commented next to her. The entire patch of the sea was burning - even those Horde sailors who had jumped overboard wouldn't make it out of that inferno.
She nodded. But they couldn't stop to pick survivors - if there were any survivors; she didn't spot anyone in the water.
"There goes the Horde frigate!" Lucy yelled.
Seacat turned her head. Indeed, the sunk Salinean frigate had been avenged; the Horde frigate was a wreck, dead in the water, with only a few guns firing back at the frigate that was raking her with broadsides.
She quickly climbed the rigging - the Captain needed more information about the battle. It didn't look as bad as she had feared. The third courier sunk, one Horde frigate burning, the second listing, the last one still fighting hard, but with the frigate which had sunk the courier now in range…
She yelled down: "One Horde frigate burning, the others getting sunk! No other Salinean ships sunk!"
She kept watching the battle. There wasn't much they could do, anyway - the Dragon's Daughter V was a courier ship; she had no place in a battle between frigates. Well, not unless things were desperate.
And things weren't desperate. Without the threat from fireships disrupting their formation, and the fifth frigate returning to the battle, the remaining Horde frigates, all of them damaged already, were clearly outgunned.
"Signal them to keep their distance - the frigates might be carrying oil as well!" Sea Hawk yelled.
Seacat scrambled up the rigging. The Captain was right - the Horde frigates weren't loaded down with oil as the couriers had been or they would have lit up after the first exchange of broadsides, but the way one of them was burning...
The Salienan frigates took a little longer than expected to acknowledge and follow the order, but they did obey. And the Horde frigates lasted a little longer, that way. But in the end, the outcome didn't change. All three remaining frigates were set aflame and sunk by the Salineans.
*****
Recovering the surviving Horde sailors from the sea took some time as well. No captain wanted to risk their ships by sailing too close to a burning hulk - a magazine explosion might splatter burning oil on anything nearby. So, longboats navigated the waters, slipping between still burning slicks of oil and drifting wreckage to pick up survivors.
There were more of them than Seacat would have expected, between the bloody fighting and the burning oil.
"What a waste," Alcy commented as they sailed towards the raft the first courier had dropped. "If we'd taken a frigate as a prize…"
"We'd have to share it with the Salinean frigates," Seacat pointed out.
"Still…"
Seacat shook her head. You could take the scoundrel off a pirate ship, but curbing some of the habits might take a little longer. Though… "Those were the raiding frigates that had slipped the blockade," she said. "If they had kept raiding, the Salineans would have had to use a big part of their fleet hunting them down and guarding transports. Sacrificing them like this..." It was stupid.
"Indeed!" Sea Hawk said. "Even if they had managed to reach the fortress and burn the transport ships and the supplies still on them, it wouldn't have been worth it - without the threat of those raiding frigates, the Alliance can easily shop more supplies down the coast. And the ships currently on escort duty are free to return to blockade and raiding stations."
"Probably a landlubber in command. Doesn't get how important the ships are." Shadow Weaver must not have a grasp on the naval side of the war. Seacat smiled at the thought.
Sea Hawk didn't look convinced. "That's possible, but the Horde hasn't struck me as particularly ignorant of naval matters. They came up with engines for frigates, didn't they?"
And there went their good mood. "Yes," she said with a frown. "But why else would they do this? They had a plan, but even if it had worked, they would've been hard-pressed to do enough damage to the port before getting sunk."
The Captain beamed at her. "They might be desperate. If this offensive succeeds, they'll lose a lot of troops, territory and resources."
"Desperate enough to send four of their best ships to be sunk?" That would fit Shadow Weaver. The witch considered anyone expendable, didn't she?
"Perhaps. We'll need more information to find out for sure."
"Lots of sailors and officers to interrogate," Seacat pointed out.
"And they will be interrogated, but I doubt that they know much about the state of the war on land. No, if we want to know about the Horde situation on land, we'll have to catch an officer in command on land."
"A raid on their lines?" Seacat asked. It would have to be the southern lines - the troops cut off in the northern part of the coast wouldn't know much, either - they'd probably be fed lies so they didn't realise how hopeless their situation was and wouldn't surrender at the first opportunity.
"That's dangerous - we'd have to make landfall somewhere without getting spotted," Alcy said.
Seacat nodded. At least a small group could be landed quickly - and picked up as quickly. It was still dangerous, but not quite as dangerous as landing a sizeable raid force. If you had to make several trips with a long boat to land all soldiers, the enemy had a lot more time to gather their own. And if you had to make a hasty retreat, you had to hope you were first in line for the boats - or could swim.
"We don't have the time for that, I'm afraid. But we should have a few opportunities once we strike out along the river," Sea Hawk told them. "Now let's invite some shipwrecked Horde sailors on board," he added, pointing at the raft off the bow.
"Let's hope they'll be reasonable," Alcy said.
"Yes." Usually, you didn't have to worry about that with shipwrecked sailors, but with people who were willing to run a fireship into a guarded port… "Let's check them thoroughly for weapons," she said.
*****
If the Horde sailors had been willing to fight to the death before, then the fight had gone out of them by the time the Dragon's Daughter V picked them up from the raft. But then, seeing your ship sink, finding yourself adrift in the sea… it took something out of every sailor.
Almost every sailor, she corrected herself with a glance at the Captain. And if it happened a few times, you got used to it.
But the Horde sailors they fished out of the water hadn't grown used to losing a ship. They were huddled together, shivering and not meeting the crew's eyes. Half a dozen - Seacat wasn't sure, but she thought the courier might have had a bigger crew than that. Well, that was war.
She looked them over. They were wearing their uniforms, but none of them sported rank insignia. "Who was in charge of this fleet?" she asked.
None of the Horde scum answered. They didn't look defiant - just beaten.
She picked a burly sailor in the front row. "You. Who was in command of your fleet?"
He looked at her. "Force Captain Maris."
Seacat frowned. "That's not a naval rank." Catra had learned the horde ranks quickly - she had to know who could order whom around.
"No." The sailor showed some emotion for the first time, clenching his teeth.
"They put a landlubber in charge of a fleet?" She snorted. The Horde must be getting desperate.
He shrugged.
The others didn't look like they cared, either. They didn't even seem to care much that they had survived.
She returned to Sea Hawk and reported what she had found out.
He rubbed his moustache. "Force Captain Maris… That name…"
Seacat pressed her lips together. If this was another old lover the Captain…
"...doesn't ring any bell at all!" He shook his head. "Perhaps Adora might know them - she was a Force Captain."
"For all of a day," Seacat pointed out. "But she might know them." Wasn't there some training program where cadets on the officer track served as aides? Adora had mentioned something about it, a bit before the field exercise, but Catra hadn't listened since she wasn't being considered for command.
"Well, let's signal the fleet and ask if they recovered the Force Captain," Sea Hawk said. "First-hand information is always the best kind of information."
*****
"No, Maris didn't survive the battle. Splinter from a shell killed him." The officer - a scorpionman who was almost as huge as the woman Seacat had fought in the Fright Zone - shrugged. "Bad luck. The sailor next to him didn't get a scratch."
Such things happened. But the officer seemed to be a little too uncaring about it. "Was he behind the plan to attack the Fortress?" she asked, ignoring how the Salinean officers who were present for the interrogation stiffened at her butting in.
"He said the plan came from Horde High Command," the officer replied.
"And do you believe that?" Sea Hawk asked.
Another shrug. "The captains believed. And if he had been lying, well… It doesn't matter any more, does it?"
"Weren't you supposed to work in concert with a land attack?" Seacat studied the man to gauge his reaction, but he merely blinked. "That would've been a good idea, I guess. But we weren't told anything."
And since any officer had to be ready to take command, should the enemy land a lucky shot, they needed to know the entire plan. That meant they hadn't meant to strike in support of an attack by land. That made the attack even more reckless. Daring - Sea Hawk would've approved - but reckless.
"Did you actually think you would succeed?" Captain Borda, who was commanding the Mermaid's Pride, blurted out. She must have come to the same conclusion.
This time, the officer scoffed. "We managed to sink one of your frigates while being outnumbered and outgunned. And if you hadn't copied our engines, we would've broken through."
"Did you even know that we got engines in our ships as well?" Borda shot back.
"It was unconfirmed intelligence. We prepared for it, but…" Once more the man shrugged.
"You're awfully blasé about losing the entire fleet that had managed to slip through the blockade," Sea Hawk commented.
"As the Force Captain told us: The war will be decided on land."
Seacat snorted. "And you believed it?"
The Scorpionman sneered at her. "That's how it worked last time. The Rebellion fell apart after defeats on land."
"Too bad for you that the Horde hasn't won any battle on land in a while," Seacat spat.
"And Salineas will fight on even if our allies are defeated! You'll never conquer us!" Borda added.
And yet another shrug. "We'll see. For me, the war's over either way."
"That is correct," Sea Hawk said with a smile before turning to the two marine guards in the room - two minotaurs just a little smaller than Horas. "Take him away."
As soon as the door closed behind the prisoner and the guards, Borda shook her head. "With such an officer corps, it's a wonder they have won any battles."
"They only won when they had overwhelming advantages. At sea, at least," one of the officers - Seacat didn't know the man's name - added."
"Now, now," Sea Hawk said, frowning. "The man has just suffered a complete defeat and saw many of his comrades die. He must be still under shock, so we cannot take his attitude at face value. However, I think we can say that the Horde didn't put much faith in this attack."
"The officers didn't," Seacat agreed. "They still fought hard, though."
"And they still lost," another Salinean officer said. "If the rest of the Alliance did half as well as the Navy, we'd have won the war already."
Seacat narrowed her eyes. She was a sailor, and she knew better than to dismiss the naval war like the Horde scum had done, but… "The Horde focuses on the land war."
"Certainly not!" the idiot protested. "That would be foolish!"
"You've heard the prisoner, haven't you?" Sea Hawk cut in. "And they aren't entirely wrong. Should they beat the Rebel Alliance on the continent, the remaining kingdoms would be hard-pressed to defeat them."
"They would have the resources of the entire continent and interior lines," another officer added. "And they could block trade. How long could we, much less the Kingdom of Snows, last without trade?"
"We could always trade directly with the West!" the fool replied. "We control the seas!"
"How long will you be in control when you depend on fuel crystals from the continent to keep your shiny new frigates running?" Seacat shot back. "And how long until the Horde conquers the West?"
"The logistical challenges of launching an offensive against the west are considerable. Without control of the sea, I doubt that they could supply their troops in the field," an older officer - Captain Kunis - pointed out. "However, you are correct: Without the resources of the continent, Salineas cannot maintain a competitive navy. That isn't a new development, though - we had to rely on imported timber for our shipyards for decades."
"So, in essence, nothing has changed," Sea Hawk said. "The Alliance needs every member to defeat the Horde. Fortunately, My dear Mermista is well aware of that and on good terms with the other princesses."
The Captain ignored the frowns that briefly appeared on various officers' faces when he reminded them of his relationship with their princess.
Seacat didn't.
"Now, let's return to port - we have a number of prisoners to deliver, and prepare our offensive. Dismissed, gentlemen."
*****
Seacat didn't bother with the rope ladder hanging down from the frigate. She vaulted over the railing and pushed off of the hull, launching herself across the grab and grabbing the mast of the Dragon's Daughter V. A moment later, she slid down the mast and landed on the hull. "Get ready to return to port," she told the crew.
Behind her, the Captain arrived, jumping off the ladder halfway on the way down and landing next to her. "Huzzah! Another victory for the Alliance!"
"No prizes, though," Alcy complained.
"But fame, which often begets fortune! Why the number of drinks we'll be paid for telling our story…" Sea Hawk shook his head. "My old friends will be so jealous!"
Seacat sighed. Sea Hawk's old lovers were already jealous enough in her opinion. But then, as an admiral, the Captain's reputation would spread with every victory anyway - and defeat wasn't an option, of course. And it was impressive - all the raiding frigates sunk, three couriers sunk, at the cost of one frigate. Not the perfect victory, but a victory nevertheless, and one that meant the sea lanes were safe again from Horde raiders. As were the supplies in the harbour.
She narrowed her eyes as they turned towards the port - Fortress Freedom, Seacat reminded herself with a frown. The shrimp didn't have a good hand with naming things. Was that… "Smoke?"
"It looks like smoke," Lucy confirmed. "From the harbour."
Seacat rushed to the top of the mast with her telescope. And cursed. She couldn't see everything in the harbour from her position - the mast was tall enough and the angle not ideal - but what she saw… one transport was on fire. But how? She couldn't see any enemy ship. Saboteurs amongst the soldiers or dockworkers?
Wait. There was something in the water - a drifting body. And a swimmer wrestling with… tentacles? And the ship was listing…
She had thought there were a bit too few fishmen and fishwomen amongst the enemy crew.
"Captain!" she yelled down. "Looks like they slipped fishfolk into the harbour."
"What?" Sea Hawk replied. "What about our patrols?"
*****
"They swarmed our pickets. They must have sneaked close or something, took them before they could release the warning buoys," Colonel Kilian told them an hour later, standing on the mole. "And with the lookouts distracted by the battle at sea…" He bared his clenched teeth. "Damn saboteurs slipped through, and…" He shrugged, wiping some soot stain from the back of his hand. "You know the rest."
"We do," Sea Hawk said.
"One transport sunk with half the supplies," Seacat added. "That'll set the offensive back a few weeks, at the least." She looked at the wreck blocking one pier. That would have to be cleared as well before another transport could use the pier. Which meant the port's capacity would be reduced.
What a mess.
"Hmm." Sea Hawk rubbed his chin. "If we set sail at once with the Dragon's Daughter V, we should be able to cut down on that. Still, we need to get back to Seaworthy, first, and grab supplies there."
And that would cost time. Damn. One link of a chain broke and everything was held up.
Seacat blinked. A chain link. Oh. "We don't need to sail all the way to Seaworthy!" she blurted out.
"Oh?" Sea Hawk looked at her with a smile. Even Kilian raised his eyebrows.
"We just need to reach the closest port to the north," she explained. "We'll take their supplies and ship them here, they'll send for the supplies from the port further north, and that port will have to get new supplies from Seaworthy."
"Oh, I see. Yes, that should work!" Sea Hawk beamed at her and hit the palm of his hand with his fist. "Good idea, First Mate!"
"That'll disrupt their buildup, though," Kilian said.
"But not as seriously as this disrupted our schedule," the Captain replied, pointing at the sunken ship and the listing second transport. "They have shorter supply lines and quicker communication with Seaworthy."
"And they should have a stock of supplies already," Seacat added. "They've been fighting for months already." And they wouldn't keep their supplies on a transport, anyway.
"Indeed! Let us rush north and secure us a transport!" Sea Hawk declared, pointing to the north. "The Horde might have gained a stay of execution, but not for long!"
"And I'll start a limited offensive with the supplies we have," Kilian added. "Keep the bastards busy and make them worry they failed."
"Good idea!"
Seacat nodded. But Adora and her friends would start their offensive on schedule. They'd bear the brunt of the Horde's reaction.
Damn.
*****
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