2565 A.D.!
A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN
By Jerome B. Bigge
Book Two
Chapter Thirty Two


     
"You're not going to leave her to die!" Sharon begged, her
eyes pleading into mine as she clutched the blanket to herself.
I feared for her mental state after everything she had been put
through. As Sharon once put it, she learned first hand in inti-
mate personal detail every sexual perversion that this era pos-
sesses! I do know what was done to her, but it is not something
I wish to write about. I treated her injuries. I know what she
endured. I am glad we did not leave a pirate alive, although
their deaths were far too "easy" for what they did to my Sharon!
     
"There has been a revolution here in Trelandar," I told my
golden girl. "I fear that those here aboard consider Darlanis as
being the `enemy' of all their hopes and dreams for the future."
     
"The `Free Trelandar Movement'," Sharon breathed. Her voice
was just a little too steady, just a little too "calm". I handed
her a glass of brandy. She drank it like it was ordinary water!
     
"I fear that they made me `Queen of Trelandar'," I smiled
back. Sharon would hear about it sooner or later, I thought.
She might as well hear it from my lips as from those of another.
     
"And you `married' Jon Richards," Sharon added, seeing the
silver linked chain there about my throat. Her voice was cold,
hostile. She now believed that I too wanted to let Darlanis die!
     
"I will ask for volunteers," Jon interrupted, "Although I
can't promise you too much considering the way my own people feel
about Darlanis." Jon then going out, leaving us, only Lady Tira-
na, who Sharon had never met before, remaining along with the
headless body of the pirate there still bleeding on the carpet.
The slave girl with the brandy bottle watching us all with dark
glowing eyes that missed little of what went on there before her.
     
"I will fight, as will those who I brought with me," Lady
Tirana spoke, holding Sharon's eyes with her own as she removed
her veil. "It is not as you think. Your stepmother did not ask
to be made a `Queen' nor does she desire the death of Darlanis."
     
"Those faithful to me will obey my orders," I added, telling
the slave girl to find something for my stepdaughter to wear. I
saw the wench nod, briefly size Sharon up, and then leave. Lady
Tirana and I helping Sharon to a sofa where we might sit beside
her. Sharon was starting to shake now, a nervous reaction from
what she had been put through in the cruel hands of the pirates.
I gave her another glass of brandy, made her sip it slowly this
time. Held her in my arms, stroked her hair as I used to do long
ago. I could hear footsteps on the quarterdeck there above us.
     
"I saw Black Lady," Sharon spoke softly. "It scared that
bitch that the pirates take orders from so badly that she actual-
ly cringed there on deck as you flew over." Tara no doubt was
concerned that I might drop a NAPALM bomb from the airplane. I
had to smile at that bit of information. Tara, being a well edu-
cated woman, knew of course what airplanes were. "I knew that
you were flying it as there isn't anyone else in this era with an
airplane and the pirates were all yelling `ITS LORRAINE!' in ter-
ror." Sharon knew of course that I had been to Mars. I suppose
she figured out that was where I got Black Lady and the force-
saber that she had witnessed in operation only a few minutes ago.
     
"What did they `do' to Darlanis?" I asked, interested in the
details from a medical viewpoint, it being obvious to me that the
pirates had punctured her uterus or caused some sort of similar
internal injury. It was also obvious that neither they or Tara
had anyone of the caste of Physicians with them, or it would have
been an easy matter to treat Darlanis' infection with antibiot-
ics. Such items, not being under THE EDICT, being more advanced
than those of the 20th Century with which I am more familiar
with. Now, however, I was worried as such infections are deadly.
     
"I heard a woman's screams a couple times," Sharon admitted,
although whether or not they were Darlanis' or another's is a
good question, the pirates having a number of other women that
they were abusing, such being the survivors of the crew of the
Ronda, some half dozen women who had faithfully served their cap-
tain, the burly muscular Shirl, once the wife of a fisherman.
     
An'na came in then with Sa-she-ra, along with Colonel Janet
Layton of the Imperial Secret Service, who had a pleased smile on
her face as she told me what had happened to the rest of the pi-
rates that had come with their captain to the Janis. It appear-
ing that the prostitutes of Thistle had slit their throats! Jon
following her, giving me a happy smile as he told me that much to
his surprise everyone aboard would follow their "Queen Lorraine"
wherever she went! Jon in turn followed by the slave girl I had
sent for clothing for Sharon, the wench now carrying an outfit I
saw was that of a Warrioress, there being even weapons with it!

     
"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked Sharon, my love-
ly golden girl standing there before me in the black of a Dular-
nian Warrioress. She was wearing sword and dagger, and had a bow
slung over her shoulder along with a quiver of arrows. The
bruises on her face, the swelling of her lip gave her a "look" of
sullen determination. As she nodded, I handed her my PPK .380,
which Sharon calmly checked and thrust into her harness. Six
shots, six lives. I did not think she would miss. She was no
longer the girl I had brought with me into the 26th Century. She
had been through far too much, seen far too much, and had far too
much done to her to retain any of her girlhood innocence. At the
tender age of sixteen she was now a hard-bitten Warrioress whose
hatred burned so hot inside her that nothing else mattered now!
     
"I'll be all right," Sharon smiled, taking my hand in hers.
I could only pray that the burning hatred that now drove her
would last long enough for her to complete what she wanted to do.

     
"'We're putting all our eggs in one basket'," Jon warned me
with a final kiss as we swarmed down into the boats. I would go
with Sharon to the Ronda. I had Sa-she-ra with me. Her skill
with a bow was far superior to anyone else, her skill with a
sword second only to mine. She was the match of Sentis Santa,
who was a Queen of Swords. The Dularnian Warrioress officer
would be with An'na. She was big, strong, a good companion for
An'na, who had trouble climbing ladders and such things due to
the differences in gravity between Earth and Mars. With them was
Stan Holt, who had seemed to have taken a "liking" for the big
blonde haired Dularnian and she for him. We had four boats, our
three and the pirates'. Enough to transport perhaps a hundred
and twenty men and women. The Janis would follow us in under the
command of the first officer. I had not brought the NAPALM bombs
with me. There would be slave girls chained in the holds of the
pirate vessels. This would have to be a hand to hand struggle!

     
"Boat ahoy!" the call came from the Ronda. I thought of
Shirl who had died there on a pirate schooner's deck, standing
beside the Empress of California. Sharon had told me what she
had seen before the pirates had taken her. Darlanis had been
brave, but somewhat lacking in tactical ability when the fight
came. I recalled Sharon's words to the effect that I would have
done a lot better! I recalled Jon's comments about seeing Sarni-
an Lady all lit up there in the fog. Darlanis was brave, but
somewhat lacking in tactical ability. Beautiful, but not too
"smart" when it came to fighting. I suspected that it was true,
although it hardly mattered anymore. We would rescue her, take
her back with us. She would live or die at least among friends.

     
Comment by Darlanis

     
I have never pretended to be a great military commander. I
do respect Lorraine that way, as she is a very "crafty" wench
when it comes to such things. Not that it would have made any
difference in the end there aboard the Ronda, although I believe
that she would have given a better account of herself than I did.

     
"Boat from the Janis!" one of our men called. The pirates
knew that the Janis was close by. There was no value in claiming
something that we were not. The pirate was apparently satisfied
by our reply. He had in any case not sounded all that "sober".
     
"Hey who are -----" the man gasped, a softly glowing beam of
force a meter in length then severing his head neatly from his
body as I reached up with my force-saber. I thought once again
of the movie "STAR WARS" as the head fell with a thump beside me!
     
Three pirates dropped the wenches they were pawing and
whipped out their swords and charged me. I drew Jack's .38 and
fired three times, dropping them. Leaving but one cartridge left
in the five shot cylinder. Jack having fired one back in the
20th Century as I have mentioned if you go look back in this
story to the first chapter where I took the gun away from him.*

* Book One, Chapter One. (author)

     
A crossbow bolt whistled by my head, Sharon's return shot
with my PPK a sharp bark as I saw the man fall there in the dark-
ness. I could hear yelling from the other pirate vessels. Heard
the sound of An'na's blaster. The sharp, high pitched crack,
then that "THUMP" as the bullet exploded in some unlucky pirate's
body! Another bolt dropping the man behind me as we charged
across the deck, my force saber once again glowing in my hand! I
saw men come boiling out of the forecastle, Sharon firing her re-
maining rounds into that swarming mass. I swung my force saber
in a vicious arc, severing a pirate's body in two! Then it was a
melee with everyone for themselves! I dealt death right and
left, Sharon at my side, doing surprisingly well with a sword,
the PPK now useless, there not being another cartridge for it
anywhere on Earth! I had one cartridge left in the .38, but my
force-saber was I felt then a more effective weapon at these
close quarters! Sa-she-ra wonderful as she fought at Sharon's
side, protecting her as much as she could. I had given her or-
ders that Sharon's life must be protected at all costs. She was
after-all the crown Princess of California. If Darlanis died as
well she might from her injuries and abuse, then Sharon would
California's new ruler, although I would be under the laws of the
Empire her regent until she came of age in another couple years.
     
I saw a pirate in terror leap over the side, then the rest
of them followed, leaving us in command there on the bloody deck!
     
"Darlanis," Sharon breathed, Sa-she-ra in the lead as we
headed towards the captain's cabin, our forces considerably re-
duced from the bloody battle with the pirates. It was then that
I saw Princess Tara standing there, some sort of weapon leveled
at us! A small weapon, not a crossbow, but a flintlock pistol!!!
     
"DIE, LORRAINE!" Tara screamed as I went for the .38 thrust
into my harness with my left hand. I saw Sa-she-ra leap forward,
saw the flash, the smoke as Tara fired, Sa-she-ra taking the bul-
let meant for me! With grim pleasure I swapped weapons and took
careful aim at Princess Tara as she stood there before me, thumb-
ing back the hammer for a better shot. The career of the "Prin-
cess of Darkness" had just come to an end! I am an excellent
shot. Tara would die! And with her all the horrible evil she
had brought into this world! I was "the Queen of Light" who
would destroy "The Princess of Darkness" that SHE had spoken to
me about! I drew back on the trigger, keeping the sights steady.
Tara stood there in paralyzed terror. I have no doubt she knew
"what" I held there in my hand. She had her shot. Sa-she-ra lay
dying in Sharon's arms, her eyes upon me as they glazed in death.
As her "blood-sister" it was my duty to avenge her death. I had
every intention of doing just that then as the hammer dropped! I
had a good sight picture. My shot would pierce her evil heart!*

* SHE warned me about "The Queen of Darkness", but I've always
felt that Tara was somehow her "understudy", you might say here.
THE BOOK OF LYS mentions that there will someday be a great "bat-
tle" between the forces of Good and Evil in a "land of snows". I
will let the reader draw what conclusion he may about all this...

     
There was but a muffled "click" as the defective primer
failed to go off. That is the most logical reason I can think
of. There is of course another, but I don't really believe that.
     
"Kill that damm bitch!" I screamed. "A thousand crowns for
her body!" I screamed in enraged fury, flinging the useless re-
volver at her as Princess Tara dove over the side into the dark
waters below! I am told that she is an excellent swimmer. She
is dark haired, and was wearing dark clothing. That is perhaps
why she survived to escape into the nearby forest. I can assure
you that my people did their best to catch her. She would not
have died a pleasant death at my hands. My hatred was too hot!!!
     
My forces ran to the side, shooting arrows, flinging spears,
catapult rocks, ballistae javelins into the water at anything
they saw below. But none ever hit the evil Princess, for she was
as gone as if she had never existed. A number of pirates were
not so lucky, but Tara did escape us and now is back in Baja. I
have discussed with Darlanis the possibilities of joint military
action, but as Tara is quite friendly with the Empire of Mexico,
Darlanis feels that such a war would be only a disaster for us!
There is also the problem of Baja's alliance with Talon, as Tara
holds the beautiful Princess of Talon as her "guest", Sela Dai
presently holding the position of captain of her personal guards.
Next Chapter