"2568-33" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 6 - In Harms Way)"IN HARM'S WAY" AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Robert J. Simmons Chapter Thirty Three "I just hope I'm still Queen of Dularn when you return," Ma- ris said as we made our good byes there at the dock, the great bulk of the Diana there behind us like some strange sea monster. The Senate had not thought much of Maris' agreement to assist the Empire in its war against Mexico. I suspected that most of them did not understand the "realities of power" that existed now. I supposed I couldn't really "blame" them too much either. For the time being we possessed the one "ultimate weapon" against which there was no practical defense in the Diana. It was true that we would not possess this "advantage" over the Empire for long, as I knew there was already a second Imperial battleship under con- struction there in Trella to replace the one Tara's agent sank. I had watched Darlanis board the Arsana to Trella clipper that now ran between our two countries, a bit of "hope" for peace now. "We're doing the `right' thing," I said, Carol nodding. "It shouldn't take us that long," my wife added then. "I'll keep things `safe' for you," Maris promised. There was no cheering this time when we left Dularn. "I'm glad you're here," I said to Carol, Sandra standing by the helmsman, the steady regular "thud-thud" of the Diana's three engines such a "familiar" sound that I hardly noticed it anymore. "Hope should be all right with Kathi and that `wet nurse' that Maris found for her," my brownette answered, my arm about her firm feminine body as she stood at my side, her ornate uni- form as Warlady of Dularn seeming "fitting" now after everything. I knew if neither of us came back that Maris would act as Hope's mother until she became of age, such being in the "will" that we had signed. Such is commonplace in this era, as has been noted. I was somewhat surprised that Carol would leave Hope right now, but my wife is not a woman who is extremely "maternal" anyway...* * Perhaps "that" is "why" we left Hope with Maris when we decided to return to our own time as I've written at the end of this... "We'll be back before the first snow," I smiled, seeing my wife's hazel eyes meet mine. Ahead of us laid a voyage far long- er than any the Diana had ever undertaken before, a distance of two thousand miles down the coastline of North America to the Gulf of California. Ten days sailing at seven and a half knots, although the Diana did not have the "range" to steam that far without "refueling", our maximum range at best being about fif- teen hundred miles. We would refuel in Sarn, again in Trella, and then hopefully once again in La Paz. I wished to keep our coal supplies in "reserve" as much as I could, such "fuel" being more "efficient" than ordinary firewood. Lamp oil was even "hot- ter" burning than coal, but its cost made it rather impractical. "Going to seem `funny' fighting on the side of the Empire," Sandra "commented", voicing an opinion "shared" by many aboard. "Especially against a foe that's never `bothered' us," she added. "`Ours' is not to `ask why'," Carol smiled, "But to `do'..." "Bother you, being away from Hope like this?" I asked Carol. My wife standing there looking out through the open stern hatches at the boiling wake, a "hint" of wood smoke there in the cabin. "I am both a `mother' and a `wife'," Carol answered back. "And I have been neglecting the latter `more' than I should do." "It's a `comfort' to have you here," I said to my love then. "Darlanis was right about the `double standard'," Carol smiled. "And there's no real reason for it any more either now." "I don't think you'd get too many husbands to `agree' with you," I smiled back, looking over the charts. We would stay well out, just within sight of land. Given the speed at which we were able to travel, it wasn't too likely that any spy could transfer information swiftly enough to the Mexicans that our arrival off their shores wouldn't come as a complete "surprise" to them now! "I gave you Kathi to `use', and all I had was my `hand'," Carol answered, turning about, facing me, her features in shadow against the glare of the sea. I suspected that this had been "bugging" Carol for some time, or she wouldn't have spoken so. I suspected that this might have something to do with her coming along on this voyage and leaving our little girl back home now... "A man can `use' a woman without feeling an emotional com- mitment to her, but few women can enjoy sex without it," I said. There have been "kept" men, but no actual "male prostitutes" as such. Such "men" in the 20th and 21st Century being homosexuals. I have no doubt that such practices still exist in this time, but they do not seem to be "common", perhaps due to the fact that in this era heterosexual sex is more "available" than it was in the 20th Century due to the existence of legalized prostitution in all countries of which I have knowledge, including those ruled by the nomadic Nevadas and Wyomings. It is noteworthy here to note that legalized prostitution existed in the early 20th Century be- fore women obtained the vote. Women of course being no fools did all they could to "outlaw" it for very much the same reasons that any union member of the same era always opposed "scab" workers. This is clearly "understood" in this era, especially in Dularn, where as I have mentioned earlier, men even executed one of their own Queens for "trespassing" where she should not have done. It is noteworthy here too that "feminism" in the sense it was known in the 20th and 21st Centuries is not "tolerated" to any degree. Lorraine herself notes this in her first book, as does Darlanis in hers. The "hostility" towards Queen Valeris in Dularn was in part caused by the "fact" that she was an "extreme" feminist who believed that the world would be better off without men in it. Much like the Women of Mars, who hold to much the same beliefs... "I could take a `lover'," Carol smiled, the tone of her voice leaving little doubt that she was "teasing" me a bit here. Carol is the sort of a woman who requires an emotional commitment to be able to actually "enjoy" sex with a man. It was this very "commitment" to her that was the reason that she became my wife. "Probably `raise' a few eyebrows in Arsana," I smiled back. "I am not considered `unattractive'," my brownette said. "Your figure still is pretty good," I observed in return. "I fear I would not be as `good' in a bikini," she said. "That is a matter of `opinion'," I smiled back at my wife. "I have `stretch marks' and my breasts sag a bit now," Carol smiled. That was true, although I suspected that after Hope was weaned that Carol's breasts would doubtless return to "normal"... I had noticed that my wife seemed a bit "insecure" about herself. "I wouldn't say that you're `over the hill' quite yet," I answered, Carol stepping forward, undoing her uniform coat, the "jut" of her breasts beneath the thin silk blouse she wore leav- ing little doubt that she was still a very "attractive" wench... "My nipples are still too `tender' for clips," she smiled. I knew she was wearing a bra since otherwise she "drooped" now. "You could probably stand to be `milked'," I answered her. "They do feel rather `full'," my wife admitted to me then. It was necessary to keep Carol "milked" so that her milk wouldn't "dry" up before we returned to Arsana. A breast pump being used for this purpose, some women "milking" themselves so that they can "bottle feed" when necessary, although "nursing" is much more common and no doubt is "better" for the baby, it is believed now. "That one's `dry'," Carol breathed, sitting in my lap, naked to the waist. I took the glass breast pump from her left breast, emptied out the milk it contained and placed it over her right. The milk then spurting in a dribble from her nipple as I drew the plunger back to create a vacuum. A woman's milk is far "richer" than cow's milk, and has a high "fat" content. This is why it is perhaps "better" for a baby than anything else as it also con- tains certain "trace elements" vital for the baby's own health. "If we had coffee we could use it for `cream'," I smiled. "I bought some in Arsana before we left," she announced. "Just like being at home," I spoke, Carol nodding back. "The one thing we can never have," my wife spoke softly. "Thanks to my allowing Tais to use that `Portal'," I said. "It wasn't your fault and I doubt that the Priestesses would ever `trust' us to the point that they would allow us to return back to our own time," Carol answered, kissing me gently then...* * They "did", and we've never been "troubled" by the Martians. I have written this book in the knowledge that you will not believe the "truth", that you will think of it as only "science fiction". It is perhaps just as well that you don't "believe" what I write. That is one of the reasons we left Hope for Queen Maris to raise. "You're still the `best' wife any man could have," I said to Carol, holding her in my arms, the steady beat of the Diana's en- gines only a "background noise" that one hardly even noticed now. "I may not have `youth' any more, but I do have `experi- ence'," Carol smiled back, gently touching the swollen spot on my lip that she'd bitten as she'd arched and scratched beneath me. "You're still `better' than Kathi is," I told her in turn. It had been much like "old times" back in the Twentieth Century. "Kathi `promises' more than she can `deliver'," Carol said. "What makes a woman really `good in bed' isn't having big breasts or a big behind, or even blonde hair, but the willingness to `let go' and `give' of herself to her lover." I knew she was right... "Weather's getting up a bit," Sandra said to me, indicating the barometer, which had dropped considerably since earlier this afternoon. We were a day out from Arsana, a couple hundred miles south now. To the east would be Orgon, the northernmost part of the Empire. The wave "pattern" now indicated a storm to the west, which would be a bit of trouble given our present course as the waves would strike the Diana from the side, which was the worse place to hit given the battleship's own "top heaviness". I was well aware that if the Diana was ever rolled more than forty five degrees from the horizontal that she'd probably go "over"... "We'll make for the bay right here," I replied, pointing it out on the chart, telling Sandra to go to three quarters, which would increase our speed from seven and a half knots to about nine. I would ride out the storm safely at anchor in this Impe- rial controlled bay, and then proceed onwards after it was over. "IN HARM'S WAY" AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Robert J. Simmons Chapter Thirty Three "I just hope I'm still Queen of Dularn when you return," Ma- ris said as we made our good byes there at the dock, the great bulk of the Diana there behind us like some strange sea monster. The Senate had not thought much of Maris' agreement to assist the Empire in its war against Mexico. I suspected that most of them did not understand the "realities of power" that existed now. I supposed I couldn't really "blame" them too much either. For the time being we possessed the one "ultimate weapon" against which there was no practical defense in the Diana. It was true that we would not possess this "advantage" over the Empire for long, as I knew there was already a second Imperial battleship under con- struction there in Trella to replace the one Tara's agent sank. I had watched Darlanis board the Arsana to Trella clipper that now ran between our two countries, a bit of "hope" for peace now. "We're doing the `right' thing," I said, Carol nodding. "It shouldn't take us that long," my wife added then. "I'll keep things `safe' for you," Maris promised. There was no cheering this time when we left Dularn. "I'm glad you're here," I said to Carol, Sandra standing by the helmsman, the steady regular "thud-thud" of the Diana's three engines such a "familiar" sound that I hardly noticed it anymore. "Hope should be all right with Kathi and that `wet nurse' that Maris found for her," my brownette answered, my arm about her firm feminine body as she stood at my side, her ornate uni- form as Warlady of Dularn seeming "fitting" now after everything. I knew if neither of us came back that Maris would act as Hope's mother until she became of age, such being in the "will" that we had signed. Such is commonplace in this era, as has been noted. I was somewhat surprised that Carol would leave Hope right now, but my wife is not a woman who is extremely "maternal" anyway...* * Perhaps "that" is "why" we left Hope with Maris when we decided to return to our own time as I've written at the end of this... "We'll be back before the first snow," I smiled, seeing my wife's hazel eyes meet mine. Ahead of us laid a voyage far long- er than any the Diana had ever undertaken before, a distance of two thousand miles down the coastline of North America to the Gulf of California. Ten days sailing at seven and a half knots, although the Diana did not have the "range" to steam that far without "refueling", our maximum range at best being about fif- teen hundred miles. We would refuel in Sarn, again in Trella, and then hopefully once again in La Paz. I wished to keep our coal supplies in "reserve" as much as I could, such "fuel" being more "efficient" than ordinary firewood. Lamp oil was even "hot- ter" burning than coal, but its cost made it rather impractical. "Going to seem `funny' fighting on the side of the Empire," Sandra "commented", voicing an opinion "shared" by many aboard. "Especially against a foe that's never `bothered' us," she added. "`Ours' is not to `ask why'," Carol smiled, "But to `do'..." "Bother you, being away from Hope like this?" I asked Carol. My wife standing there looking out through the open stern hatches at the boiling wake, a "hint" of wood smoke there in the cabin. "I am both a `mother' and a `wife'," Carol answered back. "And I have been neglecting the latter `more' than I should do." "It's a `comfort' to have you here," I said to my love then. "Darlanis was right about the `double standard'," Carol smiled. "And there's no real reason for it any more either now." "I don't think you'd get too many husbands to `agree' with you," I smiled back, looking over the charts. We would stay well out, just within sight of land. Given the speed at which we were able to travel, it wasn't too likely that any spy could transfer information swiftly enough to the Mexicans that our arrival off their shores wouldn't come as a complete "surprise" to them now! "I gave you Kathi to `use', and all I had was my `hand'," Carol answered, turning about, facing me, her features in shadow against the glare of the sea. I suspected that this had been "bugging" Carol for some time, or she wouldn't have spoken so. I suspected that this might have something to do with her coming along on this voyage and leaving our little girl back home now... "A man can `use' a woman without feeling an emotional com- mitment to her, but few women can enjoy sex without it," I said. There have been "kept" men, but no actual "male prostitutes" as such. Such "men" in the 20th and 21st Century being homosexuals. I have no doubt that such practices still exist in this time, but they do not seem to be "common", perhaps due to the fact that in this era heterosexual sex is more "available" than it was in the 20th Century due to the existence of legalized prostitution in all countries of which I have knowledge, including those ruled by the nomadic Nevadas and Wyomings. It is noteworthy here to note that legalized prostitution existed in the early 20th Century be- fore women obtained the vote. Women of course being no fools did all they could to "outlaw" it for very much the same reasons that any union member of the same era always opposed "scab" workers. This is clearly "understood" in this era, especially in Dularn, where as I have mentioned earlier, men even executed one of their own Queens for "trespassing" where she should not have done. It is noteworthy here too that "feminism" in the sense it was known in the 20th and 21st Centuries is not "tolerated" to any degree. Lorraine herself notes this in her first book, as does Darlanis in hers. The "hostility" towards Queen Valeris in Dularn was in part caused by the "fact" that she was an "extreme" feminist who believed that the world would be better off without men in it. Much like the Women of Mars, who hold to much the same beliefs... "I could take a `lover'," Carol smiled, the tone of her voice leaving little doubt that she was "teasing" me a bit here. Carol is the sort of a woman who requires an emotional commitment to be able to actually "enjoy" sex with a man. It was this very "commitment" to her that was the reason that she became my wife. "Probably `raise' a few eyebrows in Arsana," I smiled back. "I am not considered `unattractive'," my brownette said. "Your figure still is pretty good," I observed in return. "I fear I would not be as `good' in a bikini," she said. "That is a matter of `opinion'," I smiled back at my wife. "I have `stretch marks' and my breasts sag a bit now," Carol smiled. That was true, although I suspected that after Hope was weaned that Carol's breasts would doubtless return to "normal"... I had noticed that my wife seemed a bit "insecure" about herself. "I wouldn't say that you're `over the hill' quite yet," I answered, Carol stepping forward, undoing her uniform coat, the "jut" of her breasts beneath the thin silk blouse she wore leav- ing little doubt that she was still a very "attractive" wench... "My nipples are still too `tender' for clips," she smiled. I knew she was wearing a bra since otherwise she "drooped" now. "You could probably stand to be `milked'," I answered her. "They do feel rather `full'," my wife admitted to me then. It was necessary to keep Carol "milked" so that her milk wouldn't "dry" up before we returned to Arsana. A breast pump being used for this purpose, some women "milking" themselves so that they can "bottle feed" when necessary, although "nursing" is much more common and no doubt is "better" for the baby, it is believed now. "That one's `dry'," Carol breathed, sitting in my lap, naked to the waist. I took the glass breast pump from her left breast, emptied out the milk it contained and placed it over her right. The milk then spurting in a dribble from her nipple as I drew the plunger back to create a vacuum. A woman's milk is far "richer" than cow's milk, and has a high "fat" content. This is why it is perhaps "better" for a baby than anything else as it also con- tains certain "trace elements" vital for the baby's own health. "If we had coffee we could use it for `cream'," I smiled. "I bought some in Arsana before we left," she announced. "Just like being at home," I spoke, Carol nodding back. "The one thing we can never have," my wife spoke softly. "Thanks to my allowing Tais to use that `Portal'," I said. "It wasn't your fault and I doubt that the Priestesses would ever `trust' us to the point that they would allow us to return back to our own time," Carol answered, kissing me gently then...* * They "did", and we've never been "troubled" by the Martians. I have written this book in the knowledge that you will not believe the "truth", that you will think of it as only "science fiction". It is perhaps just as well that you don't "believe" what I write. That is one of the reasons we left Hope for Queen Maris to raise. "You're still the `best' wife any man could have," I said to Carol, holding her in my arms, the steady beat of the Diana's en- gines only a "background noise" that one hardly even noticed now. "I may not have `youth' any more, but I do have `experi- ence'," Carol smiled back, gently touching the swollen spot on my lip that she'd bitten as she'd arched and scratched beneath me. "You're still `better' than Kathi is," I told her in turn. It had been much like "old times" back in the Twentieth Century. "Kathi `promises' more than she can `deliver'," Carol said. "What makes a woman really `good in bed' isn't having big breasts or a big behind, or even blonde hair, but the willingness to `let go' and `give' of herself to her lover." I knew she was right... "Weather's getting up a bit," Sandra said to me, indicating the barometer, which had dropped considerably since earlier this afternoon. We were a day out from Arsana, a couple hundred miles south now. To the east would be Orgon, the northernmost part of the Empire. The wave "pattern" now indicated a storm to the west, which would be a bit of trouble given our present course as the waves would strike the Diana from the side, which was the worse place to hit given the battleship's own "top heaviness". I was well aware that if the Diana was ever rolled more than forty five degrees from the horizontal that she'd probably go "over"... "We'll make for the bay right here," I replied, pointing it out on the chart, telling Sandra to go to three quarters, which would increase our speed from seven and a half knots to about nine. I would ride out the storm safely at anchor in this Impe- rial controlled bay, and then proceed onwards after it was over. |
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