The Wasp landed at a small Oasis to take on water and make needed repairs to the boiler, and the officers, adventurers and a select few crew - to serve as lookouts and provide essential services - descended from the close-moored Wasp to bivouac and have a civilized dinner.
The captain had reported seeing a kite in the far distance, possibly shadowing the Wasp, but the distant ship didn't seem anxious to close with the British craft. Having learned the lesson that six pairs of eyes are better than four, the adventurers joined the watch rotation and were thus able to spot a band of Steppe Martians sneaking up on the encampment before it was too late.
A swift battle ensued with the ambushers proving more stalwart than is usual for these poorly-armed opportunistic sneak thieves, who usually run like quicksilver down a wall at the sound of a Webley pistol, and they continued with their brave, if foolhardy, attack even after many of them were taken down by the British defenders.
Eventually the survivors saw sense and ran for their lives.
A burial party was formed from the other ranks and though the ground was inhospitable, cairns were raised over the dead and a service said for their souls.
The Wasp set out again, heading for the next oasis, and soon it was apparent that either the party had not lost their Martian escort, or had picked up another, and that now the kite was intent on catching the Wasp. A shift in the wind had Captain Turngood concerned that the Wasp might be overhauled, explaining that though the steamship had a speed advantage it would need to take on water, and that while the kite was a slave to the winds, those winds were favouring the sailing ship, which could run non-stop and do so almost silently.
The Wasp was anything but silent, and the trail of black smoke and steam she left was a clear signal of her position and heading. A good captain could even make an estimate of speed from the exhaust. The crew of the Wasp would be particularly vulnerable at night, when the kite would be very hard to see.
A brief reprieve came when the wind shifted to come from ahead, but that brought with it new peril. A blurring on the horizon could only be one thing, a dread martian sandstorm.
The weather on Mars is generally arid, with no clouds. Rain is almost unheard of. But in the deserts, winds can build, picking up the fine dust and sand and carrying the detritus to very high altitudes. Every skyship captain knows the danger of being swept up in a sandstorm, and the only way to avoid them is to go around them if possible, or go to ground in sheltering terrain. To be caught in a sandstorm is almost certain death. Absent those two options a ship must run ahead of the storm and hope they can reach safe harbour before they are overtaken.
Around noon Captain Turngood spotted likely shelter in a small group of mesa-like features, and the crew expertly nursed the Wasp into a narrow canyon and moored her to the rocky walls with stout ropes. Everyone then took shelter, with a skeleton watch assigned. Those outside were forced to wear special goggles and respirators and to shelter in the lee of whatever superstructure could provide as the wind-driven sand was, despite the shelter of the canyon, still blowing with considerable force and one couldn't see a hand in front of one's face a lot of the time.
A couple of hours into the storm there came an almighty crashing sound and the Wasp shook as though pounded by a titan. Venturing topside, Reverend Fogg found the deck a catastrophic jumble of fallen wreckage, seemingly from a kite. He attempted to reconnoiter the deck fully, but the wreckage was almost impassible, being made up of a mast fallen on the starboard decking, and a colossal tangle of rigging, ropes and blocks that worked like a net to imperil the explorer.
Captain Forsyth joined Fogg on deck and together they rescued the fallen crewman on the flying bridge who had been felled by wreckage. A sudden lurch warned of trouble brewing and Fogg and Forsyth discovered one of the crucial mooring ropes had parted from the canyon wall. They clambered over the fallen mast, mostly blinded by the orange fog of wind-borne sand and dust, and made several attempts to re-secure the Wasp to the canyon wall, eventually succeeding.
The next day the storm had subsided and the crew and adventurers worked to clear the Wasp of the wreckage and get underway again, but the sight of the hull of a crashed kite some distance down the canyon pulled them up short. It was decided to board the wreckage and see what could be found.
Burke, Forsyth and Fogg made the foray, lowering themselves down ropes from the Wasp . Burke made to enter by a hatch aft, while Fogg and Forsyth too a hatch toward the bow. Unfortunately, a crew of crack Martian Marines were lying in wait, having heard the Wasp's approach and made plans for just this contingency. Each was armed with a black powder musket and two black powder pistols. When you have to take so long to reload the enemy can shoot you several times with their advanced Earth weapons, you carry spare firearms.
And so when Burke hit the lower deck he came under heavy fire from four Marines and was severely wounded.
Forsyth fared little better, managing to survive the first fusillade relatively unscathed. Fogg charged in with his signature lack of concern for personal safety, but was met with ruthless swordplay and taken down.
It was at this point the Martian commander called for the adventurers' surrender, but Forsyth answered this cheeky demand with some more ineffective pistol fire then being badly wounded by a second volley of pistol fire from the Martians. Waldmont joined the fray in the bow but was pinned by heavy fire and himself badly wounded. It was all he and Forsyth could do to make for the upper daecks and collapse, groaning from their gunshot wounds.
Burke seemed done for, but Sgt Pepper and some of his 'lads' crashed into theatre and made short work of the Martian marines, rescuing the man and bringing him above decks for treatment. Sadly, Reverend Fogg bled quietly to death while this was taking place.
To be continued ...
No comments:
Post a Comment