1031. Chapter 1031

After Much Ado About Murder

Part Three

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: The game's afoot. Follow your spirit and upon this fanfic, cry," God for Istria, England and Lady Katherine." Rating: K Time: Immediately following After Much Ado About Murder, Part Two.

One by one eight ships sailed out of the harbor of Pola: The six galleys taken from the pirates, the one scout ship and one newly built galley from Pola. Peter had command of the ships with the galley carrying his Greek fire projector. Sir Richard and Lady Kate sailed on the Santa Caterina with Alexis and her two gonnes. Don Federico Podesta, the Duke's half brother, commanded the other gonne carrying galley. The scout ship ran far ahead of the others, being just visible on the horizon. The other seven warships were kept together so that Peter could control them as best he could, when the battle began.

The morning fog soon burned off, leaving the day bright and sunny. The sea was relatively calm with only scattered whitecaps.

They had been sailing for hours, but had found nothing.

"Where are they?" Kate asked irritably.

"It's a big sea, Kate. We could sail for days and not find the other fleet."

As if to contradict Castle, the lookout on the masthead of the galley called out. "On deck there. The scout craft is turning about and making all speed towards us."

"We should close up on Peter's ship to see what's happening." Castle said to the helmsman. Obediently, he headed the galley towards Peter and his ship.

Castle had gone aboard Peter's ship to await the word that Captain Andolini would bring. Andolini arrived soon enough and nimbly leapt from the deck of his ship to the flagship. He bowed to Peter and Castle.

"Greetings, good sirs. The enemy is in sight. They are in two groups. The galleys are following my ship and are headed straight for us. But the cogs, being sailing ships cannot do so. The wind is pushing them towards the mainland of Italy. They are a good five leagues from the galleys. I do believe that we can attack the cogs with our new weapons, and Sir Richard's longbows, of course, and do great damage before the enemy galleys can come up to us."

Peter nodded and mentally worked out where the two enemy squadrons were in relation to him. Then he smiled broadly.

"I believe you're right, Captain Andolini. Would you be so good as to lead us to the cogs, and then keep an eye out for the galleys?"

Andolini smiled back. "It would be a pleasure."

Andolini and Castle returned to their ships. Kate asked Castle what had happened. He told her.

"You could go below, Kate."

"So could you. And we could be trapped like rats if the ship were to sink."

Castle knew he would never win such an argument with his wife, but had to try.

"I love you, Kate."

"As I love you, Richard."

The galleys sped on a southeastern course and soon raised the cogs, lumbering along under sail, trying to rejoin the galleys.

"They're quite large." Kate said as they drew near.

"And packed with troops." Castle added. "But our plan is to try to stay out of range of their crossbowmen and hit them with our gonnes."

The Santa Caterina was just behind the flagship. Castle saw that Peter was headed for the nearest cog. He ordered his helmsman to steer for one just behind that one. The Santa Caterina turned and headed for the port side of the cog, as if intending to ram the enemy ship.

"Why are they laughing and shouting at us?" Kate demanded.

"They think we're trying to ram them. Their ship is made of heavy timbers, while our ship is as light as possible so that it can be rowed by the oarsmen. If we did ram them, we'd doubtlessly do damage to ourselves, possibly even sink ourselves."

Kate smiled and then waved at the soldiers on the cog. They waved and catcalled back.

Alexis had both gonnes loaded. When they were two hundred yards away, she ordered the larger gonne to be fired. There was a roar, a bright flash and a cloud of smoke. They peered through the thick smoke to see what damage had been done. They could see none.

"On deck there." Called the lookout. "A mite high, but some of yon men lost their heads."

Alexis had her crewwomen reloading the larger gonne. Castle called up to the lookout.

"Keep us advised of the results of the shots."

Alexis fired the smaller gonne, sending a twelve pound ball at the enemy.

"On deck. A hit! But a good six feet above the water line."

Castle moved the Santa Caterina back a hundred yards as crossbow bolts began to fly at them. Most hit the wooden wall in front of the gonnes, but several oarsmen were hit, their places being taken by other men.

The next large gonne sent a round through a mass of armored men, sending body parts and pieces of armor flying, causing more wounds and deaths. The next twelve pound ball hit a few feet above the waterline, but sprung a board, causing a small leak. But the enemy crew managed to patch it.

For the next ten minutes or so, Alexis and her crewwomen fired the two gonnes with some effect, but not what they had hoped for. The enemy soldiers had taken cover wherever they could, limiting the damage the gonnes did to the personnel. They kept damaging the ship, but no fatal wounds were inflicted on the ship.

Yet.

"Ahoy the deck. A wonderful shot. Ye hit them at the waterline with the big gonne. Ye've shattered some timbers. Yon ship will sink, methinks."

They all waited for the smoke to clear to get a good look at the damage done. Then the gonne crew began to cheer.

"Look at the hole in the side of the ship!" Kate screamed, throwing her arms around Castle. "We did it. We sank them."

"Sir Richard?" Said the captain of the company of soldiers aboard the Santa Caterina. They're taking off their armor so they don't have to try to swim in it. Take us in closer and my archers can kill them all."

Castle thought for a moment, then shook his head." A waste of arrows. This far from land, they'll drown. And if their fellows try to rescue them, they'll be sitting ducks for us."

"They'd kill us soon enough." The archer captain said.

"Aye, that they would. And we'd die quickly while they'll die slowly."

The archer captain nodded and smiled. "Slowly. That's the way." He walked away.

"You just don't like to kill helpless men." Kate whispered.

"I don't and that may get us all killed one day. Perhaps I should have stayed a simple captain of archers. I never had to make decisions like that. I just did as I was told."

"And now you tell other men to do the right thing." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

Meanwhile, Peter had taken his ship, the Prophet John the Baptist, who was considered a prophet by both Christianity and Islam, and gone after the nearest cog. The first thing he learned was not to fire his Greek fire into the wind. None of it made it to the enemy cog and a little bit blew back on his own ship and started a small fire.

"Throw the sand on the damned fire." He yelled as his sailors tried to douse the small blazes with water. "It floats on water. Use sand."

The cog, having seen what they were up against, raised all sails and tried to flee from their attacker. The oarsmen on the Prophet John put their backs into it, and gradually caught up with the rapidly fleeing cog. But, as they did, a hail of crossbow bolts rained down on Peter's ship. The archers returned fire and Peter turned slightly away from the larger enemy ship.

Peter thought, then turned to his helmsman.

"We'll pull ahead of them while staying out of the range of the crossbows. Then we'll turn sharply and come straight at them. I'll have our archers and crossbowmen keep their soldiers' heads down, and we'll shoot our Greek fire right at them."

The oarsmen did their best and soon the Prophet John pulled ahead of the enemy ship. Peter was afraid that the ship would try to cut behind then, but it looked to him as if the enemy captain was going to try to ram. Peter waited until they were just a bit further ahead, then ordered the starboard oarsmen to keep rowing while the portside oarsmen thrust their oars in the water. The ship spun and was headed straight for the enemy.

"Archers! Crossbowmen! Loose!" Peter roared as he ran to the Greek fire projector. As the enemy loomed over him, her fired a burst of flame that covered the first quarter of the enemy ship. Peter turned his ship away as fast as he could, the cog missing him by inches. As they went by, they could see enemy soldiers in full armor leaping into the sea to drown, rather than burn.

"By the God of the Christians! By everyone's God. It works. She burns. She burns."

Indeed the enemy ship was engulfed in flames.

Peter looked around and saw that the Santa Caterina had defeated her foe. Looking for Don Federico Podesta's galley. He soon found her.

"Podesta is a good fighter on land, but no seaman." Peter growled.

The helmsman nodded in agreement. "He's been chasing that tub and hasn't gotten more than three shots into her."

"We'll go assist him. Perhaps Sir Richard and Lady Catherine will join us."

The helmsman steered towards Podesta's ship. Peter was glad to see that the Santa Caterina was following.

Confronted by three ships with armaments they were unfamiliar with, the third enemy cog surrendered.

Peter called the other two ships to come near him.

"We'll put a prize crew aboard, disarm the soldiers and lock them below decks. Then we'll go after the enemy galleys." He pointed to the south where the remaining Istrian vessels were fighting the Guelph squadron. The Istrians were staying out of the way of their enemy while peppering them with arrows and crossbow bolts. "Sooner or later our oarsmen will tire and if the Guelphs can board one of our ships and they have six large galleys to our four. Once we join up with the other ships, we'll be seven to their six, although their ships and crews will be larger than ours. But we have the advantage of our gonnes and Greek fire."

That advantage was all that they needed. Seeing what had happened to the cogs, the Guelph galleys ran. Peter chased them for a bit, but the enemy had too big a lead. They slowly slipped over the horizon and were gone.

Peter signaled for the fleet to return to Pola.

Upon seeing the Istrian fleet returning with an enemy cog, the people of Pola rushed to the docks to see the returning heroes. And heroines.

Duke Rodrigo, Sir James and Lady Walden, Lord Pietro and more people than the Castles had thought lived in Pola greeted them.

"Lord Peter! "The Duke cried. "Sir Richard and Lady Katherine, and of course Lady Alexis. Welcome home."

"Lady Alexis?" Alexis' eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Please kneel." Rodrigo said.

"I've done this so many times before." Alexis giggled.

"As you kneel Alexis Beckett, arise Lady Alexis." The Duke said solemnly. As Alexis rose, Rodrigo turned to the others. "I know you are tired and wish to go to your homes. But tomorrow night there will be a grand ball at the Ducal palazzo to celebrate your victory. Go now with the thanks of all of the people of Istria for your victory."