chapter 2

If only they didn't have this towering independency and conceit¹, Ward² thought. They used to fight as individual ships. Then they weren't the least surprised if a lonely frigate³ was blown to splinters by an overwhelming Grimnal force. In fact, it was a thing of joy and beauty forever.
It was only by the very fiercest thundering had he gotten this fleet together under Tahn, and only Tahn's high position had kept it together. And God only knew how much longer it would hold together. The Grimnal had shown remarkable⁴ organization. Ward had pointed⁵ that out, and that was a gross mistake.
The Kali wanted nothing to do with what the Grimnal did.
A sharp rap sounded on the cabin door and a Kali slipped in. He made the casual motion that could be a salute⁶, a greeting or a wave good-by, depending on circumstances.
"Two gliders⁷ return," he said happily. "In the bay are two first-liners, four second-liners, five frigates⁹ and some corvettes. All at anchor. Just waiting for us."
Ward nodded.
"How many corvettes?"
The Kali's face wrinkled in dismay.
"Fifty-six," he said softly.
Ward smiled to himself, and ran the Kali fleet by in his mind.
Eighteen first-liners mounting a hundred-twenty guns apiece. Eleven second-liners mounting eighty to ninety guns. Twenty-four frigates mounting fifty to sixty guns. Fifty-two corvettes mounting ten to twenty guns. A strong force, but not as strong as the Grimnal potential. Firmly, he said:
"We will run down almost to Anda Passage—then wait."
The Kali glanced at each other. Tahn coughed.
"Not to go in?"
"No!"
"Why?"
Ward took a deep breath and told himself to stay calm.
"We know there are land guns along the Passage. We know that even without them three first-liners could hold it against anything. We know that those ships in the bay are not the whole fleet. Where are the rest?"
Double cough. Double head bob. Two helpless expressions.
"We outnumber," Tahn said hopefully.
Ward muffled¹⁰ a smile. At least they were learning something.
"We cannot go in, Tahn. It's a trap."
Tahn was quiet, his whole body slowly coming to what Ward knew was hurt pride and anger.
"Then we wait?"
"We wait."
Tahn was nearly rigid¹¹, his voice fighting its cage of control.
"We wait like before?"

It was Ward's turn to let a tingling¹² moment pass. This was the first overt¹³ mention of his past actions. He must walk softly. Kali temper was like nitroglycerine; one touch the wrong way....
"We wait only to learn of the other Grimnal ships," he said evenly. "We let them make the first move in order to see what they are doing. Then we strike—hard!"
After a long, breathless moment, Tahn coughed. It was one that Ward never heard before, but judging by sound, it was not meant to be pleasant. Ward stood up, stared directly at Tahn and said quietly "I charge you with honesty, Tahn."
It was a serious phrase. Tahn made the equivalent of a nod.
"There is much talk," he began, his voice higher pitched. "We ask ourselves why we do not fight. The Grimnal takes many islands; land that is ours. He does not defeat us, but we do not stop him. We wait as you tell us. We wait and see our islands lost.
"The Kali are ashamed, and the Grimnal laughs. We cannot go home and face our women and children.
"You come to show us how to fight, you say. But we do not fight. We wait. You tell us things that will make us win, but we do not fight. We wait. You hold us back. We ask ourselves why."
He straightened, obviously grabbing a big piece of Kali courage.
"There is an answer why. Perhaps you help other Gods than ours. Or—perhaps you are afraid."
There it was. Stark¹⁴ and ugly. Ward looked at Tahn for a long time, then straightened to his full five-eleven.
"As a God Helper I am charged with honesty at all times," he said, and let it sink in for a second.
"I see many more things than the surface of the sea and the direction of the wind. What I do for the Kali is for the good of the Kali. If you follow me, you go to victory. If you do not follow, you go to the bottom."
The Kali glared with glittering eyes. Tahn's cough was a bark.
"Perhaps some will follow."
Their parting salute was crisp as they spun¹⁵ and left.
Ward eased himself back to the chair and stared at the door. This was the ragged¹⁶ edge. They fight the one coming, or else.... And if they lost it, the Confederation could mark off the Kali, John Ward and the planet.
He remembered all too clearly the other engagements, if you would call them that. And he remembered too the disappointment, chagrin¹⁷ and outright¹⁸ anger of the Kali, and his own frustration¹⁹.

Engagement One: Taley Point. They had surprised a small Grimnal force close in to shore on the leeward²⁰ side. After trading shots at extreme range. Ward gave the order to withdraw. Reasons? Shallows, reefs, a raising wind, and nightfall. The Grimnal was gone in the morning. The Kali had been stunned²¹. It was the first time they had ever withdrawn²² with whole ships.
Engagement Two: Gola Island. They had chased a smaller force into port, but Ward had held off because of intense shore fire. The Kali did not sing for three days.
Engagement Three: Bari Sea. They were closing with a nearly equal force, yet out of range, when a large wind devil, one of the freak, contrary winds, had slashed²³ across both fleets; shredding²⁴ sails, splintering masts, effectively crippling both forces. Ward gave the order to heave to and repair damages, as the Grimnal did the same. The Kali were astonished. Such a thought was madness with the enemy in sight. But they followed orders, and did not smile when he appeared any more.
Engagement Four: Darel Sea. (Oh, the Darel Sea!) They were closing at glider⁸ range when a lucky Grimnal had sneaked²⁵ in and managed to fire bomb a first-liner. Without that ship they were greatly out-gunned and, leaving a frigate to take off the crew, they slipped off downwind. It was a near rebellion, but Tahn had held them. Then the wind came up, bringing the Grimnal force with it. And both the frigate and the burning first went down fighting. The Kali had cried, probably, Ward thought, more in admiration²⁶ than in sadness.
And now, as a result of a vote of ships' captains, they were headed straight for the Grimnal's heart; and Ward wondered if he was anything more than a passenger. He knew he had been tactically right in each case, but the Kali knew he was morally wrong. So who had it, the head or the heart?
And what about this thing of being afraid? That hurt. He didn't believe he was afraid. Honestly, he really couldn't say. He had, as a fact, never fought a battle in his life.

He used to play a game in the scouts²⁷. What did they call it? Capture the Flag, or something like that. Each side had a hidden flag and the other tried to get it. He was always the planner. How'll we do it, John? And he would tell them, and keep away from the rough stuff, and they nearly always won.
But violence fascinated him as a spectator. Later his reading took him in that direction, and later still his studies. In the middle of his life he found he was one of the leading historical naval²⁸ tacticians in the world. He started writing historical novels, under a pseudonym²⁹, of course, and soon became the world's authority.
Then someone blundered into Aqua.
For a couple hundred years the Terran Confederation and the United Peace Worlds had been at war. Not an open, honest, stand-up-and-get-it war; but an undercover, half ignored, let's-get-the-kids-to-fight war. A galaxywide game, played for planets, using local cultures. And always according to the rules. No new technologies. No new weapons. Use what you have at hand. Play it fair. Because if you do not, neither will we—and together we will eliminate the universe.
Aqua was a natural. It had a war already underway. Deep in the secretmost catacombs of Confederation Central a voice said: "Find a man who knows ancient naval tactics. Find a man who knows sailing. Find a man who knows combustion³⁰ firearms. Find a man. Now!"
And the order went rattle-rattle, click-click, wink³¹, blink ... and reached out and touched Doctor John Ward.
Although Colonel Ward's training had filled three straight days, there was one thing they forgot to tell him—what do you think about, really, when someone fires a cannon³² in your face?
A knock came at the door. Ward rubbed his face back into an expression of awareness³³.
"Come."
Tahn entered briskly and strode to the opposite side of the table. His eyes held a level, challenging look.
"Gliders say there are Grimnal coming up behind us along the coast. About—uh—two hours distant."
"How many?"
"There are four firsts, five seconds, twelve frigates and some corvettes."
Ward patiently tapped the table.
"How many corvettes?"
"Twenty-three."
Ward was thoughtful for a moment.
"We still have them. But it still is not their whole force."
"We hit them?"
I'd better answer this one right, he told himself. They were now just below Pelo Break, about two hours from the Passage. There was about an hour of daylight left.
"After the sun dies," he said, avoiding the word "wait," "we will swing to meet this new force. If the wind holds straight and steady, we will come across to them like sharks in the night."
"Sharks?"
Ward grinned.
"A very savage³⁴ deep sea fish of my world."
Tahn relaxed, and a twisted smile came over his narrow face.
"It will be a short fight," he said softly.

1 conceit   

n.自负，自高自大

参考例句：

• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。
• She seems to be eaten up with her own conceit.她仿佛已经被骄傲冲昏了头脑。

2 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

3 frigate   

n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰

参考例句：

• An enemy frigate bore down on the sloop.一艘敌驱逐舰向这只护航舰逼过来。
• I declare we could fight frigate.我敢说我们简直可以和一艘战舰交战。

4 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

7 gliders   

n.滑翔机( glider的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The albatross is the king of gliders. 信天翁是滑翔鸟类之王。 来自《用法词典》
• For three summers, may bested and improved their gliders. 他们花了三个夏天不断地测试、改进。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

8 glider   

n.滑翔机；滑翔导弹

参考例句：

• The glider was soaring above the valley.那架滑翔机在山谷上空滑翔。
• The pilot managed to land the glider on a safe place.那个驾驶员设法让滑翔机着陆到一个安全的地方。

9 frigates   

n.快速军舰( frigate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Frigates are a vital part of any balanced sea-going fleet. 护卫舰是任何一个配置均衡的远洋舰队所必需的。 来自互联网
• These ships are based on the Chinese Jiangwei II class frigates. 这些战舰是基于中国的江卫II型护卫舰。 来自互联网

10 muffled   

adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）

参考例句：

• muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
• There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

12 tingling   

v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• My ears are tingling [humming; ringing; singing]. 我耳鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My tongue is tingling. 舌头发麻。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 overt   

adj.公开的，明显的，公然的

参考例句：

• His opponent's intention is quite overt.他的对手的意图很明显。
• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。

14 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

15 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

16 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

17 chagrin   

n.懊恼；气愤；委屈

参考例句：

• His increasingly visible chagrin sets up a vicious circle.他的明显的不满引起了一种恶性循环。
• Much to his chagrin,he did not win the race.使他大为懊恼的是他赛跑没获胜。

18 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

19 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

20 leeward   

adj.背风的；下风的

参考例句：

• The trees all listed to leeward.树木统统向下风方向倾。
• We steered a course to leeward.我们向下风航驶。

21 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

22 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

23 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 shredding   

v.撕碎，切碎( shred的现在分词 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件）

参考例句：

• Like the Tehran experience, the shredding may be all for naught. 如同德黑兰事件中的情况一样，切碎文件可能是徒劳的。 来自时文部分
• How shredding began is subject to some guesswork. 粉碎处理行业的起源是个有争议的问题。 来自时文部分

25 sneaked   

v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。

26 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

27 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

28 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

29 pseudonym   

n.假名，笔名

参考例句：

• Eric Blair wrote under the pseudonym of George Orwell.埃里克·布莱尔用乔治·奧威尔这个笔名写作。
• Both plays were published under the pseudonym of Philip Dayre.两个剧本都是以菲利普·戴尔的笔名出版的。

30 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。

31 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

32 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

33 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

34 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。