He watched the second-liner. South Bird, come around to catch her glider6.
Both soaring upwind, they aimed for an intersection10. As they drew closer, two long booms with netting between were extended over the stern. Slowly they angled together. When it appeared that the glider would crash the bridge it pulled up, stalled and fell softly into the net.
He never failed to exhale11 a long breath after such a landing—catching, rather.
Launching was even more spectacular. The ship raced out on fast beam reach with its glider poised12 upwind on its two poles. Then a streaking13 corvette hissed14 up under the stern, swung slightly upwind, caught the braided stretch-line and actually yanked the glider aloft. Ward was quite sure it was something he never wanted to try.
The Bad Weather was coming around now. He caught the white flash of her glider high downwind. Tahn came to stand by him, his quick, cat-like motions betraying his eagerness.
"They bring more news," he grinned. "The Grimnal in Anda Bay is starting to raise sail."
Ward frowned.
"They think to trap us between them. Perhaps they expect us to race into the Passage after dark."
Tahn coughed his pleased cough.
"But our—uh—tactics, is it? They are to keep out of the Passage?"
Ward smiled.
"For now. We fight them as two separate fights, not as one. We will overwhelm each in turn."
Tahn's cough was one of agreement.
"Yes," he breathed. "Just as long as we fight."
They turned to watch the glider make its long floating approach. It had dumped its spoilers and was losing altitude, when it suddenly climbed impossibly fast, spun15 completely around and exploded in a hundred pieces.
Tahn leaped to the rail, stared, then keened the Kali howl of alarm. Ward squinted16 downwind in puzzlement, then saw it—the seething17, wild slice of a wind devil arcing toward the fleet.
Curling, lashing18, faster than any ship, it bore down on them in a track of boiling foam19. Other ships took up the cry. Knives flashed as sheets were cut and sails crashed down. Seamen20 ran aloft to furl the wild cloth. Some of the leading corvettes tried to turn and run out of the way, but the wind was too fast.
A corvette suddenly lifted her bows, flipped21 over backwards22 and slammed down like a thrown stone. A frigate23 lost her sails and masts in less than two seconds. Another corvette rose sideways on one hull9, spun and broke in two. The wind shriek24 became deafening25.
Another frigate lost its masts, lifted on its stern and fell back in an explosion of water. The first-liner, Thunder, lost its masts and rigging, put its bows down as if stepped on, spun a full ninety degrees and finally relaxed. A corvette went tumbling end over end into the side of a second liner, which immediately lost its masts and half its bridge. A corvette went streaking out of the fleet at blinding speed, one hull hiked entirely26 out of the water, and disappeared in a wall of spray.
It was abruptly27 silent.
The foaming28 wind track left the fleet and slashed29 toward the open sea. With a soft flutter, then a breeze, the westerly quietly resumed its push. The Kali appeared on deck again and slowly gazed about them. And the fleet lay dead in the water.
Ships lay heading in all directions. Wreckage30, lines and bits of sail littered the water. A frigate lay listed hard over. Damage reports were coming in to the Bad Weather: the Thunder dismasted and leaking; another first dismasted; one second leaking badly, perhaps going down; three other seconds dismasted; one frigate sinking fast; two more dismasted and leaking; two more dismasted; six corvettes lost; four dismasted and damaged.
Tahn was grim as he scratched marks on a slate31. Twenty-one ships out of action in less than a minute. Ward cursed and slammed the rail. Damned planet! Damned Grimnal! Damned everything! Tahn coughed beside him. And damned coughing!
"There is more news," Tahn said quietly. "We just fished out a glider flyer who had returned from cruising Pelo Head."
Ward turned. There seemed to be a smile flickering32 on Tahn's swarthy face.
"He says there is a great Grimnal force coming into the Break from the north. Sixteen firsts, eighteen seconds and ten frigates33. There are no corvettes."
Ward's whole body seemed to tighten34. Thanks to a damned wind the trap was sprung.
"Can they come through the Break?" he asked, more to stall for time than gain information. Tahn coughed three times.
"It is a brave thing to do. Even for Kali it would be brave. It is bad water in the Break. The wind goes up; the current comes down. It is slow, but it can be done."
"How slow?"
Tahn tilted35 his head, stared at where the slice of the Break was barely visible on the horizon, and shrugged36, almost.
"Maybe—uh—two hours. Maybe more." He coughed. "Maybe less."
Ward glared at the crippled ships.
"And they would try it at night?"
Tahn coughed assent37.
"There will be a good moon. I would try it."
Damn. Forces from three sides that, united, would blow them right out of the water. They could meet any of them alone, but....
"If we could slip south," he pondered aloud, "we could—"
Tahn snarled38, his face an unearthly mask in the dimming light. His breath whistled between his teeth.
"You polasti!" he hissed. Ward straightened and faced him. The Kali around froze in their tracks. Polasti was the foulest39 word in their language.
"Kali have died in this water just now," Tahn was barely able to manage his voice. "They are down there right now. We will not run and disgrace them! We will stand here. We will put a wall of sails and guns around this spot, and if we die it will be in honor. We will run no more. We will run no more!"
He was trembling when he finished, and Ward expected a knife to make one final arc. It was impossible to try to explain. It was broken....
That thought crashed through as a knife never could.
It's over. The Grimnal will surround this pitiful fleet like a storm. It's over; we've lost the fight, the war and the planet. And I've done it. It's my baby.
The thing seared him, roared through him, shook him—and touched a secret place. A deep place where he stored his anger. All his past angers, big and little; covered stifled40, caught and hidden. Old hurts, old dreams, old reproaches screamed and gibbered through him like a thousand ghosts and devils. They swamped the gentle man. They dragged him down and gagged him. And something else took his place—something that had never been allowed to stand before.
"You stupid bastards41!" he roared, wheeling to face them all. "You God-forsaken fools! A Grimnal baby is a greater fighter than your bravest man. Look what he has done to you. Look! Like blind animals you have been led into a trap. You have been put in a cage of your own ignorance. You call me polasti! I am the only one who can show you how to win. The only thing you know is to bunch together and be killed like animals at slaughter42. You stand together in one tight group to make it easy for him. You know how it will be? Look!"
He sprang to the glass globe that held the magnetized needle, seized it and hurled43 it to the deck. It exploded like a small bomb. The Kali moved back.
"That is what the Grimnal will do to you. Your bravery will be as that glass, nice to see—but look at it now!"
Water from the globe trickled44 slowly through the shattered glass. The chips winked45 red in the dying sun. Only the cry of the wind sounded through the ship. Ward forced his choking breath to an even rhythm.
"Now go die like the fools you are."
He left the quiet bridge and threaded his way to his cabin. Night was coming softly to the Grimnal Sea.
It was dark in the cabin when the knock sounded. There was no answer, and it came again.
"Come," Ward said in a very tired, hollow voice.
The door swung open and someone entered. After a long moment, Tahn's voice came softly in the dark.
"No one has ever spoken to the Kali like that."
Ward did not answer.
"It is a brave man that can do that. And bravery is something we understand." There was a silent moment. Tahn coughed. "May I light the lamp?"
Ward swung around in the chair.
"Certainly."
Flint flicked46 on steel, a spark glowed, caught, and light wavered in the cabin. The two faced each other, Ward sagged47 low in the chair, the Kali by the lamp. Tahn coughed again.
"There is a way?"
Ward let a moment pass.
"There is a way to try."
"Fighting?"
"Yes, fighting."
Tahn paused the barest second.
"Tell me."
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收听单词发音
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1
hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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4
ward
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| 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 | |
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gliders
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| n.滑翔机( glider的名词复数 ) | |
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glider
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| n.滑翔机；滑翔导弹 | |
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marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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8
hulls
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| 船体( hull的名词复数 )； 船身； 外壳； 豆荚 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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10
intersection
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| n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集 | |
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11
exhale
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| v.呼气，散出，吐出，蒸发 | |
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poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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streaking
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| n.裸奔（指在公共场所裸体飞跑）v.快速移动( streak的现在分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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14
hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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15
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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16
squinted
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| 斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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17
seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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18
lashing
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| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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19
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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20
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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flipped
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| 轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥 | |
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22
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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23
frigate
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| n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰 | |
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24
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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25
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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26
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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29
slashed
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| v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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30
wreckage
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| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
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31
slate
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| n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订 | |
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32
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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33
frigates
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| n.快速军舰( frigate的名词复数 ) | |
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34
tighten
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| v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧 | |
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35
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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36
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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37
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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38
snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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39
foulest
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| adj.恶劣的( foul的最高级 )；邪恶的；难闻的；下流的 | |
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40
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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41
bastards
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| 私生子( bastard的名词复数 )； 坏蛋； 讨厌的事物； 麻烦事 （认为别人走运或不幸时说）家伙 | |
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42
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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43
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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44
trickled
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| v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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45
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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46
flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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47
sagged
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| 下垂的 | |
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