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**HOWTIS** · February 9, 2002, 03:09

great begginning! i really like how you set up the character, showing how his life is turned upside down by war.

will you be following him specificly, or just setting up the atmosphere? anyway i'm looking forward to part 2.

**Dom Pedro II** · February 10, 2002, 19:40

Thank you for your compliment. Sorry I have not added on, life has been busy lately. I will try to get the next chapter in place as soon as possible.

Yes, the story will follow this character and his rise to prominence. Right now, we have a very small theater, but as he climbs the ladder, the scope will get larger.

I also intend to alter the beginning to flesh it out a bit more.
So keep reading...

**Dom Pedro II** · February 10, 2002, 21:22

Note: I have made adjustments to the BIC file for my civ game, and I have created several new governments: National Monarchy (renamed from Monarchy), Classical Republic (renamed from Republic), Federal Republic (renamed from Democracy), Absolute Monarchy (new), Constitutional Monarchy (new), and Confederation (new). The Confederation has communal corruption because in a confederation each state governs itself almost independently, so the corruption is in local terms. The Confederation also cannot allow for Rush Buy because the government is very de-centralized. Also, the central government does not pay for improvements. At the same time, it must bare the burden of ALL unit costs. The result is that it is a government intended for a far-flung civilization looking to make money and that is very peaceful. It's a government with zero tolerance to war.

Part 2: The Confederation Goes to War

The declaration of war from the Confederation of Isreal came shortly after word reached Jerusalem of the attack. Shipyards of the Hebrew province of Babylon were putting frigates of their own into the water, but it was not nearly in the quantity that they should have been, and the Babylonian coast was thousand miles from the Central Sea where the sea battle was being waged.

The Confederation was in a very bad position. They had a substantial army of well-supplied troops with fresh new rifles and several divisions of cavalry troopers that could make a landing on the Japanese coasts and seize Tsingtao or Shanghai. The trouble was any of the rickety, old galleons they would have to be transported on would have been sent to the bottom of the northern part of the sea before the coast would be in sight. The Straits of Tsingtao, which was the body of water needed to be crossed was a very short distance, but the frigates were on the prowl. The Imperial Central Seas Fleet had nearly forty warships out and about in the sea while the Confederation of Isreal. Privateers given writs by the Confederate government went out to battle the Japanese frigates menacing the coastline of Japphia and Joppa, but in the first battle, the Japanese sent the privateers straight to the coral-covered floor.

The real trouble was the Confederate government. It was going into the struggle piecemeal. Most of the Continental provinces contributed in no way to the war effort. Those governors were indifferent to the plight of the island provinces. The coastal provinces of Megiddo and Samaria on the continent, who were equally in danger as the island cities of Tanaach, Japphia, Gezer, and Hazor, made efforts to put frigates and ironclads out into the sea. Still, the central government could not force the shipyards to rush their production. So the Japanese fleet continued unchallenged. The Hebrews could only watch as week after week the frigates brought fiery death to the coastal cities and their countrysides. Hebron island, which held the cities of Tanaach, Japphia, and Gezer was being stripped of every last improvement the island's people had spent decades and even centuries building. Even the vicious Chinese assault had not been so thorough, so devestating.

It was in this environment of defeat that David began his training as a private in the Hebrew Army. His basic training was rather brief since the Hebron government was eager to get the men out into the field.

"So what do you think about news about this news about France and Egypt?" asked his new friend Moses.

"I don't know," David shrugged, "It's just damn good to hear that we've got some allies out there! We'll whip the Japanese first."

"It's a damn mess is what it is," Moses said, "To tell you the truth, I'm not very fond of the Egyptians myself."

"Why's that?" asked David.

"They just bug me," Moses sighed.

"If you boys think that our allies are going to save us, you're fooling yourselves," replied the sergeant.

"Oh yea? How's that, sarge?" asked David.

"You don't know much about politics, do you, boy?" the sergeant laughed, "Look, we've got two allies… two world class allies in fact who are in a world class war with each other. In fact, half the planet is in the middle of their war! Us and Japan have stayed the hell out of it. So this war is kind of ignored compared to the bigger one. The sad fact is that nobody really cares if the isolated civilization of Japan beats on a pack of Jews like us…"

"That stinks!" David said, "So you don't think they'll help us?"

"Lad, we only need one of two things right now. One is a country on our side with a navy right here right now big enough to send Tokugawa's toys back where they came from. The other is a country close enough that to divert the Japanese navy's ships so that we might actually be able to get one of our boats into open water. The bad news is that the only two countries with the big boats, France and Egypt, are a whole world away and may not really care anyway, and the only country close enough to let the Japanese beat on them for a while is…"

"Zululand," Moses said his voice filled with venom.

"But they hate us!" David declared, "If they think Japan can whip us, they'll gladly let them go right ahead and do it…"

The sergeant nodded with a bitter look on his face, "It gets worse… it's seeming like the Zulus might do a bit more than watch. They've been having talks with the Japanese, and they've all but cut off contact with us. I only hope this string of fortresses, the Babylonian Line, holds the suckers if they do get any ideas."

David and Moses looked like all hope had been lost.

Seeing this, the sergeant changed his tone, "But it's not all bad news. The only thing we have left is diplomacy. We paid an arm and a leg for our alliance with France, and we knew Joan wasn't going to help much in terms of ships. What Joan does have is the ear of good ol' Shaka Zulu himself. He's allied with her against Egypt. Now, the Zulus don't care much for us, but they aren't crazy about the Japanese either. Old Joan of Arc may just decide that since she got herself into this war, it may just be cheaper to send her little southern friends the Zulu in to hold up the Japanese while she's busy duking it out with Cleopatra."

The young men turned to each other, and the sergeant continued, "But now, as good as all that is, there's only one thing that's going to save this country. We need a change in our government! If we're going to win this war, we have to get organized! We need to have the military running the shipyards and factories and any other bits of business. We need to have the people working together and doing their part. This is a war of survival! The Japanese are trying to wipe us out! The Chinese tried it, the Babylonians tried it, and we got through. In fact, it was even us and the Japanese who beat the Chinese, and it was us and the Zulus who beat the Babylonians. We wiped both of them out. But we didn't get through because of a bunch of laissez-faire bureaucrats in Jerusalem! We got there by strong kings and big armies, and we can do it again!"

At this point, the sergeant got down off the proverbial stump, "Ok, boys, get back to work."

The sergeant turned around and left the barn where Moses and David were sitting. David picked up his peeler and began slicing off the brown skin of the potato he had been working on.

"Man, I hate peeling potatoes!" David grunted.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have snuck out and stolen those chickens," Moses shrugged.

David shot him a hostile glance.

"Shut up."

**PsionicMind** · February 12, 2002, 00:15

Oooh, this is getting good. Keep it up!

**Sovy Kurosei** · February 12, 2002, 00:57

Is the sarges name Goliath by any chance

**Richelieu** · February 12, 2002, 10:05

More!

This is a really good read!

**Dom Pedro II** · February 13, 2002, 02:33

No, the sarge's name isn't Goliath.

Hey, I'm doing the best I can, I'm not exactly knowledgable of my Hebrew names. I figured the Old Testament would be a good place to look for names. If anybody knows some good ones, give them to me and I'll use them. It's rather sad actually seeing how I was with that Jewish girl and all...

Anyway, part III will be coming out very shortly depending on how long it takes me to write it...

**Dom Pedro II** · February 14, 2002, 01:55

Part 3: Setbacks

The men were lying in their beds in the barracks. They were contemplating the news they had received only a few minutes before. The Japanese had landed near Japphia. Every man in this barracks would be in combat in less than a week. It had been over a year since the Japanese had launched their surprise attack on Hebron and the Hebrew Confederation, and up until now it had just been a one-sided naval war. David was actually thinking about the five bucks he had lost. There had been a pool going around the barracks as to where the Japanese were going to attack first. He'd put his money on Havor. It made sense, Havor was a tiny little island that was the closest to Japan far down in the far southwestern Central Sea. It was so isolated, that it was all but certain to be Japan's first target. The Japanese already had a base on the island too. It had been there since they last peace treaty was signed, and the Confederation had never been able to kick them out diplomatically.

"So… what do we do now?" one of the soldiers broke the silence.

"We die," a soldier from Tanaach remarked.

"Hey! That's bull, man! We're going to win this fight!" Moses declared, "We've got cavalry and more troops from the mainland in Tanaach. We'll knock the Japs right back into the sea."

"Yeah, right," the Tanaach soldier laughed, "Can't you see? We're already beat. Look at Mount Judea."

"Ah, Mount Judea isn't any sign that we're licked," David said confidently, "It's practically ten thousand miles away way up in the northern hemisphere. It's just a colony. The whole island up there is partitioned. The Zulu have a colony there, the Japanese too, the French have one. The English have a city on the next little speck of an island over from it. The Japanese beat us up there because we didn't have anyone to stop them there. They didn't attack that city with anything more than a few thousand men with swords…"

"But these guys here on Hebron don't have swords, David," the Tanaach soldier said, "They have guns, and they've got horses to go with them. They've also got one important thing we don't… ships."

"They've got us out-weighed at sea, I'll admit that," David nodded, "But we beat them hands down on land on our own turf."

"You're starting to talk like the sergeant," the other chuckled, "How you come to know so much anyhow?"

"Talking to the sarge!" David laughed.
"Does that mean you're a Red too?" asked the Tanaach soldier.

"A Red?" David looked confused.

"Yeah, everybody knows the sergeant is a Red."

"What's a Red?" asked David in total innocence.

The soldier started laughing, "Boy, you really are bloody green, aren't you?"

"I don't get it. First, you call me red. Now, you call me green…"

"No, I mean a Red, a Communist. They're guys who think all men are equal and everybody should have the same amount of money. They also think the government should run everything. There's been a lot of them running around since the war got so bad."

"Well, I guess I'm not one since I didn't even know what they were, but I'll tell you that I've struggled all my life, and I wouldn't mind if everybody was equal."

"Okay! Shut up, all of you!" a voice barked from down the room, "I'm trying to sleep!"

The next morning, the situation had not improved. When the men lined up for roll call in the morning, the sound of the Japanese ships pounding the shore defenses could be heard far off in the distance. A sign of good fortune was that in addition to the sound of the ships' cannon, the guns of the Hebrew coastal fortress was audible as well.

David's brigade was being organized to meet the Japanese invasion force north of the city. The men began their march immediately after breakfast. Supplies were slim, so they were fortunate enough not to be burdened with heavy packs, the price they paid was emptier stomachs and less ammunition. David's new-found sense of nationalism was seriously being checked as he began to realize that he was, in reality, about to walk straight into battle with the enemy. He had never seen combat before, and an all-out invasion of Hebron by the Japanese seemed like a rough way to start.

The sound of war grew ever louder as the men marched on down the dirt road toward Japphia. The sounds of the coastal guns were gun, which meant they had either been blasted to smithereens or had been seized by the Japanese. David assumed the latter. If that were the case, the city was as good as finished. If the enemy troops had been close enough to take out the guns, they would surely be able to march into the city.

"Cavalry!" a scout cried pointing to a high ridge to their left. Sure enough, a few dozen troopers clad in the dark red of the Japanese uniforms sat atop their mounts looking down on them. Several ambitious, young soldiers began firing on the Japanese, but they were out of range. Since both sides could generally see that the other was no threat, they did not move from their positions.

Several minutes passed, and the men were becoming uneasy. The tension was suddenly shattered by a few sharp cracks that were too powerful to be caused by rifles. It was the Hebrew field pieces firing on the Japanese cavalry. Clouds of smoke and debris sprang up, and several of the horses reared up throwing their riders to the ground. Some of the beasts lay dead or dying on the ground as did some of their masters, the rest turned and fled. All along the line, men began cheering, but no sooner did they do this than from being the ridge came an ominous sound. There was the thundering of return fire from the Japanese cannon. Shells rained down to the left and to the right, squarely on a company, or a hundred yards from the whole brigade. The Japanese were shooting blind from behind the hill, so if anything hit, it was all but pure luck.

David watched his brigade's commander, Brigadier General Abraham Canaan, conversing with his staff members. They were pointing toward the grassy hill and indicating directions up to it. David found himself suddenly apprehensive that his superiors intended to send him up that hill to capture the enemy guns. It wasn't the artillery that worried David. Hitting a man with a cannon shell was like killing a mosquito with a sledgehammer. The grass was high, and if they ran fast, they could overrun the guns before they could fire a second shot. The casualties would be minimal if it were only the artillery beyond that hill. The only trouble was that artillery had a nasty habit of having infantry accompanying it. The element of surprise was gone, and the cavalry troopers had surely informed their foot soldier buddies of what kind of force the Hebrews were packing.

Apparently, Brigadier General Canaan decided that aggression was the best course of action and bravely sent his men to sacrifice themselves on what could be a suicidal mission. If he succeeded, the general could be seeing a promotion in the near future. If he failed, the general would be shamed. And David could very well be dead either way.

The company leaders began moving their men out. At first, they started just at a brisk walk in long lines with guns pointed out. Their bayonets were charged and ready. The bright white flag with the blue Star of David fluttered in the breeze as the color bearers marched forward. Shells screamed down behind them as the artillery barrage battered their own field guns. As they approached the top of the hill, the men broke into a sprint. The tall grass whipped in David's face as he came over the top of the hill.

As the brigade charged over the top, the field guns opened up on them. The shells passed overhead, and the men began the rush down the hill to hit the enemy. The Japanese were in force with at least one brigade defending the guns if not more. Suddenly there was the loud shriek as Hebrew guns returned fire. The Japanese lines splintered as the shells blasted men from their positions.

From the grass, the Hebrew troops began shooting at the Japanese soldiers in their positions just behind the guns. David guessed some fool hardy sergeant had probably taken his guns too far ahead of the lines, and now a brigade had to be diverted from some other place in order to secure them from being captured. The Japanese brigade did not have the time to prepare themselves. Clouds of smoke blasted from gun muzzles along the red-clad Japanese lines and from well-hidden Hebrew lines. The companies fired their volley of shots and then continued moving toward the guns. At the last dozen yards, they broke into a full run straight at the field pieces.

The artillery gunners abandoned the guns as they fled away from the charging soldiers. The guns were overran in a matter of seconds. With the men out from the grass, the Japanese began to take shots from their positions. The well-trained Japanese soldiers were clearly good shots, and the Hebrews began falling in droves. The halted Hebrew troops fired frantically at the Japanese lines. They were in a poor position to be forced to make a stand since it afforded them no cover. The advance was blunted by the Japanese soldiers coming up to meet them. The armies collided like two giants waves crashing down on each other. The fight had now turned into bloody hand-to-hand combat. David was now in the middle of this intense furnace of fighting. Bayonets passed through flesh, and men fell and were trampled by the walls of humans moving in both directions.

Some intelligent Japanese commander suddenly gave the order to withdraw. This battle was getting them nowhere, and the Hebrews were slowly taking a numeric lead as the men continued to fall. Also, it was probable that whatever place they had been diverted from needed them far more. The guns were expendable. The Japanese back slowly away from the fight, which must have been difficult. David knew the Japanese were intense warriors that felt put prowess in battle over common sense many times. It was better to lose the war with dignity and glory than to win by being practical and efficient.

The Hebrews continued to pursue the defenders right back down the road until they hit a place where they could position themselves. David took a spot next to a rock and reloaded his rifle. The Japanese were getting away, but their brigade had taken heavy casualties. Right now, David was thinking that the most important thing was that he was alive and healthy whereas a lot of men were not.

The Japanese cavalry troopers who had been watching from the rear of the field snapped their reigns and galloped off into the forest. The exhausted Hebrew soldiers made no effort to follow them. Instead, some of the men with artillery experience were turning the Japanese guns to hit the retreating army a few last punches. From the forest to the west came another volley of gunfire. The troops suddenly feared that the Japanese were back in force.

Horsemen suddenly appeared from the thick trees. David breathed a sigh of relief as he saw a tattered blue and white flag in the hand of the lead horseman. The lead man was at least a colonel, and the whole group looked as though it had been through hell. As they approached, David suddenly recognized the commander as that merchant he had met that day when the Japanese attacked.

"My name is Adam Jericho, I am a Lieutenant-Colonel in the 35th Cavalry," the leader explained to the colonel that had led David's brigade. David now suddenly had a name to go with the face.

"Where are you coming from?" asked the commander.

"Japphia… the city has fallen," Jericho said softly, "I must speak to the general in charge immediately."

"My God!" the commander gasped, "When did the city fall?"

"I literally raced out of the city with my men, and the enemy was close on our heels," Jericho sighed, "We lost them though."

"The city," David suddenly stepped forward, "What did they do to it?"

"Get back, private," the commander put a hand out, "This isn't your business."

"Wait, my boy," Jericho lifted one finger, "I know you… you were there when the surprise attack came when the war started. I remember you. You have family in Japphia, no?"

"Yes, sir," David said, "I'm from there. My family lives there."

"They haven't done anything to the city," explained Jericho, "It's too important to them right now for them to raze the city. They need Japphia more than we do. Let's go talk to this general… what's his name?"

"General Canaan," explained the commander.

"Good," Jericho nodded, "Young man, you come with me. I could use someone who knows something about the lay out of the land. I have a plan that if its successful could turn the tide of the war."

**Dom Pedro II** · February 14, 2002, 01:58

Coming soon... Part 4: Our Honor Redeemed

Stay tuned!

(I changed the title of Part 4)

**steelehc** · February 14, 2002, 05:25

Good. Very good. This is a great read. I'm looking forward to the continuation.

Steele

**Dom Pedro II** · February 15, 2002, 02:15

Part 4: Our Honor Redeemed

General Canaan sat down in his wooden chair inside his cramped little tent. Canaan was a heavy-set man with a long grayish beard and deep-set eyes. Right now, they passed over the lieutenant-colonel and his young friend in a rather uninterested way.

"Okay, lieutenant-colonel, why don't you tell me what your plan is…" Canaan was a career military officer as David could see, and he did not seem to be a very competent one at that. The Confederation had very little well-trained military men before the war, and they had been forced to scrounge for good ones since it began.

"Well, sir, Japphia has fallen," Jericho reiterated, "This has given us a great opportunity!"

"How's that?" Canaan looked puzzled.

"I was there when Japphia fell… it was only a few short hours ago. The Japanese do not have the necessary man power to hold the city. It was a hard fight to take as much as they did. Now is the time for us to strike back, and I think if we work swiftly we can deal the Japanese navy a devastating blow!" Jericho's words were filled with passion, and he already had David's attention.

"The Japanese Navy?" Canaan sat forward abruptly, "How is recapturing Japphia going to hurt their navy?"

"Simple," Jericho explained, "Up until now, the Japanese have hit us very hard along our coasts, but its still only a fraction of what they could be doing. The trouble is that their frigates sail out to Hebron for a few days and are then forced to turn back for Japan. It's a rather inefficient way to fight a naval war. Our commerce continues to flow to places around the world, and so we are not feeling strangled by their attacks. They made the landing at Japphia so they could have a supply station to hit us even harder. A base in our own land could potentially seal up all trade in the Central Sea. No doubt there are already a few frigates in port at Japphia.

"If we launch a surprise attack on Japphia, most of the sailors will be in the city at the time. After weeks at sea, I can almost guarantee it. If we can reach the docks before the frigates have a chance to pull up anchor and push out for open sea, we can wreck their hopes of ever controlling the Southern Central Sea."

"That's a rather ambitious plan," Canaan sighed, "How do you plan to pull it off?"

"Since General Yonatan's surrender at Japphia, you are now the commander of the Hebrew forces on Hebron, are you not?" asked Jericho.

"Yes, I am," General Canaan nodded.

"The reserve cavalry divisions will be here within the next two days. As I said, I believe we can launch a surprise attack," Jericho went to the map of the territory laid out across the table, "As it stands, Japphia is only very lightly-defended by the invasion troopers. There will surely be infantry moved in to hold the city, but we've already hit their infantry rather hard in the hills around here. Their landing was costly, and we've been punching them steadily since then. Right now, the main body of their army is north of the city here.

"Misdirection is going to be the key to pulling off this offensive. If we position a cavalry division and the remainder of our infantry corps in the north here, we can make it seem like where are attacking their main body. The second cavalry division will go as quickly as possible along a southern route and come up into the city. As far as I know, there are still pockets of resistance on the heights over the city on the southern part. This will work to our advantage since we can put our cannon on the heights and hit their ships from there."

"Sir?" David interjected at this pause, "May I make a suggestion?"

As it turned out, the Japanese ended up helping the Hebrews make their assault. In their arrogance, the Japanese commanders had felt that they would see only the backs of their enemies straight to Tanaach. Glory was once more taking precedence over practicality. They believed the front was moving east, and that the navy could handle Japphia alone. Indeed the front was moving east away from Japphia, but it was also moving north as well. With Jericho's constant prodding, Canaan was netting the Japanese into exactly the web Jericho wanted. The Japanese were being lured away from the city, and Jericho's cavalry combined with the huge reserve division from Tanaach began moving west down south of the city. The Hebrews were retreating from nearly every confrontation in the north, but as long as they did not suffer more casualties than they inflicted, it was not a problem. The retreats were tactical defeats but were part of an overall strategic victory that was slowly maneuvering the Japanese into their trap in what was being called the Five Days Battle. The night of Friday and Saturday during the day had been incredibly damaging to the Hebrew forces who were not supposed to be fighting on the Sabbath. The troops, therefore, only defended themselves rather than took the initiative against the enemy.

Meanwhile, David had been put in charge of his own mission. The small fishing boat drifting silently into the Japphia harbor. On either side of him were high rocks that served as the city's sentinels. They had failed to stop the invaders, but they might keep them from leaving. The exit was only a few hundred yards wide, and the interior opened up from that bottleneck into a large open bay.

David looked across the dark water toward the city. The dim lights from candles in the windows left a long string running across the shore. There was a conspicuous hole in the line, however, where the Jewish temple stood. The Japanese had no doubt shut it down since the occupation began. The fishing boat drew closer, and the dark shapes of the tall frigates emerged from the darkness. In the docks, there were at least nine ships by now. Another three were somewhere out in the bay according to the fishermen's' reports.

"Are we ready?" asked David looking to the other men aboard the boat.

One of the fishermen drew a bottle from a crate. The liquor bottle had a rag stuffed in the top. He handed the bottle to David along with the lantern with its flame turned all the way down. The men rowed the boat now to the stern of one of the middle frigates. David opened the lantern and let the rag catch the flame. His face was suddenly illuminated by the orange fire. In the distance, the emergency bell started to ring.

"The colonel must have started the attack!" one of the fishermen whispered.

At that, David heaved the Malakoff cocktail up onto the deck of the big boat. It burst and the result was an instant inferno. The dried wooden planks went up like kindling. David heard the shouts from the ship's crew that had not gone on shore. They frantically tried to put out the flames, but it would do little good.

Back toward the bottleneck of the bay, the next phase of the attack was beginning. More old fishing boats were being massed around the entrance of the harbor. The fishermen piled one on top of the other until they stretched the whole length of the entrance. They now served as a chain spreading fully across.

Bullets suddenly whizzed by David's head as soldiers on the docks opened fire. The fishermen were rowing them out of there as fast as possible now. David suddenly felt a sharp pain in his shoulder like a burning iron had been put to it. He had been hit by a bullet, and he immediately collapsed on the bottom of the boat. Anyone with a free set of hands came to help him, but there was little that could be done right now.

David now watched as the frigate was burned like a torch still sitting at its dock. The rolled-up sails bright intensely in the black night and bits of fiery debris danced in the sea breeze. Sparks spiraled out from the blaze and were extinguished by the cool of the night. A mast suddenly cracked and splintered as the fire ate through it, and it fell on top of the deck. In a few more minutes, there would barely be ashes left of this boat.

Meanwhile, the soldiers had given up trying to shoot them since they obviously had more important concerns. Japanese cavalry troopers dashed along the bayside streets toward the southern end of town. The fishing boat was inching its way closer toward the barricade with each passing stroke of the ores. One of the smaller Japanese war vessels patrolling the harbor was now on their trail. It would catch up to them in just a few minutes if that much and when it did, it would not even have to fire a shot. Simply ramming them would send them to the bottom of the bay.

David braced himself as the Japanese corvette closed on them. Suddenly a high-pitch scream cut through the sounds of lapping waves, splashing paddles, and rolling hulls. A cannon ball clipped the bow of the corvette sending the ship's figurehead into the water in little painted splinters. The next shell fell far short, but the corvette was already breaking off the pursuit.

David's eyes looked to the high cliffs south of the city. Another bright flash and plume of smoke appeared on the heights. "God bless our guardian angels!" he whispered.

By this point, the first of the Hebrew horsemen had reached the docks. The Japanese sailors were making their way to their respective boats, but many of them were still largely unaccounted for. The horsemen did not even give them the opportunity to get back aboard. They shot men where they stood and then one, two, three four ships were put to torch. None of them burned up as quickly as that first one had, but they were not leaving either.

Suddenly, another ship, a frigate emerged from the darkness of the bay. It was heading toward David's boat, but it was not after him. It was going to toward the bottleneck. The ship's captain was trying to escape with his boat.

"Give the order," David told the captain of his own little boat.

A boy aboard the bought climbed onto the thatched roof and put the lantern on top of a pole. The light from it was dim, but it was good enough. One by one, the lone men on each boat starting from the far end set his boat on fire and leapt into the next boat. The fishermen would never destroy their own boats. These were old scrapped vessels that would just have rotted away anyway. Now, they could do some real good. In just under a minute, the barricade had become a wall of flames.

This captain, however, was a stubborn one. He thought he would be able to charge the blockade, and he did. Not surprisingly, the frigate blasted through the flimsy fishing boats. Unfortunately for the captain and his crew, the nebulous burst of sparks he set loose caught onto his sails. The flaming hulls also clung the side of his boat setting the wooden planks ablaze. The great white sails were engulfed in flames in a matter of moments.

David watched the great lumbering wooden beast crawling away. She was doomed, but she went on in spite of it. The main mast collapsed pulling the entire sail structure down with it. The ship was now going into its death throws. The flames were extinguished by the sea water, but the boat was doomed. Men leapt into the water to escape going down with the ship. The weight of the masts dragged one side of the frigate down until it dipped under the waves. Water rushed into her bowls and flooded the lower decks. Her buoyancy was gone, and now she was just a sinking stone.

All of Japphia harbor was in turmoil. The munitions aboard one of the frigates had just blown the ship sky high. Flaming debris was raining down on the other ships and the city itself. No ship had been spared some sort of damage. The cannon atop the heights had continued pounding away. The corvette had been unfortunate enough to catch one of the wild shells in the belly. She capsized quickly. Meanwhile, the Hebrew army was pushing the Japanese literally into the water. The last of the Japanese troopers surrendered immediately. David's comrades aboard their small boats cheered as their invaders were defeated.

And David, feeling the pain fading away, drifted off into his own darkness.

To be continued...

**steelehc** · February 15, 2002, 03:04

This is getting more interesting. Don't leave us hanging....

I suppose I do that too...

Steele

**Dom Pedro II** · February 18, 2002, 20:06

Hey, sorry for the delay in the next edition of the story, but my computer sort of crapped out on me.

It was an incident involving a surprise German invasion of my latest English empire, a cup of hot chocolate, and my fist....

But I'm really not joking!

I've now turned my laptop into a $2000 paper weight.

But I'm on the other computer right now, and hopefully, I will have Part 5 out soon.

**Dom Pedro II** · February 19, 2002, 17:25

Good news! The laptop is alright! And Part 5 is on her way...

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