Dawn of Steam: Gods of the Sun by Jeffrey Cook & Sarah Symonds

Author:Jeffrey Cook & Sarah Symonds [Cook, Jeffrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

From the journals of Gregory Conan Watts,

June 8th, 1816

37º03' S 175º53' E

They came by dusk, as we expected, hoping to finish us off. This time we did not have Miss Coltrane and the battle suit, for she and Harriet have not had nearly enough time to repair it after the last battle. We also were without our sniper. Eddy's condition remains unchanged.

We had, thankfully, had time to build rudimentary wooden fortifications about the airship since our last battle here. Likewise, we did have somewhat trained muskets, as well as desperation on our side, for we knew that this time, there would be nowhere to run to, and not a man, woman, or child would survive if they broke through. The engineers helped to reinforce our numbers, aiding the muskets as best they were able.

In the end, much of our survival is still due to Eddy and his training, as well as the courage of the Maori. Even without Eddy himself there to guide them, they were flawless. They formed musket lines, with one group firing into the charging ranks, then dropping back and to a knee as another group came up to fire. The wide expanse of open ground between ourselves made this a perfect fight for trained musketeers for so long as we could keep up an unbroken firing line.

When they had closed to pistol range, Captain Fisher and I joined as well, with the last two of the pepper-box pistols, able to fire four shots in reasonably rapid succession before we had to fall back for extended reloading. Though he is not accustomed to fighting on the ground, the Captain took to this desperate chore well, covering me while I reloaded, holding his nerve, and performing the difficult reloading of the pepper-box while I covered him.

Matthew fell quickly to the chore of powder monkey, keeping a few loaded muskets near him, handing them out when a musket would jam or misfire. He took the damaged guns, cleaned them as best as conditions allowed, and got them back to firing condition. He was quick and efficient with it, darting in and out among the ranks of musketeers fearlessly, keeping his eyes open and ears cocked for any sight or sound of muskets failing or men having difficulty reloading. After handling Eddy's rifles, these muskets must seem like the simplest of toys to him. He is a brave boy, growing with every day into one of the bravest of young men I have ever had the privilege to know.

Miss Bowe took those warriors of our number who refused muskets, preferring to prove their skill in their traditional manner, or who were simply untrained in the guns. They waited until opposing lines were almost upon us and only then, with death closing down upon us, first moved to defend our walls with spears and thrown weapons. After that salvo, she and her small group left our walls, and moved instead to a hidden exit to one side of our small fortification,

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