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having fitted ar- rows to their bows, crossbowmen had taken their positions,
but none of it would do the least good as no missile could strike Sharon
before she pulled the trigger and fired a two ounce steel bolt RIGHT THROUGH
DARLANIS' HEART! And Sharon was an excellent shot too with the weapon, I
recalled, leaping forward to save Darlanis' life as the golden Empress stood
there looking into the face of Death. Standing there calmly as if nothing had
happened!
"SHARON! BY MY COMMAND! FREEZE!" I cried, throwing myself in front of
Darlanis, praying that the post hypnotic suggestion I had placed in her mind
so long ago still worked. Janet Rogers and I having been working in the field
with a curious Sharon as our test subject months ago! Sharon wavering there
before me, fighting the post hypnotic suggestion, unable to kill Darlanis
without first killing me, the thought going through my mind that she might
just kill us both with the same bolt should she happen to fire by accident.
"LOWER THE CROSSBOW!" I snapped, aware of Darlanis' azure eyes, of her height,
the glitter of her golden attire. Seeing Shirl sneaking up behind Sharon,
suddenly grab- bing her, the bolt shooting off harmlessly into the sky as
Sharon then collapsed sobbing into the strong arms of Shirl. She was a good
first officer. I hoped that Darlanis understood that.
Chapter Nineteen
"Do you have any final comments or statements?" Darlanis asked, her
lovely azure eyes holding mine as Sharon squirmed a bit at my side. The hard
oak seat of the chair no doubt just a bit uncomfortable to her well spanked
buttocks under her thin short skirt. The beautiful Empress of California
having taken Sharon aside after we boarded Sarnian Lady and there in front of
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everyone impressed upon her bare rear end in a very effective way that one
does not threaten the ruler of the Empire of California with a crossbow! I had
to smile at the sight, Darlanis giving Sharon a good two dozen where they did
the most good, there being considerable strength in that tall beautiful
muscular regal body!
We were now seated on the quarterdeck of Sarnian Lady, the entire crew
of the ship assembled to listen, to see justice done! Darlanis magnificent
there in her golden attire, seated between the captain of the trireme and its
young first officer, who was, I understood much to my surprise, Darlanis' own
legal heir to the throne of California should anything happen to Darlanis
herself! He had been the young officer in the boat that she had ordered to
remain there while she went aboard the Ronda alone by herself. His name was
Jers Bisan, and he was the son of the formidable Im- perial Warlady, the
Princess of Baja, a former Queen of Sarn, the Princess Tara Bisan of whom we
will meet later on in this story. The woman herself being an evil sadistic
"witch" who I think you will learn to "hate" just as I have now with very good
reason!* * It was the "practice" in the 26th Century that when a woman was
divorced that she took back the "name" she had borne before her marriage, Tara
having been married earlier on and then widowed.
Overhead flew the colorful banner of Imperial California, below the
smaller flag of Darlanis herself. The sun yet bright in the sky above, a
breeze having come back up, unfortunately too late to do us any good now that
we were the captives of Darlanis! Sarnian Lady was under sail back to Sarn,
the Ronda following close behind, the former slaves now once again locked in
chains. Darlanis having ordered such fearing that they might attempt to seize
the ship from the half dozen sailors sent over from Sarnian Lady to sail the
prize back to Sarn for its eventual disposition.
"I ask freedom for the woman Shirl," I answered, remembering how she had
kept her wits about herself and had safely disarmed Sharon before my
stepdaughter managed to kill Darlanis. Princess Janis sitting there at my
side, keeping her thoughts to herself. She had been questioned, as had others,
as to the truth of my statements about my taking the Ronda and why I had done
so. Dar- lanis had done most of the talking, drawing me out, making me re-
live the horror, the terror of our passage through time to this era. Then our
"rescue" by the Ronda, and my battle against its barbarian crew. Telling
Darlanis of what the Ronda's captain had said about Sharon and what our fates
were supposed to be once we reached Sarn. Darlanis nodding, hopefully
understanding what the situation had been. She was a woman. I hoped she
understood what any mother will do when her own children are in danger.
"Gladly granted," Darlanis answered with an understanding smile. "Let it
be so noted." Turning to the Scribe who was now taking down the hearing for
the official record. The two hand- some officers on either side of the briefly
clad Queen nodding in agreement. I mused to myself that Darlanis should
perhaps wear a longer skirt if she was going to sit before men dressed like
that in that gold mesh outfit, but wisely kept my opinions to myself, very
well aware that they would probably not be appreciated! On the other hand I
suspected that Darlanis wore what she did for a reason, since any man dealing
with her would have a hard time keeping his mind from drifting into visions of
what laid beneath!
To one side sat Lady Lana Daris, who was acting as my legal counsel. She
had used as my defense the fact that I had only acted in self defense there
aboard the Ronda and that at no time had I ever sought to harm anyone who did
not first offer me harm! Whether or not this had any impression on Darlanis
was another question, although I thought that no doubt Janis' opinions of the
matter carried considerable weight, the woman being Darlanis' older sister and
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