Battle At Sea

In Poul Anderson's Ensign Flandry, a Merseian flying submersible has shot down Ensign Dominic Flandry's flitter. The Ensign has escaped by gravity impeller, losing his blaster while exiting the sinking vehicle but keeping his regulation knife, and has landed on the Archer, a merchant ship of the Sisterhood of Kursoviki. Because the Archer's Terran-provided radio has been damaged and no longer works, the Kursovikian Tigery captain, Dragoika, agrees to return to Kursoviki Island where Flandry will be able to rejoin his fellow vaz-Terran in their base, Highport, on Mount Narpa. Meanwhile, however, for several days, Flandry, unable to breathe sea-level Starkadian air, must wear a helmet, must push unappetizing Starkadian food and vitamin supplements through his chowlock and must conserve the power in his impeller's capacitors to operate the helmet's pump and reduction valve.

The vaz-Siravo attack the Archer. A submarine of leather stretched across wood, pulled by four large fish, surfaces. On its deck, dolphin-like Seatrolls in airsuits with artificial limbs aim a large catapult. Their first missile misses the ship but spreads flames across the water: Greek fire from undersea oil wells. The second hits and most of the crew must fight the fire with a water pump and buckets. Flandry, manning the Terran-provided deck gun, kills the draught fish with a chemical shell. Swimming Seatrolls climb the undersea net used as a warning device. Ten are on board with spears, axes and two machine pistols. The defenders have five Terran rifles, also swords, pikes, crossbows and knives, but most must fight the fire. Flandry fires another shell into the sea to kill any more approaching Seatrolls. Dragoika's fish spear kills one pistoleer and the other takes shelter.

Leaping Tigeries, armed with swords and pikes, fight lumbering Seatrolls, armed with spears and axes. Dragoika drums firefighters away from their weapons back to their firefighting. The armed Tigeries defend the firefighters against the Seatrolls. The Seatroll pistoleer pins down the Tigery riflers. Flandry, flying with his impeller and wielding Dragoika's sword, disarms the pistoleer and calls the Tigery riflers to come out. The remaining Seatrolls, except the pistoleer, are killed and Flandry, still using the impeller, helps to spread a wet sail over the fire. He can now adapt the Siravo powerpacks for his helmet and has taken a prisoner. He is a hero to Tigeries and Terrans and has begun his career as a nemesis of the Merseians.