Adventurer: Sailing Problem

By R. Richard

I ask Ilfwen, “Then, the ship’s crew will sail the new boat back to Porvar?”
Ilfwen lectures, “Not directly. The cannon have not yet been installed. The cannon are being manufactured by a foundry in yet another country. When the boat is ready to sail, the crew will sail it to the harbor where the foundry is located and the cannon will be installed there.”
“Then, we’ll do a sort of pre-shakedown cruise to the foundry harbor. The foundry people will then install the cannon. Then we’ll do a final shakedown cruise to Porvar.”
Ilfwen sighs and says, “Yes. Then, when we get to Porvar, you have to somehow convince them that what you plan will actually work.”
“Not a problem. You see, I’m a magician. I have a magic wand and I can demonstrate my magic.”
Ilfwen just shakes his head in denial at having to deal with an obvious nut case.
We walk for a while and then we get to the edge of a sizable town. We’re on a hill, above a bay and we can see a little of the ocean water, in the distance.
We walk through the town and people notice us. I guess that a tall man, for the area might be maybe five feet eight inches. I’m six feet six inches and Mark is an inch taller. We’re giants, as far as the town folk are concerned.
We walk down to a shipyard. The guy at the gate recognizes Ilfwen, who just waves at him. We walk over to a dry dock, where sits the nearly completed boat that we’ll use. There are men working on the boat.
The boat is a catamaran! I hadn’t thought about the configuration of the boat, I just figured it would be a slim mono-hull. The more that I think about it, the more sense a catamaran makes. A catamaran has a very wide stance in the water and it should provide a more stable gun platform than a mono-hull, particularly a slim mono-hull. A catamaran is also much faster than a mono-hull. A very fast, stable boat should be a good base for a ship killer boat.
Ilfwen notices my inspection of the boat. He lectures, “It’s built from a very special wood. Actually, it’s not wood, but some sort of material that the Keegor furnished the shipyard. The stuff is light, very strong and also very slippery. The material also has some bumps on the surface, bumps that the Keegor claim will make the boat faster. The deck is the opposite. The deck material isn’t at all slippery and should make the footing safer.”
“What about seaweed, barnacles, that sort of thing?”
Ilfwen chuckles, “The Keegor stuff is poisonous to almost all ocean life, There is some sort of sea creature in the southern oceans that likes to eat holes in wood. One voyage through the south seas and a wooden ship is finished. The catamaran is poisonous to the southern ocean sea creature as well.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: R. Richard
• Release date: May 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005642761

R. Richard

I'm the co-author, with Sunset Thomas, of Anatomy of An Adult Film.I have 48 novels and over 299 short stories currently published.I spent my early years in the part of Los Angeles known as the South Central. I was known as Whi' Boy, which was sufficient to identify me in that place. I'm a skilled Kung Fu player, using a system that I learned from a Korean I knew only as 'Pak.' It would be easier to tell you the places that Pak wasn't wanted by the police, rather than the places where he was wanted by the police. Pak's Kung Fu system, augmented by some bits and pieces from some Chinese practitioners is quick and effective, or I wouldn't be alive today.My early education was mostly obtained by stealing books from the public library (I always returned them and the Librarian even began to provide me with reading lists.) I did go to high schools, but I never really learned anything there. I eventually graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles, UCLA, with a degree in mathematics.I work as a Systems Analyst and also make a part of my living as a professional gambler (legal in Nevada.) I write science fiction and erotica. My published novels are:Anatomy of An Adult Film (With Sunset Thomas)1. Second Chance: God Killer2. Second Chance: Sky Pirate3. Second Chance: Scroll Seeker4. Second Chance: King of The Islands5. Second Chance: King of Zaya6. Second Chance: Duke of Averon7. Second Chance: King of Golomon8. Second Chance: King Of The Sky9. Second Chance: Warlord of Ifrequeh10. Second Chance: King of Ariby11. Second Chance: King of Mesodania12. Second Chance: King of Avuls13. Second Chance: King of Kemet14. Second Chance: King of Zorran15. Second Chance: King of Two Worlds16. Second Chance: King of Averon17. Second Chance: King's Duties18. Second Chance: King of The New WorldAdventurer: Simulation ProblemAdventurer: Pannar ProblemA Programmer's GambitAmateur StripperBeach MurdersBondage HouseCorporate Sex SlavesFriday NightGo Naked In The SoftwareGrasshopper WinterInvoluntary NudeLayoffNot A HeroPirates of The KeysSummer of SexThe LakeThe Last Moon DanceThe Nude Adventures of Plain JaneThe Secret Life of Wanda WilsonTails of the Pussycat LoungeTo Keep A JobTopless RestaurantToy WhoresVix: The MarineWayward BoyShort Stories:A Christmas Visit

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Adventurer: Sailing Problem

By R. Richard 2022

Chapter 1: Merchant Adventurer

I have returned from the Pannar dominated world. I left a lady named Atera as a Queen, ruling the most powerful civilization on her planet. I also left her with two things that should aid her rule. I left her with a Keegor furnished book that describes, in some detail, how she should best run her Kingdom. I also left her carrying my child, a child who will eventually become the Monarch.

I had to convince Atera that she should follow the directions laid down in the Keegor book on rule.

That she should have my child and that the child will eventually rule her Kingdom. was really Atera’s idea.

Since I solved the Pannar problem, the Keegor have given me a bundle of things for my pay. The type of plants that caused the Pannar to conquer a civilization, contain important medicines that will also work for we of Earth. The specific plants depend upon specific soil conditions and insect pollination and can only be grown in the place that the Pannar conquered. However, there are similar plants, known to the Keegor, that will do the same thing. There’s a berry from yet another world that won’t really change the food production of Earth, but will flavor many of the foods that we now eat. There are also some advances in Earth technology, that will improve things, but not cause radical changes that would really alter the development path of civilization back on Earth.

I’m a little leery of what I have been given in pay, until I have food people test the berries. I manage to not sell the berries, but to form partnerships with food producers. The berries have a whole new flavor and the result of the berries will be like when chocolate was discovered.

The medicines are important and I’m able to sell the patents for big bucks.

Some of the technology items sell for big bucks, others not so well. I complain to the Keegor and they give me specific applications for the low selling stuff. Business picks up and my company, Merchant Adventurers, is making a lot of money.

The space travel device that has got me to two different planets is now powered on at least once a day, for testing and whatever. Apparently Earth scientists are learning a great deal from study of the machine.

(I don’t have an advanced degree in science. I have no idea how the Keegor machine works. However, I can immediately see two things that escape the high powered science guys.

One of the things that I see is that Earth science is being pushed in the direction of Keegor science. If we of Earth should encounter another advanced civilization, say on the same level as the Keegor, we would tend to side with the Keegor, as we already have Keegor technology.

The other thing that I see is really just a guess on my part, but it fits well with what I have learned so far, Maybe someday ...)

One day, another job assignment from the Keegor for James Aquila comes out of the space travel device when it’s powered on.

I and any number of PhDs go over the assignment, with considerable care. The assignment is to travel to a new planet and solve a problem that a people called Estarole are causing on the planet.

It seems that there are two civilizations battling for supremacy on the planet. The Porvar are losing to the Estarole and the Keegor want the Porvar to win.

The problem appears to be that the Estarole have just won a war with another civilization. In the process of winning the war, the Estarole have acquired a number of warships. The Estarole are now using the warships as pirate craft and making it impossible for the Porvar to conduct trade and thus strangling the economy of the Porvar.

Despite the fact that the Keegor are much more intelligent than I am, I’m smarter than the Keegor.

The Keegor envision building a sailing ship that can defeat any of the Estarole warships and thus can rule the sea.

I finally get to talk to a Keegor military man. I ask him a simple question, How did the Estarole get the superior warships that they now have?

The Keegor tells me, They had to build very large warships to fight another foe. They did so, nearly bankrupting the Estarole. They then managed to capture a number of the foe’s ships and they now rule the sea. The Porvar can’t afford to build a fleet capable of defeating the Estarole fleet.

You just told me, ‘The Estarole managed to capture a number of their foe’s ships,’ correct?

The Keegor says, Correct, is this going where I think it’s going?

Your Keegor civilians want to build a ship capable of fighting any of the Estarole warships and winning the battle. If the ship that your civilians want to build does fight an Estarole warship, both ships will suffer heavy damage and require major repairs at a shipyard. Correct?

The Keegor says, Correct, so you want to steal ships from the Estarole, instead of fighting them, correct?

No, that probably won’t work. Since the Estarole stole ships from their foes, the Estarole will probably very carefully guard their warships so that theft would be very unlikely. What I want is for the Estarole to give at least most of their warships to the Porvar.

The Keegor military man asks, Exactly how to you intend to convince the Estarole to give the Porvar Estarole warships?

I lecture, When I went to Vaakia, I had a small boat, with a very advanced sail. I could out sail the foes of the Vaakia, in my advanced sail boat, despite the fact that they were much better sailors than I was. So far, so good?

The Keegor military man says, So far, so good. You want the Keegor to build a much better sailing ship than the Estarole. We can do that, however, we can’t just introduce a lot of technology into a primitive world.

When I went to Vaakia, I had a much better sail than the natives. I beat the much more skilled Vaakia sailors, since I had the new, better sail. After I narrowly defeated the Vaakia hot shots in the first race, I managed to get an older Vaakia sailor to use my boat to race another boat crewed by Vaakia hot shot sailors. I beat the Vaakia sailors, by using the new sail. The old man destroyed the Vaakia hot shot sailors by clever use of the new sail that he had never used before and also by clever use of the steering thingy on the back of the boat, so far, so good?

The Keegor military man says, What you call the ‘steering thingy’ is called a rudder in the nautical world. However, what you’re telling me is that a sailing ship doesn’t work very well without a rudder.

So I observed. Now, the Keegor build me a ship that can out sail anything that the Estarole have. You also get me a Sailing Master who knows how to sail a sailing warship. We then sail out into the ocean and find a lone Estarole warship. Since you tell me that the Estarole are operating as pirates, they should be spread pretty thin, so we find this lone, massive Estarole warship. The Sailing Master sails around behind the Estarole warship and I shoot the rudder off, however you say that in the nautical world. So far, so good?

The Keegor military man says, So, you have a temporarily disabled an Estarole warship. Then what? You do realize that the Estarole can operate the ship, even without a rudder and they can fix the damaged rudder, given a bit of time.

I ask, Can the Estarole fight the rudderless warship?

The Keegor military man says, Well, not against another big warship, no.

You may remember that I took a magic wand with me when I went in to solve the Pannar problem. The wand wasn’t advanced technology to the natives, but magic

The Keegor military man says, Well, the magic wand appeared to be magic to the natives of the world, but it was really advanced technology.

But the supposed magic wand was allowed because it appeared to be magic to the natives of the world.

The Keegor military man says, You used the magic wand to communicate with the Keegor. How does that help us here?

You build me a magic wand that will communicate with the Keegor and also with magic globes on the Porvar warships. Again, magic, not advanced technology.

The Keegor military man says, Nice try, the Keegor aren’t allowed to furnish advanced technology to primitive people.

I lecture, The magic globes will self destruct after, say, a year. The destruction is so severe that even centuries later no one can make anything out of the destroyed globes. Again, magic, not technology.

The Keegor military man says, Slippery as can be. I just might be able to get that past my higher ups.

The Sailing Master sails around behind the Estarole warship and I shoot the rudder off. I then use my magic wand to call, via a magic globe, the nearest Porvar warship of the proper size. The Porvar warship then sails up and tells the pretty much disabled Estarole warship, ‘Surrender your ship or we poop on your poop deck,’ or what ever they say.

The Keegor military man says, That’s not what they say. However, I would think that your scheme would work, except for one thing. How do you get the Porvar warship to the right place, in a trackless ocean?

I don’t, the Keegor do. The Keegor tell me what heading the Porvar warship needs to use and I tell the Porvar warship, Two points off the larboard bow, matey, or whatever."

The Keegor military man says, Strangely enough, I think that your scheme will work. However, we need to do quite a bit of work on the nomenclature.

The nomenclature won’t matter. I can’t speak the language of the Porvar. I’ll need a translator. So far, so good?

The Keegor military man says, We furnished you a translator for the Pannar matter, we can do that again.

However, we go back to the matter of pooping on the poop deck. Where does a sailor poop on your Keegor supplied super ship?

The Keegor military man sighs and says, We aren’t allowed to build a modern head on an archaic sailing ship. Thus the sailor poops over the side of the ship. Thus, the translator will need to be male.

Definitely. Now, as to the ship itself, I envision a small, very fast sailing ship with a sail or sails far beyond what the Estarole have. The ship will mount two breech loading, rifled cannon of sufficient size to destroy an Estarole warship's rudder with a single shot.

The Keegor military man says, We can certainly build something that will get the job done. Now, what is this about a Sailing Master?

Way back when, we had pirates operating in the oceans of Earth. The pirates were fighting men and not really sailors, although some of them were sailors. The pirates were led by an elected Captain, who was a fighter, not necessarily a sailor. In order to sail a pirate ship, they used a Sailing Master. The Sailing Master was in charge of getting the pirate ship to the position desired by the pirate Captain. This meant a sort of split command. The pirate Captain was more or less in charge, but the Sailing Master actually ran the technical job of the sailing of the ship.

The Keegor military man says, We can hire and train a Sailing Master and a ship’s crew. The matter of breech loading, rifled cannon will probably be a problem.

I envision myself and an Earth Navy gunner operating the cannon, with a few Porvar helping with the manual labor of loading the cannon. The breech loading, rifled cannon will allow the Porvar ship to stay far enough away from an Estarole warship to be more or less out of harm’s way, while still allowing for enough accuracy to destroy the rudder of the big warship.

The Keegor military man says, I see what it is that you want. I suspect that I can sell off my command on your ideas. However, you realize that we can’t leave such an advanced ship in a primitive world.

I ask, How many men would it take to sail such an advanced ship, assuming calm seas and steady wind?

The Keegor military man says, Yes, just you and the other Earth gunner could sail such a ship in good conditions. You sail the ship out of sight of land, we extract you and your companion and then we sink the ship in deep water. It should work.

Solving problems is what you pay me for. By the way, I’ll also need a map of the world to which you want me to go, a map of the whole world and some weather forecasting data. If you can’t leave a Keegor space ship on station, then maybe some satellites in orbit, or whatever.

The Keegor military man then breaks off to try to sell my plans to his higher ups.

(I have just determined the answer to a problem that I thought that I knew the answer to, but I couldn’t be sure. I suspected that the Keegor space travel device could also enable some sort of travel in time. The Keegor now need to have built an advanced ship, that they had no idea about, until I told them what I needed. They also need to have built a couple (or more) of an advanced , breech loaded ship’s cannon. There’s no way that the Keegor can have built at least the cannon, on a primitive planet, given the time frame of the need. Even the Keegor can’t move a lot of metal through their space travel device. Thus, they have to be able to move back in time, to give the Porvar enough time to build at least the cannon. It also seems unlikely that the Keegor could move an object as big as the ship I need through their space travel device. Of course, just being a mere adventurer, I couldn’t possible be smart enough to see all that.)

Chapter 2: The Gunners Arrive

The Keegor higher ups apparently buy off on my plan and I get the go ahead. I also manage to get a list of certain food items and nutrition of the planet, from the Keegor.

I