George: Commodore Wilkins had ordered interdiction of a pair of merchant vessels believed to be carrying trade goods with which to purchase the guns. They would be unarmed or lightly armed, but would have a considerable escort, either of Oenotrian ships or their hired mercenaries.
The Commodore had assembled three other vessels, HMS Wasp, HMS Hornet, and HMS Honeybee, but had not dispatched them because none of them carried a contingent of marines. He estimated that such large merchantmen could not be secured without a sizeable boarding party.
Smith: Was any consideration given to outfitting those vessels with marines?
George: Yes, sir, but it was deemed impractical due to their small size. They are only scouts, not gunships. Danger has - had - a larger hull, and was thus in the practice of carrying a marine detachment. Not to mention a larger crew overall. The Commodore placed the other three under my orders, and directed us to make best speed to intercept the convoy.
We were very nearly too late, but we managed to intercept the Martian ships some forty or fifty miles from the rendezvous point. The escorts fell back on our approach, trying to occupy our attentions while their charges slipped away. Fortunately the wind was against them, and our steam-powered vessels could easily outpace the merchantmen. I opted to engage and disable the escorts so that our boarding action would be uninterrupted.
At our first shots, one of the escorts ignited and rapidly crashed. The Martians came about and tried to separate us, but I held the flotilla to close formation. We received some fire. But it was clear quite soon that our guns were superior. We sent down two more ships in rapid order. Finally, the last two changed tactics and attempted to grapple the Honeybee.
Winchester: Outnumbered? And they attempted to board you!?
Smith: They fight with spears, don't they?
George: Well, sir, some of them have bows and muskets, though proper rifles are rare. And you must appreciate that, on an Oenotrian screw galley, it takes a very many natives to turn the screws with any sort of force. So when they clear the screw decks, they have many crew to our few.
Winchester: Seems dashed primitive, regardless. Were these grappling attempts successful?
George: One of the ships we destroyed by gunfire before it could close. The other got a successful grapple. The Honeybee engaged with rifle fire and its Nordenfelt guns. The attack was presently broken, and Honeybee's crew proceeded onto the deck of the native vessel.
Winchester: Were there natives visible on the vessel when they did this?
George: I observed at least one figure in the wheelhouse. The deck appeared to be clear of combatants. I could not have said whether there were others belowdecks.
Winchester: What was your intent on boarding the enemy vessel?
George: Honeybee proceeded to board without my express instruction. But I … endorsed the decision. I believed Martian prisoners would be valuable.
Winchester: And what did you do next?
George: I brought the Danger about, and grappled her to the starboard rail of the native vessel.
Winchester: Did Honeybee not have the target in hand?
George: It did, sir.
Winchester: Then what purpose was there in grappling a second vessel to the target?
George: I thought it prudent, sir, to have backup personnel available. In case of an ambush. The Honeybee's full compliment is only 15 men, sir, and they had already taken casualties.
Winchester: And then what happened?
George: The remaining officer, sir, the one I saw in the wheelhouse, at least I assume it was an officer, because he seemed to understand the operation of the trim controls -
Smith: Yes, yes, get on with it.
