the Ram

800*600


the Ram

This was originally written years ago and placed upon a crewmember's page.
Since this is no longer the IKV Melota website, I no longer have crew pages. Therefore, I have brought my original work to this page to display it.
TanQa did a phenomenal job of taking my story from a one page concept to a short story. Hopefully, he shall release his upgrade publicly.

The little ship closes rapidly on its larger prey. Obviously its commander is not concerned with the disparity in throw weight. It is imperative, an Imperial Imperative, to pursue traitors of the Empire. Thus, the aphract dromon rushes towards a massive vessel four times its size.
The warrant in charge of the dromon looks up at the handsome Lord in command. The Commander glances at his massive spear and regrets dearly that he was not born in the older days of glory before long range weapons made ramming and boarding a quick way to Stovokor. In these modern times, boltcasters and catapults will easily outrange his archers. There is the possibility of having his hull breached before he can even reach a decent range for ramming speed.
As an Imperial Ram, the IKV Pride of Praxis has a thin cockelshell that has a chance of succeeding in its mission. Its main weapon is the massive iron ram that gives the little ship its purpose. To the crew, the ship is known as the IKV Kahless' Prick.
As an aphract, there is no armor or strength of wood in the hull. But, the Lord Commander must survive long enough to ram and disengage before the larger ship's marines flood aboard his little vessel. Even with his eighty oarsmen doubling as light infantry backed by the twenty cataphracts under his command, his chance is hopeless if the marines of the larger vessel manage to board his.
The odds are grim. The probabilities of surviving even a successful mission are pretty hopeless. But the Honor in dying for the Empire is worth it. The spearbutt of his massive spear is rapped on the deck as a signal to the warrant to increase speed now. He is confident that they can sink the massive quinquireme and live to tell the tale. The Lord grins terribly from ear to ear as the little dromon leaps to ramming speed.


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