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.Indeed, interestingly, as I walked along thepiers I saw that canvases had been thrown over places on certain of the ships,at the stern, and on the (pg.351) side of the bows, where one might beaccustomed to look for a name.On the way back, along the pier, I stopped by one of the unidentified ships,Page 215 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlone wharfed adjacent to the Tais, the flagship.Indeed, it had been the secondship into the harbor, and the one that had rammed the Cosian ship amidships. You wonder where these ships are from? asked a fellow near me, a fellow fromfile:///F|/My%20Shared%20Folder/John%20Nor.20Gor%2023%20-%20Renegades%20of%20Gor.html (312 of 399) [1/21/03 7:54:43 PM]23 Renegades of GorAr s Station, on the pier. Yes, I said. I am curious. This ship here, he said, is the Tina, out of Victoria.I have seen it oftenenough on patrols. That is interesting, I said.Victoria, of course, was the headquarters ofthe VoskLeague. You must understand, of course, said the fellow, that I do not know that. I understand, I said.A tall, dark-haired fellow was on the ship, near the bow.He carried himselfas one of natural authority, but he wore no uniform, no insignia.His men Igathered, knew well enough who he was, and others need not know.He had notedus standing on the pier, near the bow.It was there that one of the cloaks ofcanvas had been placed, perhaps to conceal a name.One was similarly placed onthe other side of the bow. Tal, said he to us. Tal, said I to him. If I were to remove this canvas would I see the nameTina? The fellow on board looked sharply at the man with me.Apparently he knew himfrom somewhere.Certainly the fellow with me had seemed to have no difficultyin identifying the moored vessel. Vitruvius? he asked. He can be trusted, said the man with me.This trust, I gathered, I hadearned on the wall, at the gate, on the walkway.Too, I think there was littletruly secret about this ship, or the others. Do as you wish, said the fellow on board.I lifted up the canvas a bit, and then let it drop back, in place.I had readthere, in archaic script, the name Tina. Your ship, then, I said to the fellow on board, is indeed the Tina. There are doubtless many ships with that name, said the fellow, smiling.(pg.352) And what is the port of registry of your ship? I asked. It is registered west of here, he grinned. Victoria? I asked. Or Fina, or somewhere, he said. Surely these ships with you, those surprisingly flying no colors, are not oftheVosk League. We are an innocent trading fleet, he said.file:///F|/My%20Shared%20Folder/John%20Nor.20Gor%2023%20-%20Renegades%20of%20Gor.html (313 of 399) [1/21/03 7:54:43 PM]23 Renegades of Gor One Cosian ship has been destroyed in the harbor, I said, and another hasbeen disabled. Yes, he said. It seems two regrettable accidents occurred in the harbor. You are embarking women and children, I said. Passengers, he said. Some may think these are ships of the Vosk League, I said. What do you think, Vitruvius? asked the fellow, leaning on the rail. It seems to me unlikely that these could be ships of the Vosk League, saidthe fellow beside me, for the Vosk League, as is well known, is neutral.Doesit not seem unlikely to you, as well? Page 216 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Yes, said the man on the ship, It seems quite unlikely to me, as well. What is your name? I asked the fellow on the ship. What is yours? he asked. Tarl, I said. That is a common name, he said. Yes, I said, especially in the north. My name, too, is a common one, he said, especially west, on the river. What is it? I asked. Jason, said he. Of what town? I asked. The same which serves as the home port of my ship, he said. West of here? I said. Yes, he said. Victoria? I asked. Or Fina, or somewhere, he said. I wish you well, I said. I wish you well, he said.(pg.353) Women and children, and now men, were being taken aboard this vesselas well.Turning about, looking back to my left, toward the flagship, I sawAemilianus being carried aboard.Some tarnsmen flew overhead, but none fireddownward.I watched the piers being emptied, women and children, and men, of Ar sStation, embarking.I then saw, a rope on her neck, her hands thonged behind her back, stillveiled,file:///F|/My%20Shared%20Folder/John%20Nor.20Gor%2023%20-%20Renegades%20of%20Gor.html (314 of 399) [1/21/03 7:54:43 PM]23 Renegades of Gor still clad in the provocative rages which had been thoseof the former Lady Publia, Lady Claudia.She had been caught among the crowdsof women and children on the pier, perhaps noted by the wounded Marsias, orone of the others who had been with us in the cell, or perhaps by othersstill, alerted by one or the other of them, as to her probable disguise.TheCosians had not come to the piers.She had not received her opportunity tosurrender herself to them, begging from them the desperate boon and privilegeof reduction to absolute slavery.Among others boarding the flagship, too, inher improvised hood, naked, her hands, too, thonged behind her back, as I hadfastened them earlier, being pulled on her leash by one free woman, beingherded from behind, poked and jabbed, and struck, with a stick by another,stumbling, ascending the narrow plank to the flagship, was a slave, one whohad once been Lady Publia of Ar s Station.I saw her lose her footing once on the plank and fall, belly downward on it,her legs on either side of it.She must have been utterly terrified, in thedarkness of the hood, helpless, unable even to cry out.The first woman tuggedat the leash.The other beat her with the stick.She struggled to her feet,and then, obedient to the leash, and trying to hurry before the cruelincitements of the stick, she ascended the plank.Female slaves are seldomleft in any doubt on Gor that they are slaves, and particularly when they arein the keeping of free women.I saw two of the oarsmen lift her from theheight of the plank, down, between the thwarts, and then place her kneeling,behind them, amidships, on the deck.Other slaves already knelt there.Too, inthat place, kneeling, too, a neck rope dangling before her, but in no one skeeping, knelt Lady Claudia.The two free women who had had the former lady Publia (pg.354) in their carewere courteously directed forward, where, before and about the stern castleand even on the small bow deck, were gathered several woman and children.These, already, were being fed ships rations.Four or five ships, crowdedwith passengers, had come and gone more than once at the piers
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