History Fact:
Robert Jenkins was a captain of a British merchant ship and a nine year war, from 1739 to 1748, was named after his ear. The War of Jenkins' Ear. How this isn't taught or at least mentioned in every history class, even if unrelated, I don't know.
Trial System:
“Captain, did you hear me?” asked a young soldier.
If Captain Jacob T. Parish heard the question, he made no sign. The two stood alone in the open gateway of a ragged palisade wall built into the perimeter homes of a village. Rice paddies, already flooded, surrounded the village on all sides. Parish held a sword, though he eyed it with curiosity. Raising it to reflect the setting sun, he examined the thin, curved blade. He ran a finger down the shaft, squinting into the shimmer.
“It feels smooth, but you can still see the folds—the hammer strikes—in the blade. Fascinating.” The captain lowered the sword to a forward stance and tested holding the long handle with both hands. “It’s a beautiful weapon, don’t you think, Lt. Dubs?”
Dubs stared, his mouth tightening for a moment. “Sir, there are hundreds of them. We might hold this gate, but we don’t have enough to defend the west of the east, much less the wall. We have to retreat.”
Shifting to a side-facing stance,, the captain said, “Hundreds you think? I’d guess they’re shy of a single hundred.”
“Does it matter? We have thirty and most are farmers. They’re going to ride right over them.”
“Are you sure? Your men have a lot of heart.”
Dubs pulled at the skin of his temple and gestured around him, awkwardly due to the weight of his thick, doubled-edged sword. “Do you see this place? Is this worth dying for? Let’s get our men out of here.”
“And abandon our mission?” Parish said with a flourish, “I think not.”
“We’ll all die. The village is dead either way. Maybe we could take some of them with us, escape.”
Parish turned as he sheathed his sword—after a slight fumble finding the opening. “You know my father’s saying, Lieutenant. “Strive to the end. And so we shall,” Parish said before allowing a suitable pause, “Strive to the end.”
The young Lt. Dubs stood straighter and saluted. He swallowed. “Yes. Sir.”
Down the hard-packed path that ran through the rice paddies a horsebacked figure crested the rise and stopped. Appearing as a black silhouette against sunset, the figure’s armor dominated his appearance—all spikes and jutting plates with lopsided horns sprouting from a wide-brimmed helm. He waved a thick, armor-clad arm forward and the skyline became a thicket of spears, horses, spikes, and swords.
With a low whistle, Jacob T. Parish hooked his thumbs behind his wide, leather belt and bounced on the balls of his feet. “Look at all of them. What’s that one near the end have? A halberd? Fascinating.”
“We’re all dead now,” said Lt. Dubs with a sigh, “You missed the chance again, sir.”
Parish gave a half snort, half laugh and said, “Nonsense.”
Thunder rose then faded into a torrent of splashes as the riders cantered forward. The wings split off to each side while the largest group raced toward Parish’s gate.
Lt. Dubs began to back away while drawing his sword. “Sir, permission to call up the ranks? Sir?”
Parish waved a hand behind him and spoke, “Computer. Admin code, there is no sheep level.”
A female voice responded, resonating from everywhere, “Code authorized.”
With a smirk, Parish continued, “Computer, please authorize use of MKS-11 and materialize for admin use.”
Like a isolated heat-wave, the air shimmered around Captain Parish’s hands before condensing into a shoulder-mounted weapon. A wire-coiled tube formed its body with a shoulder brace, forward handles, and targeting system as the only protrusions. Parish hefted the cannon and aimed directly at the attacking riders, now at only 30 paces. With an electric whine, a glow grew in the back of the weapon before spiraling up the coils. Simultaneously, the air exploded in the middle of the riders. Fire expanded from a single point—an empty space directly behind the forward most rider—consuming most of the group. The fringe riders were thrown in every direction, some smashing through rows and rows of rice while others arced away before making their own muddy craters.
The shock-wave continued outward, knocking portions of the wall down and breaking windows as well as leaving Parish and Dubs on their backs. To each side of the main group, the remaining riders fought to out panic their horses in a ramshackle retreat. Parish and Dubs alternated between coughing and gasping for air, but in a few moments, laughter joined Parish’s agenda.
“Prime take me, did you see that?” Parish said between breaths. “Never seen an MKS fired have you?”
“Prime take me, did you see that?” Parish said between breaths. “Never seen an MKS fired have you?”
Rolling onto his knees, Lt. Dubs answered, “How did you...where did? What in Prime’s name?”
Rolling off his back and onto his feet, Parish slapped Lt. Dubs on the back, “Come now, ole boy, you don’t ask a magician something like that.”
The female voice returned. “Simulation Kobe Maru completed. Ending links now.”
Lt. Parish, now dressed in a blue and silver uniform and sitting in a reclining chair next to many other men and women who all wore the same, lifted the opaquely visored helmet off his head and placed it on a stand beside him.
The door slammed open and a graying man stepped in. “Parish! Explain yourself!”
The door slammed open and a graying man stepped in. “Parish! Explain yourself!”
I think you really need to tell us more about the War of Jenkins' Ear. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteSure! The war was one of many that was fought between Spain and England during the early 1700s. This period followed the Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the War of Spanish Succession in 1713 and gave England rights to sell slaves and a limited amount of goods to Spanish colonies in the New World—the right was referred to as asiento. Previously, Spain had controlled all trade out of their colonies, so this gave the British a great deal of influence and business in an obviously important market.
DeleteIn 1931, a Spanish patrol boarded Robert Jenkins ship off the coast of Florida to search for evidence of smuggling. The Spanish captain cut off Jenkins ear and gave it to him as a warning, saying he would do the same to the King if he condones smuggling. Seven years later(I assume because things happen slowly when you have to sail around for months to talk to people), Jenkins was called before Parliament to present his story(and possibly his ear) along with other claims of insults to British citizens. Tensions were already high, so these acts were seen as an insult to the honor of the nation and they went to war.
There were several battles and skirmishes with Spain generally getting the better of engagements. A treaty was signed in 1948, though it ignored the primary issue of asiento until a larger treaty was signed two years later where Spain bought off the right, but allowed more general trade to continue. Relations between the two nations improved for a time after as both sides tried to avoid having another war over poor Jenkins' other ear.
If you wanted a bit more on the background, the War of Spanish Succession, which began in 1701, was fought to stop the Bourbon family from gaining control of both France and Spain. When the last Hapsburg King, Charles II, an inadequate(inbred) ruler, left the throne without an heir, two related dynasties had equal claims to the throne. King Louis XIV of the French Bourbons wanted his grandson, Phillip, on the throne while Leopold I of the Austrian Hapsburgs wanted it for his son, Charles. Spain was split by which prospect they wanted and England had more allies than France did, so at Utrecht England and her allies allowed Phillip to take the Spanish throne, but under the condition that he renounce any rights of inheritance to the French throne for himself or his descendants. It had a number of other conditions, like the British getting the access they wanted in the asiento.
DeleteCan't find an edit button for comments...copying and deleting to re-post after editing is a bit silly.
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