'Two points to port!' Jasweer did not flinch as just three arrows hissed past her, two to rip into the sail and the third to thunk harmlessly onto the deck. 'Now, three points to starboard,' Jasweer ordered, as the enemy archers fired again. One of the Chola oarsmen yelled as an arrow lodged in his thigh. 'Take that man away,' Jasweer shouted. 'Replace him with a marine.'
The two vessels closed, with the Thiruzha archers firing continually and their drummer increasing the beat.
'Stand by to ram!' Jasweer shouted, when the loola closed to within fifty feet. 'Helmsman, port your helm. Archers… at the quarterdeck… now!'
The loola veered, so her starboard side was parallel to the Thiruzha scout. Melcorka saw the straining faces of the Thiruzha crew, the row of bobbing skulls along her hull
