Female complications, day 28 Fire for effect

I really want spring to arrive, just for the far earlier sunrise, as we had to wait for daylight before doing the bronze cannon firing tests. Everything will be easier and more efficient use of the work day during the summer half of the year. The wind is light and this time we will try to shoot the cannon at a longer distance, and I'm not alone in looking forward to todays cannon testing. I want to demonstrate it to Olafr, and Heimir, Ryla and Agnes are so expectant and will see from a distance at the mountain. Not that Ciara, Alith and Gunhild aren't excited too, as they really want to see and shoot the cannon again. Since we're going for range data and I need to know where the shot landed, I have sent out groups to try to see the impact from Tosra and one of the tiny rocky islands. They're at least 3 at every location. Kari and Frida with Heimir, Iselin and Asta with some crew members on the other locations. Two groups have radios and will stand in two different locations and take compass bearings and film, so I can draw a line of sight from every location. The plan is to fire a shot out over the water and they will give me a bearing from at least two different points in the terrain. It won't be exact, but should give useful information. We will also shoot one or more shots on the long island to the south that I own, the island I'm thinking of using for a road and bridge connection to Tosra, and some more of the crew will look for those shots, but after we've finished firing.

It hasn't been easy to try to work out what firing angle is correct to try to hit the middle of that long island to the south. The cannon doesn't have much lateral spread but mainly depth spread, and as the island is about 120 meters wide and 450 meters long, there is a really good chance of hitting if we aim in the middle, which is about 1250 meters away according to the map. The problem is that the island is also 15 meters high with a bit of trees on greener parts, and even though the cannon locations is a few meters above the sea, I still can't actually see the island from here, as there's a ridge in between, but we've already taken landmarks by simply using a plank and looking along it both ways from the ridge. This firing exercise also gives practice in shooting according to a map and contour lines.

The sight is corrected, and the point of impact moved a little further forward, with angles and ranges noted down, but they have to wait to fire until I give the signal, because I want to get up on the hill in the south-west so I can see through the binoculars, and it will take about 10 minutes to get there.

Even though only Jane in my company might get it, I can't help but in a low voice say, "Fire for effect," before I signal with the flag. Muhahaha! If some evil-doers takes that island, they will have a bad day! The rifled bronze cannon is a good creation worth the cost. The men from the ships crew will now leave to row out and try to locate the impact sites and the shots and mark them by piling up rocks. They are somewhat shocked but nod and hurry to leave.

We return to the cannon, get radio contact with the field teams sent away for the really long distance shot, to make sure they are ready, but we will fire a rifle shot just 10 seconds before firing the cannon. We will shoot the cannon twice to see if there is a big change in impact. I aim the cannon straight out towards the gap between Tosra and the mainland, and then I set the angle for what should be about 3000 meters away. That is very far away. Once again they will fire after I-we get up on the hill to the south with the binoculars, and can hopefully see the splash and take a bearing. It's just another 15 minutes to round the bay and walk over there. Well, at least today I'm getting a high step count.

We return pretty much at the same time as the field teams, and they have compass bearings to the impact site, and have recordings of where they are and the impacts. I do a rough check on the map, and the gun really has a 3 km range and even a bit more since we can elevate it more. Wow!

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Gunhild eagerly offers to clean the cannon and make sure it is moved back inside. I believe she might have started to see the cannon as her baby, and as I leave them, Jane makes me smile as she tries to teach Gunhild to say 'My precious' with Gollum like pronunciation and proper manic look in her eyes.

I just head straight for my bedroom, as even before Iselin offered to be in one of the field teams that watched and recorded impacts, she had whispered to me and Alith that we should 'keep traditions'. When I turn round after closing the bedroom doors, Alith has already started removing her armour.

It's almost an hour later when they've returned, and we check all the pictures and video clips together. We work out exactly where the shots hit, which gives more data and a more accurate range graph and equation. I'm more than pleased with how good that cannon turned out to be. Maybe I should build another rifled bronze cannon? If I need to use a cannon, chances are that in that situation it would be an advantage to have several cannons. I'm still worried about what other people might have already created, and what other humans might have done and introduced. It's not like I have focused on military technology or creating a powerful military force.

In a world like this, with how many my company now is and such and we might split up, we obviously need more bodyguards, and I need to organise a small military force of 10 to 16 soldiers come summer. There is a pretty good chance that my future military will be at least partly a Home Guard-like force where volunteers from the island are trained and equipped. The people here are Nordic 'Vikings', and they expect to defend themselves and take up arms to go on a raid, but I want a well-trained force of soldiers more than people with weapons. 20 to 30 soldiers with a couple of cannons and many firearms might be a tough force for general enemies, and the iron cannon is mobile enough that a horse can move it and ammo with a load-bearing saddle. My future military will be limited by mobility and logistics done mostly on foot, although sometimes horse, wagon and boat can be used. I won't have a huge army going on campaigns, but it is only common sense to set aside part of my nations annual income for the military and security aspects. Military strength always costs, but when it is needed, it is mostly needed now, and by then it is too late to train, equip and manufacture stuff. In a world like this there is a much greater chance I will need a military force, and will need one just to not be seen as weak or as an easy target, so it will be a reasonably large part of my economy, but how large remains to be seen.

As far as I know, one reason the historical Norse Vikings i Midgård managed to raid and conquer were simply due to those other nations having a religion and culture where violence weren't a part of the common persons life. They didn't train with weapons to be seen as a man and have the right to vote, or just defend themselves in a duel. If your religion and culture teach you that killing is bad and you will go to hell, and you're a common farmer forced to fight for your Lord, and pray to our God for protection in the coming battle, against a force used to violence and fighting as a part of life, where the best way to get to Valhalla is a glorious death in a battle where you've proven your worth... well. One side is far more likely to break and run when it becomes bloody and people die.

Now train 'Norse Vikings' really well, make them better at tactical thinking, communication, map making and such, equip them with really good firearms, cannons and other technology, and a small force should be quite deadly and frightening.

The bodyguards and my sambos also like that when the weather gets warmer and it's easier to build in stone and make walls, and the days are longer, and the Academy etc doesn't take much focus, Thrymheim will get surrounding stone walls and a garden on the south side. Stone walls and improved protection for our home is just common sense for many reasons, and there will be a lot of theft-prone things here too. When I have the finances and the weather is warmer I want to get it built. We all do.

The dinner is interesting as Haera, Skirlaug and Raneigh watched the cannon tests from the mountain with Unn, Heimir, Agnes and Ryla, and they try to accept the reality of what is standing under cover in the great hall, and that it wasn't a half-finished weird carriage. It's an incredibly powerful sejdish siege weapon. But it's just another one of those things for them to accept. Both Haera and Skirlaug have promised to keep the cannon a secret even before the test, and they know how to keep a secret. Raneigh seems to be in the same category as Gunhild, as she very helpfully and enthusiastically helped with cleaning and getting the cannon back in its place.

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