Clive Cussler - Dirk Pitt 21 Crescent Dawn

Table of Contents

DIRK PITT ADVENTURES BY CLIVE CUSSLER

Arctic Drift
(WITH DIRK CUSSLER)

Treasure of Khan
(WITH DIRK CUSSLER)

Black Wind
(WITH DIRK CUSSLER)

Trojan Odyssey

Valhalla Rising

Atlantis Found

Flood Tide

Shock Wave

Inca Gold

Sahara

Dragon

Treasure

Cyclops

Deep Six

Pacific Vortex!

Night Probe!

Vixen 03

Raise the Titanic!

Iceberg

The Mediterranean Caper

FARGO ADVENTURES BY CLIVE CUSSLER
WITH GRANT BLACKWOOD

Lost Empire

Spartan Gold

ISAAC BELL NOVELS BY CLIVE CUSSLER

The Spy
(WITH JUSTIN SCOTT)

The Wrecker
(WITH JUSTIN SCOTT)

The Chase

KURT AUSTIN ADVENTURES BY CLIVE CUSSLER
WITH PAUL KEMPRECOS

Medusa
The Navigator
Polar Shift
Lost City
White Death
Fire Ice
Blue Gold
Serpent

OREGON FILES ADVENTURES BY CLIVE CUSSLER
WITH JACK DU BRUL

The Silent Sea

Corsair

Plague Ship

Skeleton Coast

Dark Watch
WITH CRAIG DIRGO

Golden Buddha

Sacred Stone

NONFICTION BY CLIVE CUSSLER AND CRAIG DIRGO

The Sea Hunters

The Sea Hunters II

Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cussler, Clive.

Crescent dawn / Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler.

p. cm.

eISBN : 978-1-101-47507-2

1. Pitt, Dirk (Fictitious character)Fiction. 2. Marine biologistsFiction. 3. Marine engineersFiction. I. Cussler, Dirk. II. Title.

PS3553.U75C

813.54dc22

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

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To Teri and Dayna,
who make it all fun.

PROLOGUE

HOSTILE HORIZONS

327 A.D. THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

THE DRUMBEAT ECHOED OFF THE WOODEN BULKHEADS, reverberating in a rhythmic staccato of flawless precision. The celeusta rapped methodically at his goatskin drum in a smooth yet mechanical fashion. He could bang for hours without missing a beathis musical training based more on endurance than harmony. Though there was a recognized value to his steady cadence, his audience of galley rowers simply hoped that the monotonous performance would soon reach an end.

Lucius Arcelian rubbed a sweaty palm across his leggings, then tightened his grip on a heavy oak oar. Pulling the blade through the water in a smooth motion, he quickly matched strokes with the men around him. A young native of Crete, he had joined the Roman Navy six years earlier, attracted by lucrative wages and an opportunity to acquire Roman citizenship at retirement. Physically tested in the years since, he now aspired only to advance to a less laborious position aboard the imperial galley before his arms completely gave out.

Contrary to Hollywood myth, slaves were not used aboard ancient Roman galleys. Paid enlistees propelled the ships, typically recruited from seafaring lands under the empires rule. Like their legionary counterparts in the Roman Army, the enlistees endured weeks of grueling training before being put to sea. The oarsmen were lean and strong, capable of rowing twelve hours a day, if need be. But aboard the Liburnian-type bireme galley, a small and light warship that featured just two banks of oars on either side, the oarsmen acted as supplemental propulsion to a large sail rigged above deck.

Arcelian gazed at the celeusta , a minuscule bald man who drummed with a pet monkey tied beside him. He could not help but notice a striking resemblance between the man and the monkey. Both had big ears and round jolly faces. The drummer wore his mug in a constant look of mirth, grinning at the crew with bright wily eyes and chipped yellow teeth. His image somehow made the rowing easier, and Arcelian realized that the galleys captain had made a wise choice in selecting the man.

Celeusta, called out one of the rowers, a dark-skinned man from Syria. The wind blows fierce and the waters seethe. Why hath we been given the command to row?

The drummers eyes lit up. It is not for me to question the wisdom of my officers or else I, too, would be pulling an oar, he replied, laughing heartily.

I would wager that the monkey could row faster, the Syrian replied.

The celeusta eyed the monkey curled up beside him. He is a rather strong little fellow, he replied, playing along. But in answer to your question, I know not the answer. Perhaps the captain wishes to exercise his talkative crew. Or perhaps he simply desires to run faster than the wind.

Standing on the upper deck a few feet above their heads, the galleys captain gazed fitfully astern at the horizon. A pair of distant blue-gray dots danced on the turbulent waters, gradually increasing in size with each passing minute. He turned and looked at the breeze filling his sail, wishing that he could run much, much faster than the wind.

A deep baritone voice suddenly disrupted his focus.

Is it the wrath of the sea that weakens your knees, Vitellus?

The captain turned to find a robust man in an armored tunic staring at him with a derisive gaze. A Roman centurion named Plautius, he commanded a garrison of thirty legionaries stationed aboard the ship.

Two vessels approach from the south, Vitellus replied. Pirates both, I am most certain.

The centurion casually gazed at the distant ships, then shrugged.

Mere insects, he said without concern.