Fourth Vector Ch. 02

Both of them nodded and immediately left the small crowd of sailors, leaving Jack largely alone with the remaining crew. Most of them looked at him with questioning expressions at this point, at the turn of events and also to figure out what he might do with them. Jack knew he needed to say something to them—they almost expected him to.

"Don't you men worry now," he started. "We're going to turn this around and rescue our comrades on theTiger from the Occitanians."

"What do we do if they fire on us, sir?" asked one of the sailors near the front, a small rotund sailor Jack knew to be called Jenkins.

"Then we'll sink them again just like we sunk that cruiser back at Quiller's Cove," said Jack firmly. "No matter what happens though, I will protect this ship and I will protect all of you men. You have my word on that."

Several of them nodded while a few wore relieved smiles.

"I need you all to be my eyes and ears until this crisis is over. We're going below deck to think of a plan to rescue our comrades on theTiger. This whole conflict started with the spilling of Occitanian blood and by god, it will end the same way!"

A few of the men cheered and one yelled out, "Huzzah!"

"Go get 'em, Commander," said one of the sailors as he patted Jack on the back.

Jack nodded and quickly followed after Greg and Abigail, secure in the knowledge that at least the men on theDestiny weren't likely to turn traitor.

As he made his way below deck, he heard the great, noisy boilers of the ship come to a stop, first producing a vibration throughout the ship and then a stillness unknown except for when they were docked. As the ship abruptly died in the water, Jack pushed open the door to headquarters and promptly heard the sounds of an argument.

"You can't seriously suggest we try another assault? They are close enough to the ship to do serious damage to her," said Abigail passionately while Greg simply shook his head.

"What else can we do? We can't fire on one of our own," he replied before looking at Jack. "Jack, let me lead a rescue mission. We can figure something out here."

"Let's talk about this once Luke and the rest of theValiant officers get here," said Jack, holding up his hand to the Marine commander.

It wasn't much more than ten minutes later that Luke Ravencross came bursting his way into the headquarters, followed by Kim Cross, Bill Norman, and the latest division head, Cory Renner. All of them flanked beside Jack's quarters as the officers from theDestiny—Stephanie, Kyle, and Anna—came streaming in too. In short order, Jack had the entire command structure of the two ships at his disposal.

"I'm sure you all heard the message that was broadcasted over the radio frequency so I won't go over the whole story. The short of it is that those Occitanian's have control of theTiger along with an unknown number of the ship's crew. We have less than four hours to surrender theDestiny to them or they will fire upon us with torpedoes and guns already trained on our installations. We need a plan."

"What if we strike first? Get our guns on them and fire first, Jack?" asked Abigail. "They aren't too far from us that we can dial in a very accurate positioning and be fairly confident at our shot. We won't be risking much that way."

"Just theTiger which will be blown all to shit," said Luke while rubbing his chin. "And then our task force is down to two and we haven't even crossed into the Vector yet."

"I'd rather not have one of our ships destroyed if we can avoid that," said Jack.

"Why don't you let me take both companies and mount a proper assault on theTiger?" asked Greg, stepping forward with his chest puffed out. "Those nancy-boy Occitanians won't be able to withstand all two hundred of us."

"But as soon as they see you all in the water, they are going to open fire. How long will you last when they open fire with all their machine guns? While their guns go off on theDestiny?" asked Kyle.

Greg looked on firmly. "Can't fight a war without casualties."

Jack intervened. "I don't want any unnecessary casualties if we can avoid it. Plus there's a lot of space between us and them. You'd be sitting ducks in those boats all the way over."

"So what else can we do then?" asked Anna.

"I don't know about you guys but I like the shoot-first-ask-questions-later idea. We're not entirely sure they'd fire on us anyway. Maybe all it will take is one warning shot from theDestiny's guns and they'll lose heart," said Luke.

"If it were just any stowaways, I'd be inclined to agree with you, Luke," said Jack. "But these are the Occitanians from the sunk cruiser. Something tells me they are itching for revenge for losing their ship."

"Wait a minute," said Cory as he approached the port window. He looked out across the waves to theTiger and then back to the assembled officers. "What's the approximate distance between us and theTiger?"

"About a thousand yards, give or take."

Cory then approached Greg. "Can your men swim with the full weight of their gear?"

Greg thought about it for a moment. "For a couple hundred yards at most. Seventy-five pounds of gear isn't easy to swim even for an experienced Marine. They'll be pretty worn out before they even reach halfway."

"What if we took their gear off?" Jack asked, picking up on Cory's idea. "What if we left them with just their ammunition and their rifles? Can they swim the thousand yards with just that?"

Greg looked out at the water. "In this water, it won't be that tough. Those waves are pretty choppy out there, but I'm sure some of them could do it. The only problem is that it will sacrifice some of their fighting ability."

Jack nodded excitedly. "The amount of waves right now is perfect. It'll disguise your approach."

Greg frowned. "Disguise?"

"Yes, exactly. Greg, I want you to handpick your best fifteen men and have them meet back up here at my headquarters. Have them bring their new NT-12s and two clips each. We're going to sneak aboard theTiger and take our ship back."

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Approximately thirty minutes later, a fully assembled team of Marines stood in Jack's headquarters, making space very tight. All of them were lightly equipped per Jack's orders and all shared the same look of grim determination.

"What we're asking you men to do is highly dangerous and unorthodox," began Jack, switching his gaze from one to the next. "It's a high probability that some or most of you could die in this next mission. If anyone wants to back out now, please let me know."

Jack waited for someone to speak up but the unwavering look on all of their faces already gave him his answer.

"Okay, excellent. Here's the plan. We are going to circle wide around the back of theTiger. That requires us to swim in an arc off the back of theDestiny and approach the destroyer from the rear. The water out there is exceptionally choppy today and that ship is nearly a thousand yards away. It's going to be a perilous journey just to get to our target and we'll be doing it in broad daylight. There's a small access ladder near the portside stern of the ship that we can use to board once we get there."

"Once we get aboard, our primary mission is to locate and release the ship's crew. The ship's armory is located on the first deck where we can access additional weaponry to arm the crew and give us more of an advantage over the Occitanians and the portion of the crew that's turned traitor. Our secondary mission will be to locate the enemy combatants and take them out."

Jack stopped to look at them closely. "I need to make this clear. Those Javans that are now willingly corroborating with the Occitanians are no longer our allies. They are part of the enemy now. Treat them as such." Jack's eyes drifted from one man to another. "Are there any questions?"

"No, sir!" yelled out fifteen men in unison.

"Excellent," said Jack before turning to look at Twitch. "Lieutenant, get my service NT-11 from the gun cabinet in my closet." He then began to unbutton his jacket.

"Jack, what are you doing?" asked Abigail.

"I'm not going to ask them to risk their lives for me while I stay aboard the ship. I'm going with them," said Jack.

"Is that really the best thing for you to do?" interrupted Anna, coming to a stop by Jack's side. "We need you here on the ship."

Jack shook his head. "I need to be with my men. They'll need my help once we get to theTiger."

"You have to be higher than a kite if you think I'm going to let you go—alone," said Luke before breaking out in a smile.

"Add me in too. It's been too long since I've seen any action," said Greg.

"All right, but just the three of us. Combined with the fifteen Marines, we'll be a deadly force. The rest of the officers I need to stay on the ship. I'm going to need you to come up with some type of diversion once we get closer. Something to keep that Occitanian focused on the ships and not the assault."

Abigail nodded. "We'll think of something, I promise."

"Okay, everyone has their orders. Let's get ready," said Jack.

It was about another thirty minutes by the time the three commanders were suited up and ready to join the assault team. Together, the group assembled below deck and used a portside door to reach the water without being seen from the command bridge of the destroyer. One by one, each man slipped into the cold waters of the ocean below. Each of them wore a special type of head covering, specifically designed to hide their skin and hair and provide just enough camouflage to look like the waves below them.

"Goddamnit, my balls are freezing," yelped Luke as soon as he was in the water.

"Better get used to it now. We have a long way to go," said Greg, bobbing a few feet from the lieutenant commander.

Jack slipped into the water carefully and immediately began to shiver as the icy temperature seemed to invade his entire body. Even with the watertight suit underneath, Jack knew it would be quite a long time until he felt warm again. Once all of them were in the water, he gave the signal to head out.

"Jack, this is going to take longer than we thought. Every time I get a little bit further ahead, the waves push me back," said Greg once they were about five minutes out from the ship.

"Let's just keep an even pace. Try to save some of your energy for theTiger!" yelled back Jack.

It was slow going, even for the accomplished swimmers of the Marines. The choppy waves kept splashing Jack in the face and despite how much he swam, he felt he never made it any closer to the destroyer. All of them had spread out to reduce the chance they would be seen and they operated under a strict order of silence as well as they got closer. For Jack, it just meant continuing to plow forward, hoping that they'd get there in time before the officers of theDestiny started the diversion he ordered or Occitanians ran out of patience.

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"It's a little quiet o'er there, Commander," came the voice from the radio. "You wouldn't happen to be up to anything nefarious, are zee?"

Abigail's attention zeroed in on the command radio in front of her. She and the rest of her division head officers were now back on the bridge of theDestiny, waiting for the appropriate time to begin the diversion ordered by Jack. It had been just twenty minutes since they had begun their mission and it would take a good forty-five minutes until they were in place to board with how choppy the sea was today.

"Should we answer?" whispered Anna as she sat next to her sister at the command terminus.

"Commander Jack, where are zee?" taunted the Occitanian.

"Someone has to," said Abigail as she reached for the radio. "This is Lt. Commander Abigail Wainwright."

There was a moment of silence until the radio crackled again. "Where is zhe Commander?"

Abigail looked to her sister for a quick answer but the younger woman simply shrugged. A lie would have to do. "Indisposed at the moment. He had to hit the head."

The radio crackled again. "How very convenient. I want to talk to him as soon as he returns."

"What are we going to do? If he insists on talking to Jack, then we're screwed," whispered Anna.

"I know, Anna. I know. We're going to have to bluff with him. At least until we can set off the diversion. And pray that Jack and the Marines get there before the Occitanian finds out he's not on the ship," said Abigail.

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"Quick, there's the railing. Let's get topside as soon as we can," said Jack as the assembled team of Marines made their way to the dull, gray hull of theTiger.

"Is anyone up there? Can you spot any of their men on guard?" asked Greg.

"Just one. He looks to be armed and he appears to be walking from one side to the other," said Jack.

"Okay, let's wait until he checks in on our side and then let's go up. Carver, Walker, you're both over the top first."

"Yes, sir," came the crisp reply from the two Marines.

The group bobbed in the water for several moments until the guard on the top deck touched the railing and then turned around. In an instant, both Marines hit the metal railing and began to bound their way up the side of the hull.

"Remember, no shooting! Dispose of him quietly!" Jack hissed to the two men.

He didn't have to watch them for long. Both men crawled up the side like it was the most natural movement in the world. Seconds ticked by as the men slipped over the railing and disappeared from sight. Jack's heart seized in his chest, and he prepared himself to hear the ship's external warning system as someone was bound to notice them on the deck.

The warning didn't come. After what couldn't have been longer than a minute, Walker's face appeared back over the side of the ship. "All clear."

Jack was the next to follow up the ladder with Greg right behind him. Together, the four men hid behind the rear gun emplacement to avoid being spotted. The Javan guard who had just been watching the stern of the ship lay just behind the railing, a small pool of blood under his head. Meanwhile, Walker could be seen cleaning off blood from his personal knife. It wasn't hard to figure out how he'd been disposed of.

More and more of the Marines began to come up the ladder until their small group of eighteen was piled thick behind the gun emplacement.

"Okay, there's too many of us right now and we have two objectives so let's split up. Luke, I want you to lead a team below deck and rescue the crew. Arm them as quickly as possible. Greg and I will take the remaining Marines and head to the bridge. I have a feeling our Occitanian friends will be waiting for us there."

"Aye, Jack, that sounds like a good plan," said Luke. "You men, on me. Let's head down this hatch here and see who we can find."

"Good luck to you, Luke," said Jack as the stealthy Marines slipped below deck.

The remaining nine men stayed tucked in behind the gun emplacement.

"How do you want to get to the bridge without being sighted?" asked Greg.

Before Jack could answer, the automatic turret for the gun started to move. A second later, the alarm for battle-stations began to alert across the ship's PA system.

"I think they've sighted us," said Jack, as he flipped the safety off of the rifle.

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"I need zhe Commander right now, Lootenant!" demanded the Occitanian through the radio.

"Kyle," hissed Abigail. "I need you to try to fake Jack's voice!"

"I sound nothing like Jack. He'd know we were bluffing," said Kyle in return.

"If I don't 'ear the Commander's voice in five seconds, I'm going to commence firing on your ship," said the Occitanian.

Anna looked out the window. "They're put in the call for battle-stations! I can see their lights flashing!"

"Five. Four."

"We have no choice, Abigail. We have to do something!" said Anna while excitedly grabbing her sister's jacket.

"Three. Two. One."

"Wait!" said Abigail through the radio. From the noise around the ship, the sailors on theDestiny had started to cause a commotion. A few crowds had formed of men that usually worked below deck and they began to organize on the top deck of the ship. Abigail looked out the window of the bridge to see them yelling and screaming loudly. Most of them were yelling, "Let's go home!" as loudly as they could.

"Our men are trying to join your cause. Jack went below deck to quell them, but they are rioting right now! They want to sail with you!"

The voice was silent for a moment. Abigail wondered if her lie was stretched a little too far and waited to hear the blast of the first gun on theDestiny.

Finally, the man spoke. "I can't say I blame zhem. I wouldn't be surprised if they ripped your Commander to shreds for daring to take them on such a mission."

"My men are rioting on my deck right now. Please take your guns off of us and we can facilitate your transfer to theDestiny," Abigail pleaded.

"No funny business, Lootenant Commander. I've given the orders to have torpedoes fixed on your position. If I detect any tricks, I will release them."

"No funny business at all. Just take theDestiny and leave us be," said Abigail.

"I knew you'd see things my way," said the Occitanian with an audible chuckle. "Your vessel will be one hell of a war prize when I sail back into Montauban with—what zhe fuck was that noise?!"

The sound of gunfire poured over the radio connection, seemingly coming from theTiger. Abigail grabbed her binoculars and peered over to the destroyer, able to see immediately the sparks of light as the muzzles of the assault rifles went off. The Occitanian's voice rang out with serious distress. "You, pick up that gun and get out there! Fight them off! Lootenant Commander! I told you no tricks! Zee will pay the hard way now! Release the torpedoes!"

"Fire up the boilers right now! We can't let those torpedoes hit us!" yelled Abigail as Anna rang the orders through the ship's system. In the space of moments, the ship rumbled to life, the vibration making Abigail lose her balance as she sought the safety of the hand railing.

"Zee are dead! Dead, zee hear me?? I'll kill zee ALL!" roared the Occitanian over the radio as the gunfire seemed to get louder.

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The sounds and impact of gunfire began to open up all around Jack and the Marines as they found themselves pressed up against the hull of the destroyer. From just above them, two shooters opened fire from a small ledge off the superstructure. Partially hidden by the ship's railing, they had the position to pin down the group without further movement.

"Damnit, we need to get around these two assholes," roared Greg to the team.

"Any suggestions, Major? Taking a lot of heat here," said Jack in return, as he popped the rifle around the ledge and opened up some covering fire.

"You two! On me. The rest of you and Jack, cover our asses!" Greg popped out around the corner and two of the Marines followed in quick succession.

"You heard the man! Let's open it up!" Jack and the rest of the team pulled away from the ship's hull. For the first time, Jack got a clear line of sight of the two men on the railing and began to pepper the position with rounds. One of those rounds got through immediately, striking one of the men in the abdomen as he crumbled against the railing and ceased firing. The other man wasn't as easy to take down and Jack heard the low thud as one of his Marines took a hit and fell to the deck.

It didn't last much longer. The remaining shooter took a shot that pierced his neck and was quickly disposed of. While another member of the team checked on their fallen comrade, Jack looked ahead to see Greg and the other Marines waiting just ahead.