Fourth Vector Ch. 02

"He's dead," said one of the men as he felt for the pulse of the fallen Marine. "Let's keep moving!"

The small team rushed ahead and rendezvoused with Greg right at the foot of the bridge.

"Jack, we've got four men on the bridge. They're armed to the teeth and we are at a disadvantage having to go up one at a time on this ladder."

"It's the only thing we can do right now. Let's get up there. First person up covers the rest," said Jack as the ships forward batteries opened in their first salvo. Jack watched with horror as a round punched out of the destroyer's five inch guns and raced on their way to theDestiny. The rounds seemed to fall just short of the heavy cruiser's position, and there was no more time to waste.

"I'm up first. Cover me!" roared Jack as he dashed up the ladder to the bridge. Jack kept his head down as he scurried up, fully expecting to be fired upon at any time. The bullet never came and he came to a rest right outside the main door to theTiger's bridge. Inside, he could hear the sounds of yelling as the Occitanians tried to throw them off the ship.

Greg was the next to come up the ladder and the two of them crammed against the door.

"No room for anyone else. We've got to go through," said Jack, earning a nod from the Major.

Jack opened the door, sticking his rifle through the slot for covering fire. He was able to glance quickly into the room before rushing in and ducking behind one of the command stations. In the process, he made eye contact with one of the men, who judging by his features, could only have been Occitanian.

"Zee will regret the day you tried to assault this ship," yelled the Occitanian as he opened fire on Jack's position.

"Fuck you!" roared Jack in return. "I'm here to take my ship back!"

The man stopped firing for a moment. "Ah, I see I've found where Commander Jack 'as gone. Welcome aboard the new and improvedTiger, Jack!"

The Occitanian opened fire once more as Greg dove through the bridge entrance and came to a stop behind another command station. He quickly opened up on one of the four men, taking him down easily. Now the only thing that separated them was the command stations and the three remaining combatants.

"There's nothing you can do, Jack! I've already released the torpedoes! TheDestiny is history! You can't save them!" yelled the Occitanian across the bridge.

Jack felt the knot in his stomach form at the words. "No, but I'll avenge them!" he roared. "Cover me," he said to Greg. In an instant, Greg popped up and began to fire while Jack dove across the floor toward the enemy position. Only a few steps separated him from the Occitanians and once he rounded the corner, he could see the three of them pinned down from Greg's fire. The man looked at him with wild, panicked eyes as his muzzle pointed in their direction.

"Get the fuck off my ship," said Jack as he opened fire. The three men took multiple rounds a piece and slumped to the floor quickly. Small pools of blood opened up under their bodies as their lives fled.

"All clear up here," yelled Jack back to Greg, who immediately ceased firing. Both men stood up as more of the Marines began to enter the bridge. Jack looked up to survey the damage on the bridge as many bullet holes seemed to pierce the systems. Finding the command radio still being grasped by the dead Occitanian, Jack pried it from his hands.

"Abigail, come in. This is Jack. We've retaken theTiger." He watched out the window as theDestiny took evasive maneuvers to escape the torpedoes.

"Oh, thank god, Jack!" came Abigail's voice over the radio. "We need to get out of the path of these torpedoes!"

Jack grabbed a pair of binoculars to find the wake of the weapons on their path to the heavy cruiser. Spotting them midway between the ships, he radioed back to Abigail. "You've got to go faster, Abigail. You won't outrun them at that pace!"

"We're trying!" she said back. "All the boilers are running at full steam!"

Jack gripped the binoculars tighter and watched the large ship appear to slowly surge forward. Seconds ticked by as the torpedoes got closer and closer.

"They should just make it," said Greg, watching from his side. "They're pulling ahead!"

At the last minute, the torpedoes reached their target. Or rather, they reached where their target had just been. TheDestiny surged forward and outran the path of the torpedoes which kept traveling past the giant heavy cruiser.

"Jack, it's all clear! They missed us!" said Abigail with a triumphant voice.

"Great handling, Lt. Commander," said Jack with a grin. "Let's rendezvous with Luke and see how they did," said Jack to Greg. "It's time for us to get back to our mission!"

The cleaning up action didn't take much longer. Apart from a small fight below deck in which Luke took a round to the arm, they managed to clear out and release the remaining Javan crew and kill the rest of the traitors guarding them.

"Oh, I thought I'd never be so happy to see you!" gushed Vicky Carter, leaping into Jack's arms forcibly the second she saw them.

Jack hugged her back just as fiercely. "The ship is back under our control now, Vicky. TheTiger is yours once more."

The remaining crew that had been locked up with her let out a loud cheer as they rushed about to their formal stations and began to resume control. Jack and the Marines assisted with the cleaning up process as the bodies of all the dead men were stacked near the rear of the ship.

For Jack, it stung the most to count eighteen Javans among the dead who had turned traitor as well as the bodies of the three Occitanians. On their side, casualties were light. Luke was the only one wounded and he was taken back to theValiant already to get treated for the hit. The only other hit was the deceased Marine who had opened up covering fire with Jack before they arrived on the bridge. A full burial at sea was arranged for the man the following day, as well as for the two Marines who perished on the first attempt to reach theTiger.

"What do you want to do with all the bodies?" asked Greg as he gestured to the stack of turncoat Javans and Occitanians.

Jack shrugged. "Throw them over the side as they are. I've no room for traitors on this ship."

A majority of the crew watched as the bodies slipped over the deck and into the great waves below. Several of them wore expressionless faces at seeing men they once called comrades disposed of so casually.

Jack climbed up to the top of the gun emplacement and gestured for the crew to gather round. "Sailors and comrades, come closer! I just want to take a moment to say I'm proud of all of you for the action today. For helping us to retake theTiger and continue with our mission!"

Several of them gave him fearful looks. Most of them weren't sure if they'd be punished for the loss of their ship or if they were now better off for having to resume their mission to the Vector. The air was silent with anticipation and fear.

"Men, I want to talk with all of you about the nature of our mission. Yes, we are all sailing into the unknown. Yes, we will be going into the Fourth Vector. I stand here before you just as frightening of the Vector as I'm sure most of you are. No one knows what will face us when we get there, but I will say one thing: I'm damn proud of the men and women on this ship that are coming with me."

Several of their heads perked up and watched him more closely.

"I know that we've assembled here the best crew in all of Java to accomplish this task. I know there aren't any better sailors in the entire world than those right in front of me. While our mission will be perilous and we will no doubt lose some brothers and sisters in this quest, I'd volunteer to assault hell itself with all of you. You are the fiercest, meanest bunch of warriors in this world, and you should be all very proud of that!"

Several of the men let out small cheers as the looks of fear and doubt largely dropped from their faces.

"I know that of which I ask of you is not the easiest mission. I know most of you are scared about what we'll find in the Vector. That's why I want to offer you this one time. Any man who doesn't want to proceed with the mission, please step forward. I'll arrange to have you sent back to Quiller's Cove and join another task force. Not a thing will be said about it, and I'll make sure you get fair treatment in your new role. If you don't want to come with us on this mission, you won't be punished or thrown out of the navy. I just need to know now so I can arrange transport for you. What say you?"

Several of the crew looked around amongst themselves and a low chatter erupted between them. Jack felt his heart seize up at watching them deliberate. The truth was that this stage was necessary. He couldn't constantly be on guard for another mutiny from within his own ships. Those that couldn't stomach the mission had to be reassigned. He just hoped it wasn't the majority of them.

Finally, one of the sailors in the front ranks spoke up. "Commander, may I speak?"

"Absolutely, sailor. What say you?"

The sailor pursed his lips and pointed back over to the crew that was disposing the bodies of the traitor Javans. "From the way we see it, sir, the only men who cared enough not to go to the Vector are laying right over there. While most of the men aren't exactly enthused about the mission, we signed on to fight! No matter where that may take us in the world, we will fight by your side, sir!"

Jack nodded. "Thank you for your words, sailor. I'm glad to have you onboard! Does this man speak for the rest of you? Are the rest of you with me? Will you sail to the Vector with me?"

The rest of the assembled crew began to nod at first. Later on those nods became cheers and finally a small majority of them began to yell out.

"We're with you, Commander!"

"Let's go to the Fourth Vector!"

"And kill some Occie's while we're at it!"

Jack could only smile as the men cheered back. He raised out his hand to silence the men. "I'm honored to be sailing with all of you and I appreciate your honesty. Thank you all!"

The men resumed their cheer as Jack stepped down from the gun emplacement. In an instant, he was clapped on the back by Greg and hugged once more by Vicky. "The ship is yours, Lieutenant Commander. We have a mission to resume!"

--------

That evening, Jack found himself largely exhausted and finally back on theDestiny. The battle, and the swim alone, had taken a lot out of him but also because the impromptu speech he had given to the crew of theTiger today was replicated to the crews on the other ships. If he was being honest with himself, they had faced a mutiny today and he was determined it would be the last one to happen under his command.

While the crew of theTiger had received their chance to join with the traitors, not a single man from the remaining crew voted to return to Quiller's Cove. The other two ships weren't as lucky, but altogether a total of seven men from the two cruisers accepted the deal to return to Quiller's Cove. After sending a message through to Commodore Lucas, they arranged for a transport ship to meet with them at sea to take those sailors back to the base. As promised, Jack arranged for them to keep their ranks and get assignments to another task force closer to home. It was a better option than having to face another takeover attempt.

Part of his report about those men included an after action report back to the Admiralty. Jack was hesitant to hear back from Bancroft about the attempted mutiny and what it might mean for his prospects within the navy, but the response back from Bancroft was mild to say the least.

ATTN: COMMANDER JACK EASTERBROOK

COMMANDING OFFICER, TASK FORCE 21

I APPROVE OF YOUR PLAN TO SEND THE DISGRUNTLED SAILORS HOME. CONTINUE WITH YOUR MISSION AND MAY GOD CONTINUE TO GUIDE YOUR PATH.

ADMIRAL PERCIVAL BANCROFT

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, IMPERIAL JAVAN NAVY

Jack shrugged at receiving the dispatch and knew that it could've been a whole lot worse. He had seen officers lose their entire command for much less and knew it was only due to Bancroft's tutelage that he remained in charge.

He arrived at his headquarters a few moments later. The sun had long since set and the only light in this part of the ship was artificial from the bulb right outside the door. Opening the latch, he stepped inside carefully and immediately heard a feminine giggle coming from his bed.

"A little late for this tonight, don't you think, Anna?" said Jack, well accustomed to the horny officer waiting for him in his bed by this point. Jack switched on the light and turned to look at the bed.

Instead, the face he saw was that of her sister, Abigail, and not Anna. Abigail was also fully clothed and looking at him like the cat who had caught the canary.

"I knew it," she said triumphantly, standing up from his bed.

"Listen, Abigail, let me explain this one," said Jack, holding up his hands.

"You're fucking my sister, aren't you? You're sleeping with Anna."

"Well, yes. Although it was her idea. She was the one who slipped in here first. Just like that to be honest," said Jack sheepishly.

"I can't believe you," she said while crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I trusted you, Jack."

"Wait, Abigail, let me explain—"

Instead of continuing to get angry, she began to laugh. In a moment, she covered her mouth to contain her laughter and doubled over. "Sorry, I couldn't keep a straight face with that one."

Jack stood there thoroughly confused. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked back at her. "So, are you mad? Or not because I can't tell?"

"Jack, why do I care who you're sleeping with?" Abigail giggled mischievously.

He stumbled over his words. "Well, because . . . you know, we did . . ."

"Because we slept together?" she finished.

Jack nodded.

"Ancient history, Jack," she said with a smile.

"If you call a week ago ancient history, then I suppose so," he said.

"I don't mind who you sleep with, as long as you don't hurt my sister. Frankly, I'm not surprised about it whatsoever. Anna has always gone after my boyfriends. I had my suspicion and it looks like I was right."

Jack sat down at his desk and looked back over at the sultry brunette. "How did you figure it out?"

"Oh, it was nothing you did, Jack. But I've known my sister my entire life and I know how she turns when she's around men she likes. Every time you're on the bridge, she can't stop watching you. She constantly stares at you. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. I just had to watch her face."

"So what now, Abigail? What does this mean for you and I?"

She giggled. "Nothing, of course. Because there is no you and I. Don't you remember what I told you?" With a further shake of her head, she got up from his bed and walked to the door, stopping right before she opened it up. "Especially now that you're with Anna. Nothing will ever happen between us now. Even if I am a little jealous of her."

"And if it doesn't work out with Anna?" he asked.

"Well then you'll have an angry big sister to deal with," she said with a wink as she slipped out of the door and slammed it shut behind her.

Jack sighed. The woman never made it easy on him and now there were two of them to deal with. Completely exhausted from the day's events, he didn't linger at his desk long. Slipping between the covers of his now empty bed, he was soon out in an instant.

----------

Over two weeks later, Jack stood with his binoculars watching from the bridge of theDestiny. The lookouts over the main mast had the first spotting of land and had radioed it down to the bridge shortly after. Beside him, Abigail also gazed out on the horizon, taking in the pristine white-sand beach in front of them and the heavy foliage of trees just off the beach.

From what Jack could see, it looked larger than a typical island, and contained enough mass to hold significant land in the interior.

"Right there," he called out, pointing to the land in front of them. "There's the Vector. Bring us in a little closer and let's start to explore this land."

"Aye, sir," said Anna with a coy grin.

The rest of the bridge remained silent as they had finally arrived at their destination. Of course, they had lost some time waiting for the transport from Quiller's Cove to pick up the dissident men, but they had continued on full steam west to reach the Vector after they had been unloaded. Now that it was right in front of them, the real work could begin.

Although Jack could only just make out the shoreline from their position far out at sea, if he were closer he'd be able to see that someone was watching his ships approach.

Her eyes caught sight of the giant ships just off shore, watching them slip closer through the channel. Beside her, her elderly companion jotted down several scribbles in her notebook. The arrival of the ships could only mean one thing. The long awaited return was now in motion.

The woman clutched at the protective dagger at her waist. Things were about to become much more interesting. She turned to face her elderly companion.

"He's here."