Fourth Vector Ch. 04

"How many men would we need to do this?" asked Jack.

"As many as you can spare but you'll need to be careful. Their artillery is spotted on the seaside approaches to the town. I would advise not taking your entire fleet. It's too dangerous."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't seem quite right. If we only take a limited force, it will make the fight longer and harder than it needs to be. We should strike with everything we have to bring this to a quicker conclusion."

Daimanos closed his eyes and shook his head. "It's not safe, Jack. How do you think I lost half my fleet? You should send a fast ship to launch the marines but then to pull back afterward. We'll combine it with a land offensive at the same time, and we'll squeeze them together in a giant pincer movement. Besides, we should keep some of your ships here."

"Are they needed here? Are we in danger of an attack at your capital city?" asked Greg.

"You never know, Greg. But you've seen our hinterland not far from the city. This war has carried its woes even to our very doorstep. If all my forces are in the interior to make a final push, we'll need forces here in the city to protect it in case Heron and his minions try to pull anything funny."

"So you're suggesting we leave a ship here to protect the city?"

Daimanos nodded. "Precisely, Jack. It's just a precaution but I'd feel terrible if you ended up losing your ships for no gain this late in the conflict."

Jack slowly nodded and began to mull the idea over in his head.

"That plan works just fine for us, Daimanos," said Jack with a quick nod. "We'll take theDestiny with us on our attack along withTiger but theValiant will remain in the harbor to protect the city."

"That should work, Jack. I think this plan will really bring us the final victory we're seeking. I think this is the one!"

Jack smiled. "I'll need the coordinates to the city as well as a safe path along the coast. The last thing we'll want is to get beached in unknown waters."

"Of course, I'll have Alcydes get you the maps of the coast. Alcydes, see to it at once," said the king, snapping his fingers at his minister of war.

"Of course, Your Majesty," answered Alcydes.

Greg then turned to look at Jack. "Perhaps we should take one of the Sorellans with us. Someone to guide us to the right spot? Especially if we are to attack from sea, we'll want to make sure we have someone who knows the terrain with us."

"An excellent idea," said Daimanos brightly before gesturing to Nikias. "I want you to take Nikias and Alcydes with you. They'll be your guides in enemy territory."

Nikias opened his mouth to protest immediately. "Is that really necessary, Your Majesty? Surely you'd want to send another military man instead of myself?"

Daimanos gave the minister an intimidating look. "No, I'd rather it be you, Nikias. You both are members of my government, and I need to be represented by your presence."

The king and the minister shared a long look filled with tension. Enough to make both Jack and Greg notice the unspoken conversation that seemed to take place between their gazes. As usual, the king received his way and the minister's shoulders slumped shortly after.

"Very well, I will come along," said Nikias with characteristic morbidity. "I shall grab some of my things to accompany you on your mission."

"As will I," chirped Alcydes.

"'Atta boy, Nikias," roared Daimanos with a heavy chuckle. He slapped the minister on the back hard enough to shake the man before returning back to Jack. Nikias then slipped out of the room with the other minister leaving Jack and Greg alone with the king.

"The last thing we need to decide is timing. If we are to attack simultaneously, when should we press the attack to take advantage of your numbers?" asked Jack.

Daimanos rubbed the side of his face. "How quickly can your ship get to the other side of the island?"

"That depends. How large is the island?"

"Our island is just shy of a hundred leagues across the widest part and the West Sorellan city is at the far western peninsula. How long would it take your ship to cover that distance?"

Jack did the math in his head with the standard cruising speed of theDestiny. "It will take us a little over twelve hours to get there at our standard speed."

"Very well," said Daimanos. "If we attack at daybreak tomorrow, we'll have plenty of time to get our forces in place. Would that leave you enough time?"

"If we leave shortly. Twelve hours of sailing plus time to take off won't leave much time left in the day," said Jack.

"Why don't we get moving then? If we attack at first light tomorrow, we can have them mopped up before breakfast. And then who knows, Jack? Maybe we can have our victory celebration here the day after!"

Jack smiled. "That is my hope as well. I'd like to see the perpetrators of these heinous actions put to justice."

Daimanos touched his arm lightly. "You shall get your wish soon, I assure you. And when you're back, I want to look at your ships more closely. We need that kind of firepower in our fleet!"

"That should be just fine. We'll get to that when we get back," said Jack.

At that moment, Nikias reentered the room carrying with him a small bag of clothing. He stopped short and looked at the king with a solemn expression. "I'm ready to go, Your Majesty."

Daimanos took one look at his bag and started to chuckle. "Nikias, you're just going on a short mission, not a vacation! What's the large bag for?"

Nikias gave a small smile. "You never know what you might need to prepare for, Your Majesty."

Daimanos shook his head. "If you wish. Why don't you all get going then? I'll want you to have enough time to get into place. I'll send word to my troops to be in place for the attack at daybreak."

Jack reached out and shook the king's hand. "We shall see them there and return soon with victory."

"Please feel free to stop at the fort on your way there, if you have time. If you need any supplies or arms, my men will have all that you need," said the king.

"We're very grateful for your aid, Daimanos," said Jack with a head nod. "Come with us, gentlemen. We'll be off shortly."

Together, Jack, Greg, Nikias, and Alcydes began to exit the king's war room. As they reached the door, Daimanos spoke one last time. "Wishing you good shooting, Jack! Save some blood for my boys and don't kill them all!"

The four of them emerged into the hallway, and Nikias led them on the way out of the palace. As soon as they stepped outside the western entrance near the great fountain, Greg turned to look at the Sorellan minister. "Your king is especially bloodthirsty today."

"Today?" said Nikias with a snort. "It's every day. Who else would have commissioned a statue to themselves killing their enemies personally?"

"Someone who loves their people, that's who," said Alcydes coldly. The tall man shot a look of disgust to the other minister who didn't say another word.

"Let me ask you something, Alcydes," asked Jack as they began to descend the giant, stone staircase. The two of them had pulled slightly ahead of Greg and Nikias. "Daimanos tells us of all the horrors of the West Sorellans. Is it true? Are they all really that bad?"

Nikias remained silent for a moment before answering. "Let's just say it will all become apparent soon when we get to the war zone."

Jack's brow furrowed in confusion at the cryptic response.

The men made their way into the lower city and finally down to the docks. After squeezing into the launch boat, the four of them made their way to theDestiny. Even from this distance, Jack could see the marines on the ship's deck already preparing for battle. It was a sight that always made him proud of the men he served with.

Almost as soon as they reached the heavy cruiser, a quick look back up to the palace could see the preparation for battle beginning. In spots along the ridge, East Sorellan soldiers could be seen putting up cannons and sandbags along the entire length.

"Are you expecting an attack in the harbor, Nikias?" asked Greg pointing to the shiny, bronze cannons perched on the ledge below the palace. "Those weren't there when we landed."

"Just a precaution," answered Alcydes for the other minister. "With your ship staying here, we want to make sure we are offering as much protection as we can."

Nikias didn't add anything further to Alcydes' statement but simply nodded his head.

Reaching the ship, Jack tied up the small launch craft and let the two ministers be the first up the ladder. As soon as the last one was up, Greg came to his side before climbing up himself. "Something doesn't feel right with these two."

Jack nodded. "I can feel it too. I feel like there's something that they aren't telling us. I'm going to send a note to Luke to keep an eye on those cannons just in case," said Jack. "This whole thing is giving me a funny feeling."

"Let's just focus on winning. The sooner we do, the sooner we can leave," said Greg.

"Agreed," said Jack as the two of them scampered up to the main deck.

It didn't take long for them to get underway. After a quick war conference on theDestiny, the large heavy cruiser raised anchor and began to slip out of the harbor at just after nine in the morning with theTiger blazing the trail in front of her. With any luck, they would reach their position just as night fell.

*****

"Jack, I think we're almost here. What looks to be a fort along the coast has been spotted off to our starboard side," said Twitch, sticking his head into Jack's personal quarters. "Do you want to stop?"

Jack stood up at once. "It's about time. We should have reached their fort an hour ago. I don't think we have time to stop now to get into place in time before nightfall but I want to see this fort anyway."

The two of them left Jack's headquarters and proceeded to the bridge. As soon as they arrived, Jack grabbed his binoculars and looked out from the bridge window at the large fortifications off to his right.

Sure enough, Daimanos wasn't kidding about having a large fort near the coast. The redoubt itself was massive and surrounded by a large ditch and palisade that went all the way to the beach. Inside, Jack could see ranks of soldiers going through maneuvers, all preparing for tomorrow's assault.

"They look ready to go," said Abigail from his side. She then turned to look at him. "Are we?"

Jack began to nod slowly. "I think so. Greg has been preparing the marines all day and they're in good shape to lead the attack. I think we'll have the element of surprise as well. Hopefully, this goes our way."

Her eyes flashed with a worried look. "And if it doesn't?"

Jack shrugged. "It will. I believe it will."

She returned her gaze to shore while Jack walked back over to his command station. It wasn't a moment later that she called for him once more. "Jack, come here. You have to see this."

Jack rose at once and returned to the window, peering out with his binoculars. "Look over just past the fort. Just beyond that small ridge near the beach. What do you see?"

Jack followed her instructions and settled on what appeared to be an enclosed area just next to the fort. From what he could see, a metal fence enclosed the perimeter making it impossible for anyone to get in or out. However, it was what was inside that immediately caused him to feel rage.

"Alcydes! Nikias! I need you both at once," Jack yelled into his command radio, feeling his anger spike. The two had been set up with rooms not far from the bridge, and he wasn't surprised to see them appear only a few minutes later.

Handing his binoculars off to Alcydes, he told him where to look. "What is the meaning of this? Why are those people fenced in like animals?" Jack pointed aggressively to shore, where the enclosed area contained a large amount of women and children, all looking sickly and emaciated. Yet, they appeared to be the lucky ones to still be alive. Several of them had been strung up on crosses, crucified as a visual representation of their punishment. Others had been lynched and swung freely from trees from within the camp. It reminded him instantly of the first bodies they had come across when they landed in Sorella.

Alcydes looked calmly at the fenced area and then back at Jack. "Why that looks like a war prisoner camp to me, Jack."

"Prisoners? Those are women and children! How could they be war prisoners?" yelled Jack.

Alcydes remained calm. "Most likely they did something to prolong the war. The West Sorellans are a nasty people, Jack. My guess is that they supported the guerrilla war against our soldiers or offered aid to the enemy soldiers. Either way, they are detained until the conflict is ended."

"This is the type of treatment we came here to fight, not support," said Jack while gritting his teeth. "Daimanos told us that it was the West Sorellans who embarked on this kind of cruelty yet here we find your own people doing it too!"

Alcydes blinked at him. "This is a war, Jack. Distasteful things happen in every war. Unfortunately these people were caught prolonging the war by a variety of means and they must be punished. Those orders came directly from King Daimanos."

"Wait until I talk with your king," said Jack angrily. "This practice ends as soon as we get back. I will not be party to a war that treats their own people in such a fashion."

At this point, Nikias intervened and separated the two men. "We understand perfectly, Jack. It's savagery and we know that. We beg of you—just help us end this and we can return peace to the island."

"Fine," said Jack before turning his back. "The two of you may return to your quarters until tomorrow. I don't want to look upon your faces after what I've just seen."

Nikias shrugged nonchalantly and turned to leave the bridge without another word. Even Alcydes, who usually had the right thing to say, struggled with a response. At one point, he opened his mouth to say something but he closed it just as quickly. Without a further response, he too left the bridge.

As soon as they were gone, Jack barked an order over to Anna. "Fire up the boilers and let's get out of here. I don't want to be in this area any longer than we have to."

Anna nodded her agreement and radioed in the command. The ship lurched forward as Jack returned to his command station next to Abigail. Tenderly, she touched his arm and looked at him. "Do you think we made a mistake coming to Sorella, Jack?"

"I sure hope not," said Jack, refusing to look toward shore. He'd never be able to confront his own conscience or that of the scores of dead if they had sided with the enemy.

*****

The next morning just before dawn, theDestiny maneuvered into position just off shore and readied for the final assault. In front of them, still shrouded in an early morning fog, was the capital city of West Sorella.

Jack studied the enemy city for as long as he could for it appeared to be a stark contrast to the East Sorellan capital. Compared with the great disparity in wealth and poverty on the eastern side of the island, the western city seemed to be much more equal. Most of the city was made up of similar sized housing, evenly spaced and showing only little signs of war damage. There was a larger building in the center of the city, but there was nothing of the size of Daimanos' palace anywhere in the western city.

What was even more apparent was the lack of defensive measures, at least along the beaches. Jack could see a great defensive wall along the land approach but the beaches were mostly empty, showing no barriers to assault or any artillery. Something wasn't quite right.

At that moment, Greg entered the bridge in full uniform. "We're all ready to go, Jack. Are the East Sorellans in place?"

Jack gave a quick glance to the hinterland beyond the city and then shook his head. "Not yet. It's still quiet out there."

A worried look appeared on Greg's face. "Where are they? The sun is almost poking through and they should be in place already!"

"I don't know. They may be behind in their preparations. We shouldn't let it affect our timing though."

"How does the beach look?" asked Greg.

"Too quiet," said Jack. "Way too quiet. It's like they aren't prepared for us at all. Something just feels wrong, Greg. This looks too easy."

"Perhaps they just aren't expecting us. Daimanos did say he didn't have much of a navy. Maybe they didn't think he had enough forces to mount a seaborne assault."

"If that's the case, then we really will be back by tomorrow," said Jack. "I don't see this taking very long to mop up."

"We should get moving then. Just because the East Sorellans are late doesn't mean we won't hold up our end of the bargain," said Greg before turning to exit the bridge.

"Hold up, Greg," said Jack with a grim smile. He raised his rifle to show to the marine. "Time to see if that target practice has paid off."

"For all of our sakes, I hope it has," joked Greg.

The two men left the bridge and proceeded to the staging area at the rear of the ship. Long lines of fully geared marines prepared to lower into the launch boats and form their assault teams. Jack watched the sailors prepare the launches when he heard voices from behind him.

"Jack, wait up!"

Turning around to look, he wasn't surprised to see Anna bounding along the deck to reach him. She collided into his arms and hugged him tightly. Pulling away, she looked at him with misty eyes. "Please be careful. Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

Jack gave her a confident smile. "I think we'll be okay. Keep an eye on the ship, all right? Watch out for your sister?"

"You have my word, Commander," the innocent-looking brunette said with a playful salute. As she scampered back to the bridge, another voice called out for Jack.

He turned around to see the two East Sorellan ministers making their way to the deck. Both of them carried their own makeshift helmets and muskets. While Alcydes had a grim determination on his face, Nikias looked slightly worried at the events to follow.

Jack gave them one look up and down. "You're not serious, are you? You both want to assault the beach with us?"

Alcydes nodded with what looked like an evil smile. "We wouldn't miss a chance to be part of the last battle. Isn't that right, Nikias?"

Nikias gulped visibly and nodded his head.

Jack shrugged. "Okay, well both of you just stay out of the first wave. I don't want to have to explain to Daimanos how his own ministers wound up getting killed during our assault."

Alcydes nodded his agreement but the two of them didn't do much to separate themselves from Jack. They ended up in the boat right behind the Javan commander, close enough that they would land in the first general assault group on the beach. At this point, Jack didn't have time to watch them further. All of his attention was being focused on getting to the beach and finishing this assault in one piece.

Soon, all the launch boats were lined up from theDestiny and began to push toward the beach. Even just a short thirty yards from shore, Jack was astounded to hear no sounds of firing—no artillery, no small arms, nothing. It was like there wasn't even a war going on.

"I don't like this at all, Jack. Not one bit," said Greg, peering over the side of the boat at the shore. Most of the city was still shrouded in fog and not a soul could be seen. It was too quiet and the closer they got to the beach, the more Jack felt like something was deadly wrong.

"Hit the beach!" yelled Greg as soon as the boats hit the sand. Rows of marines dropped over the sides of the launch boats and hustled their way into the seemingly deserted city. Jack moved with the first wave, his rifle checking every possible point that a waiting force could use to decimate attackers and he came up empty each time.