Fourth Vector Ch. 05

"That's a large undertaking, Jack," said Heron. "And it will take time to get our forces in place over that distance."

"No need for that," said Jack. "We can bring them along on the ships. We'll make much better time sailing down the coast than your men can on foot. They won't expect you to strike back so quickly and will be caught unawares."

Heron seemed to consider the plan for several moments while remaining silent. "I'm not sure, Jack. It seems too soon."

Elektra intervened at that point, once more placing her hand on her father's wrist. "It's a good plan, father. The strength of it is that they'll never expect it from us. We'll have complete surprise in doing so."

"Elektra's right, Heron," said Jack. "This only works if we strike before they have the chance to dig in. If we let them wait long enough, they'll dig out a defensive position and it'll be as costly for us to assault as it was for them to assault this city."

Heron looked over to Nikias for his input and the minister nodded his agreement. "Listen to your daughter, Your Majesty. Listen to your allies. Their plan is solid." His words produced a small smile from the king's daughter as she looked back at him.

Heron opened his mouth several times but kept shutting it in frustration. Finally, Elektra leaned into his side. "What is it, father? What's troubling you?"

The king gulped visibly and managed to speak out. "I-I don't know if I can lead the attack."

Heron began to weep after his statement and bowed his head while Elektra scooted closer to attend to her father. In that moment, Jack felt for the man whose life had been so troubled. Losing a son, a daughter, and a wife to war had deeply affected the monarch, and his pain was felt by all at the table. Even Jack himself wanted to reach out to comfort the king, and he could tell from the look in Abigail's eyes that she wanted to do the same.

"You can stay here with the people," said Nikias finally. "I can lead the attack with Jack."

"I can do it too, father. Hera was my sister," said Elektra. "I want to see her avenged just as much as you do."

Heron sobbed uncontrollably. "I can't lose you too, Elektra. You're all I have left."

She looked confidently at her father and then to Jack. "I'll be in good hands, papa. They won't let us down. Right, Jack?"

Jack nodded almost too quickly despite the reservations he felt. "That's right, Heron. We'll treat her just like she's one of us."

Heron nodded. "Nikias, I want you to look after Elektra. Please don't let any harm come to her."

Nikias smiled for the first time the entire meeting. "I'll protect her life with my own, Your Majesty."

Heron looked directly at Jack. "You have the most important people left in my life with you now, Jack. I really hope this plan works as well as you think."

"I'll do everything I can to make it a success," said Jack. "It's time that Daimanos was punished for his actions. Besides, I have a plan for how we can get in position off the coast undetected."

*****

"And then, all the cannons just roared with one swift, ass-kicking volley and BOOM!" Daimanos slammed his hand down forcibly on the table. "That little Javan ship just exploded into a giant fireball!"

The East Sorellan king roared with laughter before taking a giant gulp of wine. Barak let out a heavy sigh at the now eighth retelling of the harbor action from yesterday, with each new retelling getting more fanciful as time went on. At the second retelling, he had just heavily damaged the ship. It was around the fifth or so that Daimanos began to claim they had exploded into a fireball, and Barak was sure by the beginning of next week, he'll start claiming that he personally fired the cannon the Javan vessel.

Barak twiddled his fingers during the rest of the war council without saying much more than anything. He had learned after so much time that Daimanos generally didn't like it when suggestions came from anyone else but himself. Of course, Barak had learned that lesson the hard way, and he still had the scars on his back to prove it. These days, he mostly kept his mouth shut unless a question was directed his way.

"Sire, we've had to regroup our forces along the coast after our last assault on Heron's city," said one the generals, Cicladas with a reserved tone. Barak wondered why he didn't call out the fact that their last assault had ended disastrously after the Javans had switched sides and began to fight for Heron.

Daimanos paid it no attention however. "I want you to get our forces ready for another assault. We've greatly wounded the usurper Heron and the foreigner Easterbrook and now we need to prepare for the last battle."

"Sire, it might take some time to rebuild for another assault. The men lost a host of weaponry and almost all of our larger guns during that—" began Cicladas before being interrupted.

"Well, then get them more guns! We still have plenty in the armory! Get a new shipment out there now!"

"Sire, most of the armory was emptied for the last assault," squeaked Cicladas.

"Are you calling me a liar?" roared Daimanos as he slammed his hand down on the table.

"N-no, sir!"

"Well then get the weapons and finish the fight!" said the king haughtily.

Cicladas nodded and scampered from his seat toward the door with a frightened expression.

Amateur, thought Barak as the general left. Anyone who had been around Daimanos long enough knew not to speak the truth to the king. He ruled his own world and little drawbacks like the truth meant nothing to him. Daimanos had no idea the armory he spoke of had been completely emptied weeks ago. Likewise, he had no idea that even with all their weapons out in their coastal fort, a full quarter of their remaining forces still didn't have muskets. The war had disturbed their primary factories but Daimanos couldn't be bothered to hear of a setback. All he remained focused on was becoming the only king on Sorella.

"Now, when can we start this last assault? Who can give me a time frame?" asked Daimanos while looking around at his remaining generals.

You could have heard a pin drop in the room. All of them refused to say anything as most of them knew the poor condition of their soldiers too well and knew they were in no condition to return to the offensive.

"Well? Isn't there a general here who can lead capable men to victory?" asked Daimanos again, lingering over each general in an intimidating manner.

Barak thought that most of them were being too quiet for their own good. If one of them didn't volunteer to lead the charge, Daimanos was just as likely to crucify all of them for their lack of patriotism and defeatism. Barak took a moment to think about the last general who had so defied Daimanos, urging him not to start the war against his own brother. Barak shut his eyes quickly as the image of that general crucified in the main square of the city drifted back into his mind. The general was left up for months until his body had been completely picked away by all kinds of carrion crows.

"Barak! Are you listening to me?" asked Daimanos as all attention at the council turned to the stocky-built minister.

"A thousand apologies, sire," squeaked Barak immediately. "What can I help with?"

"You can start by paying attention to the meeting," said Daimanos with a dissatisfied grimace. "But the question I asked is if my personal yacht is in ready condition to sail?"

Barak blinked. "Yes, sire. The yacht is in able condition. But with the Javans out there still, do you really want to go out into the open sea?"

"Javans?" asked Daimanos. "I made the Javans sail away. They are not a threat to our city any longer."

Barak nodded tentatively and mentally castigated himself for doubting the king. Even though he had seen with his own eyes the two Javan warships escaping their harbor yesterday.

"Anyway, have my ship ready to sail this evening," said Daimanos. "If none of my generals have the balls to do whatI pay them to do, then I will do so myself. I will lead the charge against Heron and those treacherous Javans and finish this war!"

Barak coughed inaudibly at the way the king called the Javans treacherous. After all, it had been them that fired upon the Javans and betrayed their own alliance so if anyone was to be considered treacherous, it was the Daimanos. Yet, Barak hadn't wanted the alliance to begin with, knowing that the Javans would be dangerous foes once angered and betrayed. Daimanos, in his shortsightedness, thought nothing of them and only remained focused on his single-minded goal of deposing his own brother.

The rest of the council continued on with its usual one-sided discussion as Daimanos outlined what he wanted while the rest of the council acquiesced in fear of reprisal. It wasn't until the council was over that the majority of men were dismissed and Barak was left alone with the king.

"Well, Barak, we shall finally see this war over shortly," said Daimanos. "Once the men see their own king leading them into combat, they'll be inspired to prove their martial prowess. And once I get in front of those remaining rebels, we shall end them totally." Daimanos smacked his balled fist into his open hand in emphasis.

"Sire, it's an excellent plan," said Barak out loud.If you don't get sunk by the Javans first, he added internally. "And it will be a most fitting end to this war that has plagued us so long."

Daimanos nodded. "It would be a pleasure to kill Heron myself in one-on-one combat. Too long has he sullied the word king. Too long has he stolen the glory that was meant to be mine."

"It will be most delightful to watch the life drain from his body," said Barak, repeating and rehearsing the same lines he had used before. It was at least once a day that Daimanos frothed at the mouth in regards to his brother, and it could be tiresome having the same conversations over and over again.

"Barak, I want you to go to the harem and fetch me a blonde. Someone particularly busty for tonight. With big, ol' tits that I have to struggle to get my hands around," said Daimanos, using his hands to motion his size preference as he reclined on his throne.

"At once, sire," said Barak, eager to take his chance to not only leave the side of the king but also to enter the royal harem. Ever since Daimanos had started the pretense that he was king, the first thing he did was set up the harem. Never having married, he was a man of voracious appetite, a keen lover of variety with a steady taste in new women.

Barak padded down the halls of the palace, his pocket containing the special key needed to access the harem. Of course, Daimanos kept the women secreted away in a hidden wing of the palace, far away from prying eyes and always kept hidden behind a false wall. When they were released from the harem to attend to the king, they wore simple servant's clothes so as to confuse any outside observers. Daimanos liked to keep the fact that the harem even existed a closely guarded secret, even if most of the palace already knew about it. It might have lasted as a secret longer if not for his habit to demand the presence of a girl on the other side of the giant building and have to march her around half of the staff.

Arriving at the door, Barak unlocked it with his special key and stepped inside. Almost instantly, about fifteen pairs of eyes were on him, most of them looking at him with a combination of weariness and annoyance. The only eyes that looked at him with hopeful expressions belonged to the new girls. It was one new girl in particular, Vera, whom Barak sought to bring to the king. For many reasons, she was chosen. First, she fit his particular tastes exceptionally well, the well-endowed woman having enormous tits that drove Daimanos particularly wild. She was also blonde, coming from a nation just deeper inside the Fourth Vector and still being new enough that she didn't see fucking the king as the chore that it was. She would do perfectly.

"Vera," said Barak with a snap of his fingers. "You're summoned. Let's go."

The blonde woman quickly got up from her chair and approached Barak with an eager to please smile on her face.You wouldn't be smiling if you knew what he had in mind for you, thought Barak while rolling his eyes at her naivety.

Vera followed quickly in his wake as he made his way back to the throne room. Barak never engaged the whores with conversation, even if he didn't mind looking at their bodies. For one, they were completely below his station and even as one of the ministers, he would never be able to lay with one of Daimanos' girls. Lastly, the ones that talked too much usually didn't last long, their talking usually leading to scheming and trying to find a way to escape the palace and their status. Because of those reasons, the two of them strolled along in silence until reaching the throne room.

They found Daimanos still sitting on his golden throne reading one of the reports for the day. His eyes perked up when he saw Vera, who was only clad in a delicate and simple cloth to cover the more intimate parts of her body. With a snap of his fingers, the trained Vera ditched the cloth and stood proudly in front of the king with her nudity.

"Excellent choice, Barak," said Daimanos with a lusty grin. He waved the girl to come closer, and produced his cock from under his tunic. Since Vera hadn't yet been tainted by repeated couplings with the man, she went to work quickly. Sinking to her knees, she took the king's cock in her hands and began to stroke it to hardness.

"That's just what I needed. Fantastic," said Daimanos with a sigh as he reclined further into the throne. Seeing Daimanos being pleasured in this way was normal for Barak as the occurrence happened at least once a day. While he was the only Sorellan king that he knew of with this type of harem, Daimanos executed this privilege to the fullest and could be regularly found with one of his concubines.

It was only after he was at full mast that Vera popped the tip into her mouth and began to suck. Slowly at first, she worked the tip with her tongue before slipping more of him into her mouth. Barak tried not to watch but found himself monitoring her progress as she attempted to deepthroat the king. Daimanos closed his eyes and ran his fingers through the girl's hair, taking several heavy breaths as his body began to relax. Barak mentally commended the girl for her skill, even surprised to see her take the entire length into her mouth.

"Why so anxious, Barak? You've never seen a whore deepthroat before?" asked Daimanos, wearing a smirking grin on his face.

"She's a good pick for the harem, sire," said Barak while averting his eyes.

"Yes, she is," said Daimanos. Vera's enthusiasm picked up greatly as her head bobbed. "I should bring her along with us to the fort. Her tongue will be much missed while I'm away."

Barak saw his chance so he took it. "Sire, about that. I'm just a little nervous about the Javans being out there still. They may be weakened but they can still attack."

Daimanos rolled his eyes. Barak saw it as a testament to Vera's skill. If not for Vera comforting him, Daimanos might have gone into a rage at the mere suggestion of an alteration to his plan. Thankfully, Barak knew her skill and chose the precise moment to interject.

"You worry too much, Barak," said Daimanos finally. "All we need to do is keep the artillery on the coast and we'll sink any of those Javan ships that get too close."

"Well, that's part of the issue for me," said Barak, taking a step closer. "Why try to sink them at all? Their technology is so much more advanced than ours. Why can't we try to capture their ships like we did earlier?"

"You've thought this one through considerably, Barak," said Daimanos with a grin. "I appreciate that. But going back to your question, how would we do that?"

Barak blinked. "Do what exactly?"

"Capture their ships? Kill them all but leave their ships intact? The only defense we have against them is the artillery. We can't kill them without damaging their ships and if we sink them by accident, then they'll be useless to us. No, we had a chance at capturing that lone ship while we had surprise with us, but there's no more surprise. Our window of opportunity has passed." Daimanos tapped his hand against the girl's shoulder and she pulled back from his cock. He twirled his finger in a motion to gesture for her to turn around.

Barak still struggled to answer his previous question. While the king positioned himself behind Vera, he put his hand to the side and spit into it. Using his own saliva, he reached down between them and began to rub it on the girl. Guessing by the way Vera jumped and how wide her eyes went, Barak figured out where he rubbed the saliva.

"Barak, their technology would be great. It would change not only the balance of the war, but maybe even our regional ambition," said Daimanos. He thrust himself into the Vera, and she let out a low cry of pain. Barak's eyes flickered down to see the Daimanos' cock pressing into the girl's ass and instantly understood why she was whimpering.

"Mmm, so tight," said Daimanos as he pressed more of himself into her ass. "Anyway, the only option we have is to kill them. Especially while they are divided but definitely before more of their numbers can arrive. There are only so many of them that we can take them. If we take their technology, then great." Daimanos gave a particularly hard thrust into Vera, causing her to whimper once more. "If not, then no big loss. They'll be dead and I'll be the only king. Do you understand now?"

Barak watched the girl struggle with his girth and simply nodded. Part of his heart went out to the girl who was now openly crying as she struggled with the pain. She would be jaded soon too just like the rest. Daimanos didn't seem to mind her cries as he only began to thrust harder into her ass, and the steady sounds of their flesh slapping together echoed across the entire throne room.

"Now, Barak, have my yacht readied at once. I want to sail this evening for the fort. I want you to also get the ultimate weapon activated for the final battle."

Barak flinched. "The ultimate weapon, sire? Are you sure?"

The king grinned wickedly. "Yes, it's time we taught Heron what real pain is."

*****

Even though Heron had agreed to their plans, Jack wasn't able to set sail for another two days. For one, there was a lack of real food in West Sorella as most of the farms had been destroyed by Daimanos' men. It took that much time just to gather enough food to sustain an expedition into the interior for men who were already half-starved. Secondly, they were far short on bullets as well. The men even resorted to scavenging the remains of the East Sorellan weapons from the battle and taking what they could.

All that meant was that the surprise Jack had hoped to make upon the East Sorellans was generally drifting out of his control. He hoped they would still be able to get down the coast and attack the fort as long as momentum stayed in their favor.

Another factor to contend with was the damage sustained by theValiant on its escape from the East Sorellan harbor. The ship had taken some hits to its structure and its deck bore the great, charred remains of the artillery strikes. One hit landed midship and caused serious damage to the deck to the point that there wasn't any way to walk along that side of the ship. Still, the damage was mostly cosmetic and could be fixed with the proper materials once in dry dock.

What was most troubling was the casualties. TheValiant lost a combined twenty-four men during the action, many of whom were on the deck during the cannon fire. The worst part of it was that his old friend, Luke Ravencross, had been wounded as well, and as Kim had told him, the commander was thrown several yards by the blast of the gun.