Fourth Vector Ch. 07

As long as the man wasn't too successful. His relationship with Easterbrook worked because the man knew his place under him. Bancroft was the mentor, and Easterbrook was the star pupil. Should Easterbrook ever forget his position, even in a moment of impropriety such as the one just suffered by Clark, Bancroft wouldn't be afraid to remind him why this was his navy, and no one else's.

Once his secretary was gone, Bancroft heard his stomach give an especially loud rumble. Thinking it was long past time he stopped delaying his evening meal, he grabbed his cap from the chair next to him and left his office. Locking the door behind him, Bancroft nodded to his secretary and left the building to catch the short ride back to his home.

On the ride back to his quarters, Bancroft thought more about their current predicament. Perhaps if Easterbrook could get enough allies, they would be willing to sail across the great western ocean and help to lift the blockade against them? It may be wishful thinking on his part, but it was for that very reason why they went out searching for alliances.

He just hoped that wherever Jack was, his search for allies was bearing fruit, whatever the cost.

*****

The following morning, Jack found himself walking through the streets of the former East Sorellan capitol on his way to the palace. There was a meeting with the king that he had to attend, and the last thing he wanted to do was be late for it. Jack walked along much easier than in the last few days, and only a slight limp announced the presence of his injuries from his last battle with the usurper king Daimanos.

To say that he was healing nicely would be a fair statement. Even Dr. Kendall had been pleased by the latest checkup last evening and how well the wounds were healing. While they would no doubt leave deep scars in his flesh, it was a small price to pay for still having his life. What's more, as soon as the wound in his leg healed further, his limp would go away.

Even still, he always struggled up the ornate, grand staircase at the beginning of the palatial hill of the city. Jack found himself panting once he got to the top of the hill, being greeted once more by the still waters of the fountain. Heron had left the fountain off ever since they'd captured the city days ago. To him, it was an opulent reminder of the former occupant, something that he looked at with a healthy amount of disdain. Daimanos' excesses were a large reason why the man was no longer around and why all of this luxury wouldn't last much longer with Heron now in charge.

Jack entered the western door into the palace, which opened up into the grand hall that Heron now used as his meeting place. As per usual, the king was already sitting in place at the council table, humming to himself while he drafted a message of his own.

"Good morning, Heron," yelled out Jack pleasantly as he crossed the short distance between them and came to a stop at the table.

Heron looked up at him with a warm smile. "Good morning to you as well, Commander. Is it our meeting time already? Time surely flies when you're busy."

Jack grinned. "I've found that to hold true myself when I'm locked away in my quarters and responding to reports. Did you sleep well?"

"Not so bad, I suppose," answered Heron. "Anyway, I'm glad you're here early. I want to know what you think about this."

The king handed over the note he'd just drafted into Jack's hands. Jack quickly scanned the message, noting its intent and smiled genuinely once he was finished. "I think that's a great idea, Heron. It's fitting."

The note itself was a series of orders to take into possession the four remaining ships of Daimanos' fleet. Jack had seen the ships on the first day he arrived in Sorella, their grand possession marking his introductory meeting with Daimanos. Since then, they'd played little role in his time on the island, with Daimanos leaving them in his capitol when he went into the battle that took his life. Since then, they'd remained unmanned in the harbor, with most of their crews having fled when Jack and Heron took the town. With the war being over and with Heron's own fleet having long since been destroyed, the king was planning to take the ships and use them as a reconstitution of his own fleet. But it was the intended name of the largest ship, Daimanos' former flagship, that had brought the smile to Jack's lips.

"I think your daughter would be well-pleased to have the namesake," said Jack, referencing the name of the new ship, theHera.

Heron's face changed to a sad smile. "I still miss her. There's not a minute that goes by that I don't think of my daughter, my son, and my wife. Theo and my wife have been gone for so long that their pain has dulled with time. It still hurts but I don't feel it as prominently as I once did. Hera's memory still burns just as badly as it did on that tragic day."

Jack nodded, remembering the day he spoke of, when they had repelled the East Sorellan soldiers from Heron's city. That day changed the tide of the war, yet it wasn't without its own losses. He could still see the grieving king holding his lifeless daughter in his arms, completely devastated at losing another loved one.

"I know I can never replace her. But I hope having the ship named in her memory will allow me to remember all that was great about her spirit," said Heron.

"It's a great idea, Heron," said Jack. "I'm sure she'd be happy with the honor."

Heron took a deep breath and then started to chuckle. "She'd probably tell me not to waste my time with it, if we're being honest. Hera didn't have a mind for military things. Now, Elektra. She would love having her own ship. As long as it was the mightiest one afloat with the most guns."

Jack started to laugh. "Well, you do have three other ships ready to sail. Perhaps you just found your name for the second one as well?"

Heron grinned. "I think you're right, Jack. Remind me to tell her about that later. Sometimes a father needs all the ammunition he can get when it comes to a headstrong daughter."

"Something that makes me happy that I don't have kids yet," said Jack with a chuckle. "I do remember the hell my sister and I put our parents through. Nothing malicious, of course. Just kids being kids, but still, I don't think I'll like it too much when the shoe is on the other foot."

Heron laughed. "Just wait, Jack. It won't be too long until you have rebellious teenagers around, and you'll wonder why you so quickly went from hero dad to lame dad in the blink of an eye."

The two men chuckled to themselves for several moments as they were soon joined by two more people at the table. Jack nodded to Nikias as the pleasant-faced minister took his seat with the rest of them, his face looking suspicious as he watched the well-timed laughter between the two of them. Elektra was the other person, her face showing much the same expression as she took her seat to the right of her father.

"What are you talking about, father?" she asked while her gaze darted back and forth between Jack and Heron.

Heron smiled and touched her hand. "It's of no consequence, my dear. Someday, we'll talk more about it."

She gave him a weird look but said no more as the four of them planned to start their intended meeting. Heron was the one to officially open up the gathering and rose to stand.

"Thank you all for joining me," he said while opening up his arms. "As you know from yesterday, we face a grave problem that will need all of us to come up with the proper solution. Of course, I mean the issue of the stolen treasury by my brother's former minister, Barak. As if the man's crime wasn't dastardly enough, his latest intentions are no better. Barak plans to steal the treasure from the great Temple of Malicoe and make off with its sacred contents. We must stop this man, protect the sacred treasure, and recover the treasury of my brother. We're here today to figure out what we must do."

With that, Heron took his seat and waved his hands to the rest of them in an effort to start the deliberation.

Nikias was the first to speak. "Your Majesty, I think the solution to this is simple. Barak and his gang of thugs will use force to make their way across our war-torn island and steal the treasure. We must respond with force. We should send the army to the temple, kill Barak and his henchman, and take what is rightfully ours. No matter how many criminals or mercenaries he may have, they won't be able to stand up to the army."

Heron nodded. "This is the obvious choice. Our army, while drastically weakened by the war, is now the only professional force left on the island. As long as Barak is still on the island, he'll be threatened by that potential force."

Elektra spoke up next. "I'm inclined to agree with Nikias as well. The army is the obvious choice and won't leave many options for Barak. I'm in agreement with that plan."

As soon as she fell silent, their three heads turned to look at Jack, who was pondering the use of the army against another plan that might be more effective.

"Heron, how far away is your army currently? We left most of the men at the fort after battle while we sailed straight here. Are they getting close to the city?"

Heron nodded. "By the latest reports, they should be here in two days. We'd have to delay our start until they arrived and were outfitted for the journey, of course."

"So maybe set out on the third day, if we're lucky?" asked Jack.

Heron nodded solemnly.

Jack looked up, trying to do the math in his head. "How far away did you say the Temple is?"

Nikias looked down at a report in front of him and read the numbers off. "It's about forty leagues. It's rather close to the center of the entire island."

Jack began to do the math in his head. "So Barak already has about three days lead on us. Four if you count today. He won't be moving quickly with the wagon loaded down with the treasury, and he'll face slow going once he gets to the foothills with getting that heavy load up the mountain."

"He won't be any slower than we'd be with all those soldiers," added Heron.

Jack tapped the table. "Precisely. We're already behind him, and this plan won't do us any good at closing the distance."

Elektra looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "What are you suggesting, Jack?"

Jack leaned back in his chair. "A light force. No more than a few people. Able to cross the distances much more quickly and one that can leave immediately. We can travel light, but with our firepower, we can be more than a striking force to handle anything that Barak can throw at us."

Heron gave him a shrewd look. "It's not that safe out there now, Jack. I'm getting reports of roving bands of my brother's former soldiers, a good portion of them raping and pillaging at will. Most of them are hungry and willing to attack to take what they need. Wouldn't it be wiser to wait for the army?"

"Perhaps," answered Jack. "But it also lets Barak keep all this distance between us. If we can make good use of our time and travel light, we may be able to catch him just after he arrives at the temple. He'll need time to load up this sacred treasure, right? I'm assuming there's a lot there, right?"

Both Nikias and Heron looked at each other. "No one's really quite sure what's in there. The inner chamber of the temple hasn't been opened in some time. There could be a small treasure chest of gold or enough artifacts to fill this very palace. We're not quite sure."

Jack shrugged. "I'm assuming any place named as a sacred treasure wouldn't just be a simple chest filled with gold coins. There's got to be more to this. He'll need time to load it up as well as more wagons. That's not mentioning the gold he already has. Once he gets there, and we can close the gap, he'll be in a vulnerable spot for us to attack him."

Heron began to wag his finger. "That's not a bad plan. My primary concern is making sure he doesn't get off the island or else we'd never be able to track him down. If we can catch up to him a long way from the coast, we might have a chance."

"What about the army, though?" asked Elektra. "What should we have them do?"

"That's simple," answered Jack. "We send every contingent we have to the major ports. If we fail to catch up to Barak, hopefully their presence at the ports will help deter them. I'm sure Nikias can have someone put together a sketch of the minister and what to look for right?"

Nikias nodded quickly. "Definitely. You don't forget that face any time soon."

"I'm afraid we won't have that many troops to station at each port," said Heron. "There are a lot of fishing villages on the north side of the island. Quiet towns that you can make a stealthy escape from. If we garrison all of them, we won't have many men left."

"You can use the Marines we have to help augment your force," offered Jack. "All we really need is to scare them a little. Even if there's a little extra force in each town, they may think twice if they know someone is looking for them explicitly."

"Okay, I like that idea," said Heron before looking at Nikias and Elektra. "What do you two think?"

"I'm in," said Nikias. "We'll have to choose the right people for the journey—people with battle experience to tackle anything that might come at us, but I like the idea better than waiting for the army."

Heron then turned to his daughter. "And you, my dear?"

Elektra looked back to him proudly. "I'm on board with the idea. As long as I can go with the expedition."

Heron shook his head quickly. "This plan is a good one but a potentially dangerous one. I don't want you in harm's way. You're all I have left."

Elektra reached out and touched her father's hand again. "I'll be in good hands, father. If we assemble a powerful but small team, I'll be perfectly safe. Besides, you forget that I'm a great shot as well, so the team was designed for someone like me in mind."

Jack was the next to speak. "She's not wrong, Heron." His response earned a shocked look from the king but also a quiet smile of appreciation from the princess. "I've seen her with a rifle and she's an excellent shot. If we send her with one of our assault rifles, she'll be a deadly force."

"But it's still not safe," protested Heron. "Anything could happen out there!"

She turned to face him and grabbed his other hand. "But I want to do my part, Papa. Let me be part of this force and let me do something good for Sorella. All our country has known is misfortune lately. Let me try to fix that balance, okay?"

Heron looked on with weary and watery eyes. "Is there nothing I could say to make you change your mind?"

Elektra shook her head from side to side.

"Even if I commanded you not to go?" he offered weakly.

She wiped a stray tear from his cheek. "It's the right thing to do, Papa. You know that as well as I do. How many times have I heard you talk about duty? Our duty to our people? We owe it to the Sorellan people to stop this man and recover their treasure. We owe it to them to rebuild our shattered home."

Heron took several, deep breaths before finally giving the smallest of nods. "If you're going, then I'm going with you."

It was now Elektra's turn to vehemently object. "But father, it won't be safe for you either. You're not much of a shot with a rifle and not to mention, you're the king!"

"I'll be perfectly safe by my daughter's side," he said with a warm smile. "And it will be good for me to get out and let the people see their king. While most of the countryside is in ruins, there are still good people out there. People that will need hope. I can provide that while the rest of the group keeps me safe."

Elektra nodded reluctantly. "Just don't get too far away from me," she said quietly.

"I'll go as well," volunteered Nikias. "I know this area of the island better than all of you. I'll be able to pick the best routes to Mount Tarpeious and hopefully get us hot on the trail of Barak."

Heron smiled. "You're not much of a shot either, Nikias. We can't all rely on Elektra's good shooting skills."

"Nor will you have to," interrupted Jack. "I'll go. As well as Greg too. Both of us are especially deadly with a rifle, and we can help to keep everyone safe."

Heron held up his hands. "Jack, are you sure that's wise? I'm not doubting your marksmanship, but you were just so grievously wounded not long ago. Is your body prepared for that kind of journey?"

"I'm doing a lot better. I wouldn't offer if I didn't think I could take it," said Jack with a small smile. "Besides, doing something like this will force my body to heal fully."

"We should be able to ride for the first day or so," added Nikias. "We'll have to ditch the horses once we get to the foothills of the mountains, but if we can ride, we'll catch up to him sooner. Plus I'm sure it will be good for Jack as well."

"What about your ships, Jack?" asked Heron. "What will you do with them while you are on this journey with us?"

"We'll send them back to your capitol," said Jack. "I intend to make use of your dry docks while we can. I sent back a request to our admiralty for a supply ship to come to your city with some of the raw materials we can use. If you can spare some of your engineers, perhaps we can get a lot of the repair work done."

Heron nodded excitedly. "Of course, the facilities are yours to use as you like. Can I make one request though as an ally?"

"What's that, Heron?"

"On these supply ships, can you send us any grain stores you might have? We could surely use the help until our lands are producing once again."

Jack grinned. "Believe it or not, that was part of my original request. They'll send all that they can part with to be used for your people."

Heron looked personally elated. "That would be much appreciated, my friend."

Jack nodded to the king before continuing. "Once they arrive at your city, I'll direct my ship commanders to get the repairs underway. I'm hoping we won't need to use up your docks for too long. Of course, any repairs that we can't fix, we'll have to send back to our base at Quiller's Cove," said Jack.

Heron held up his hands. "Use the docks as much as you need. With the ships that we've requisitioned here, I won't have a need for the larger docks any time soon."

"What about supplies and provisions for our own journey?" asked Elektra. "What do we need and how long will we have to travel to get there?"

"I'm running the calculations right now," said Nikias as he jotted down several notes on a piece of paper in front of him. "If we're able to use the horses as long as we can, it will take us about . . . eight days to get there."

"Eight days is a long time," said Heron. "A lot can happen in eight days."

"And that's just to get there," said Jack. "Nikias can we assume about an equal amount of time to return back to Heron's city after we reach the temple?"

Nikias thought about it for a moment before answering. "More or less. The country on the other side of the mountain is flatter and more suitable for riding. If we can arrange to have horses meet us on the other side, we could probably even decrease that time."

"So basically, we have about two weeks of provisions we'll need. Enough food and supplies for five people as well as whatever we can bring for the horses until we're forced to give them up," said Jack.

"The big question to that is how soon we can get the needed supplies. How soon can we leave for the journey with everything we need?" asked Elektra.

"Most of the stores in the palace were raided before we arrived," said Heron. "There isn't much here. I'm sure rummaging around for supplies will help us but we may fall short on basic food provisions if we do."

"Then we'll have to make do with what we can requisition from the ships," said Jack. "I have enough stores onboard, and with our supply ship soon to be inbound, we won't be in danger of taking too much."