Fourth Vector Ch. 07

"It's not going to be easy," he warned one last time.

Vera smiled. "Neither was being a whore."

Jack cracked a smile. "You're made of tough stuff, aren't you, Vera? I can't quite figure you out but you're one determined girl."

"I've been through a lot, Jack," she said quietly. "This doesn't seem so bad in comparison to what I've already been through."

"I do think it will come in handy to have you there just to help us the way you described. Just about all of us are too used to giving orders and having them followed," said Jack candidly. "Perhaps with you along, we won't start bickering the first night about who needs to do all the cooking over the fire."

Vera giggled. "So we're in agreement then?"

Jack nodded. "We are. Come, let's tell Heron. We'll need to secure an extra horse for you."

The two of them left the cellar behind and once again traveled along the main halls of the palace back to the marbled meeting hall. Heron was once again at his deliberation table and working feverishly on a written order in front of him. It was only once they got close enough that he raised his head and smiled at the two of them.

"Ah, Vera, so nice to see you again," said the king with a fatherly smile. "I trust your stay here has been well so far?"

Vera grinned. "It's been terrific, Your Majesty."

"So we better find another horse for our journey," said Jack while watching the king. "Vera will be joining us."

Jack watched as Heron's face contorted to an expression of shock for a brief moment as his gaze darted back and forth between them. Finally, he settled on Vera.

"Are you sure about this, Vera? This won't be an easy journey."

She quickly nodded her head. "Jack and I have already discussed it at length, Your Majesty. He found my argument quite persuasive." Vera finished with a beaming grin before shooting it Jack's way.

Jack gave a slight nod of the head. "She has her own provisions that she can bring along. She'll also help us when it comes to making camp each night."

Heron thought it over for a few moments before nodding. "If this is what you want, child, then who am I to deny you?"

Vera beamed once more and began to hop up and down. "Thank you both! I won't disappoint you, I promise!"

"We leave at first light, Vera," said Heron. "Please have your provisions prepared and meet here at dawn for our departure."

"Of course! Absolutely, Your Majesty!" She quickly gave a clumsy curtsy before disappearing down the hallway back to her quarters. Once she was finally gone, Heron settled his gaze on Jack.

"An odd girl, that one," he noted while pointing his pen in her direction.

"That she is indeed. I can't say I've ever met many like her," said Jack. "She did say she's Galician though."

Heron nodded. "I suspected as much when I saw her features. Then again, it could explain her behavior. They're an odd people, that's for sure."

Jack thought back to their discussion about them before nodding in agreement. "I may need your help once we arrive back in your capitol. She seems to be quite attached to me. TheDestiny is no place for a civilian girl, no matter how tough. She should stay here and learn to get her life back together."

"Attached to you, eh?" said Heron with an innocent grin. "Perhaps she just has a little crush on you, Commander? Maybe she likes a man in uniform?"

Jack smiled. "I'm not getting that kind of vibe from her. Not that I'm ruling it out, but there seems to be something else. Something I'm not seeing just yet."

"You do have those mighty ships in the harbor. Perhaps she wants to stay with you because she sees you as her ticket to go home," offered Heron. "Maybe she just needs your help?"

"If that's the case, then we'll help her. She's a kind soul who's suffered much in her short life so far," said Jack. "I feel very protective over her already." Jack finished by giving Heron the brief version of her story over the last several months.

Heron visibly shuddered at the end. "To still be that kind and full of life after coming from the Andalucian slave pens must mean she's built of strong stuff. I've seen many a strong man completely broken by the slavers. It's not a life I'd like to see anyone thrown into."

"Perhaps she'll end up surprising us," said Jack with a smile.

"I can live with that," said Heron with a chuckle. "As long as she's the one doing the surprising and not Barak."

"We shall see," said Jack. "I'm going to head down to the ships now and brief my officers. Send word if you need anything?"

"Will do, Jack," said Heron with a wave as he resumed his paperwork.

*****

"You're not serious about this, are you?" asked Anna with crossed arms and a stern demeanor. "That's why we have soldiers for this kind of recovery action. Even Heron has enough soldiers still!"

Jack grimaced at the objection and found much the same sentiment in the faces of the rest of his officers as well. It was nearly an hour later, and he was having a meeting with all the commanding officers of the task force, as well as the division officers of theDestiny with Greg included. All of them huddled around his desk as he broke the news that he would be leaving at first light to go with Heron to recover the treasury.

He'd expected some resistance from the crew. None of them would like this side excursion that would put him further into harm's way and keep him from his usual post onboard theDestiny. Yet, Heron needed some real firepower, and they were the only force nearby that could take on the task without further delaying the journey. Still, he hadn't expected quite so many disagreements to the task at hand.

"Heron's soldiers are still on the southern coast on their way to the city," said Jack. "They won't be here for another couple days, and all the while, Barak will get further away with the treasury. We need a light force that can move quickly and attempt an interception before he gets too far away."

"Will you at least take some of the Marines with you?" asked Abigail. "I don't like that there's still so few of you. Take a platoon of men with you?"

"We need to travel lightly, and more people will just be more of a presence. As well as more mouths to feed. We'll have three good shots with us to handle any disturbances along the way," said Jack while nodding to Greg. The two of them plus Elektra would form the main cadre of firepower for the journey.

"What about one more shot at least?" asked Luke. "I'm well enough to go and only one extra mouth to feed."

Jack smiled but then shook his head. "I need you with theValiant. I'm going to be counting on you, Abigail, and Vicky to coordinate repairs while I'm gone."

"Has the supply ship left Quiller's Cove yet?" asked Abigail.

Jack nodded. "Bancroft assured me it's on its way. I don't know how soon it'll arrive, but it'll take us some time to reach Mount Tarpeious and then get back to the city. I'm hoping you can get started in the interim."

"Do we know who we need to contact when we get there?" asked Vicky. "And where are the dry docks located?"

"I've already shared the location with Abigail," said Jack. "Heron has given me instructions on where you'll need to go. When you get there, you are to look for his chief engineer. A man by the name of Andros. He'll have orders to help in any way possible. I'm told he's a very resourceful man, and he should be able to help start the repair work before the supply ship gets here with the raw materials and some of our engineers."

"Is it just going to be him? Or will there be a team of engineers that can help us?" asked Abigail. "What about workers to provide the labor? Are there any men left that can help after the war?"

"Heron has let me know that there should be plenty of men available to help," said Jack. "You're right—most of them were serving as soldiers, but Heron has released a good portion of his army back to normal duties. You should have all the help you need."

"Hopefully we can get patched up before we encounter any Occitanians," said Vicky. "Has there been any word of any engagements with them since war was declared?''

"Nothing decisive," said Jack with a shake of the head. "There was a small action off their capitol but that's about it. From what I heard, most of our fleet is blockaded in Aberdeen and unable to take to the seas."

"I wonder if they'll come into the Vector. Surely by now they know we're here. How long until they send a force in to destroy us?" asked Anna.

"We can only hope that the reputation of the Vector holds them back for a while," said Jack with a grin. "Until we get our needed repairs at least."

"Let them try something," growled Luke. "I only have one disabled turret. I can still take them with the rest of theValiant's guns!"

Jack began to chuckle. "See why it's so important that you stay with the ships? I need your grit and determination with theValiant."

A few chuckles went around the room before they settled again. Abigail was the first to speak up. "We'll get it done, Jack. Just please take your command radio, and let us know if you run into any trouble. Or even if you don't. Just make sure you let us know you're safe."

Jack nodded solemnly. "Will do. I think it's paramount that I help out in the recovery of this treasury. We need strong allies, not crippled ones. If Heron isn't in any condition to fight, then all of this bloodshed will have been in vain. Anyway, that should about do it. I'll want to talk with a few of you individually before I go. I'd like to start first with Luke and Vicky."

The rest of the officers nodded except for the two commanders mentioned. As most of them headed to the door to wait outside, Jack came to a stop next to the pair who had served the longest under his command. Luke and Vicky were two of his most trusted officers, and Jack could remember a time when it was just the three of them in their small task force. How times had changed.

"Running off to play hero again?" asked Luke with a scoff. "When do I get to go on treasure hunts and do the really cool stuff?"

Jack had to laugh. "You make it sound like being the commander of your own warship isn't cool enough."

Luke waved his hand through the air. "Yeah, but I'vebeen doing that. I can't say I've ever been on a legitimate treasure hunt though. I can come with you now too. Be an extra gun. I'm just about fully healed as well from the attack."

Luke stood up quickly to demonstrate the extent of his healing. When they had first been allied to Daimanos, he had betrayed them by opening fire on theValiant when it was anchored in his harbor. One of those blasts had thrown Luke several feet through the air and knocked him unconscious. While he wasn't fully healed from it yet, he had made an impressive recovery.

"I've made up my mind, Luke," said Jack in his sternest commander's voice. The other man's head fell slightly but he eventually nodded, choosing not to continue to argue about it.

Vicky elbowed Luke in the ribs. "Lighten up, Luke. You wouldn't want to spend a few weeks away from Kim anyway."

Luke went red in the face in a silent confirmation of her words. The knowledge about him and Kim was an open secret among most of the commanders even if the two did their best not to flaunt it in front of others. Most of the commanders wouldn't talk about in public either, but it was hard to ignore their lingering stares.

"I'll need both of you to watch out for each other as well as Abigail," said Jack finally once Luke's face returned to its normal color. "You can always radio for me if you need me but be safe and watch out for each other."

"We'll take care of it, Jack," said Luke. "Go get some of that treasure and bring some home for us, eh?"

Jack shook his head while chuckling. "Get out of my quarters," he said with a grin.

The two of them laughed along before they exited. Once they left to return to their respective ships, only the commanding officers of theDestiny remained. Jack first brought in the division head officers and bid the three of them to look out for each other in an almost exact copy of his message to Luke and Vicky. It was only once he dismissed Stephanie and Kyle that he was left alone with Anna.

The brunette officer hadn't warmed up at all from their last few encounters, ever since he'd been wounded after his fight with Daimanos. Jack knew the real reason from Abigail—that Anna had stumbled on their little moment when he was still in the infirmary. There had been considerable tension between them ever since, and her late-night visits had completely stopped.

"So you're really going to do this, aren't you?" asked Anna once they were alone.

"It's the right thing to do," answered Jack. "We need to recover that gold."

Anna sighed heavily and began to play with one of her nails. When she didn't add anything else after a few moments of silence, Jack decided to speak up to clear the air.

"Anna, can we talk? I know something's been bothering you—"

"You're going to have to choose, you know? It's either going to be Abby or me," interrupted Anna. "You can't have us both."

Jack's mouth opened but no words came out. He had hoped to lightly step into the topic with her, but she had bulldozed her way into it without any warning. It was a conversation that had been a long time coming, even if he doubted it would have a happy ending.

"Anna, what you saw wasn't what you think," he started before she waved him away dismissively.

"I know what kissing looks like, Jack," she whispered fiercely. "I can only imagine what happened after I left."

"That's all that happened," he said while staring at her.

"Maybe that time," huffed Anna. "You've slept with her, haven't you? Don't deny it. I know you've done it."

Jack didn't even try to withhold the truth. "Yes. Abigail and I have slept together. Just once."

Anna huffed in such a way to show she didn't believe it to be just once. "Sure, it was only once. Tell me, Jack, which sister was better in bed?"

"Anna," warned Jack. "We're not going to go there. This conversation can be cut really short if you try to pull any of that shit with me."

She sat back in the chair and crossed her arms in a petulant manner. "I just don't get it, Jack. I thought we had a good thing going."

"We did, Anna, but I can say I don't like this side of you. You jumped down my throat about Abigail without letting me have a chance to explain," said Jack. "Yes, we did sleep together once. It happened when I first met her the night I arrived in Quiller's Cove. Once I was put in charge of the task force, she didn't want to pursue anything further because I was her boss now. She thought the crew wouldn't respect her if they found out."

"Oh, smart Abby," said Anna with a teary-eyed look. "She'd never be caught doing something that wasn't proper."

"That was the last time it happened," continued Jack. "I met you right after, and she was happy to respect that."

Anna stiffened. "Wait a moment. You mean she knew about you and I for a while?"

Jack blinked. "Yes, almost from the moment we started sleeping together. She put it together remarkably fast."

Anna pursed her lips. "Great. So she knew all about this, and so did you, but I'm the last one to find out. I feel like a great, big idiot right now."

Jack tried to comfort her but she waved him away dismissively. Awkwardly, he put his hands back on his hips. "I don't know what else to tell you, Anna. It's already happened, and we can't take anything back. It's just how we move forward from it."

She looked back up at him with a glare. "I wanted to take you home to meet my parents. How can I ever do that now and know you slept with my sister too? What would my family do if they found out you slept with both of us? They wouldn't take you seriously or any relationship. It's all ruined, Jack. Not to mention, I don't know if I can trust you."

Jack gulped. "What do you mean?"

She wiped a tear from her eye. "I'm always going to be looking over my shoulder, wondering about every interaction you have with her. Whether there's something deeper going on or if she's tried to kiss you again or worse. There's always going to be this grain of doubt in my head that I don't think will ever go away."

He nodded slowly. "What do you want to do?"

Anna remained silent. She worked at her fingernail for several moments in silence while she processed. Finally, she looked at him. "I don't know, Jack. I don't know what to do about you. But I will say this for certain. When you come back from this journey, I want you to pick. Her or me. No games, no secrets, and no lies. Tell us which one you want, and let's be done with it."

So it would be an ultimatum, thought Jack silently. He looked back down to the woman, seeing a considerable amount of pain behind her gaze. He had hurt her—that was for certain. Perhaps someone was always going to be hurt in a situation where he found himself between two sisters. Either way, it gave him plenty of time to think about a solution on the trip to Mount Tarpeious, yet he wasn't certain he would be able to pick between the two of them.

Anna was volatile, a wild ride of a woman who was looking for a steady boyfriend and perhaps much more. While he had already decided that path with her wasn't for him, he worried now about their professional relationship when the time came to move on from her.

Then there was Abigail. He had just about as hard of a time figuring out that woman as he had with his advanced navigation courses back in the academy. Seeming to run both hot and cold at the same time, he never knew quite where he stood with her. Now, Anna wanted him to choose between the two of them. What would happen if he chose neither?

"We'll talk about it when I get back," said Jack noncommittally. "Nothing good can happen now. Emotions are running too hot. Let's give ourselves time to cool off and think about where we can go from here. Is that fair?"

Anna began to nod. "That's fine, Jack. I mean it though. I want your answer when you get back. Her or me."

With those final words, she rose from her chair and began to leave his quarters. There was no kiss or even so much as a comforting hug at their parting of ways. There was too much hurt for her to contemplate those right now. She only hazarded one last glance his way, her eyes large with the innocent look that she had perfected so well. Before he knew it, she was gone.

He took one final sigh at their predicament before crossing over to ask the last officer to come inside his quarters. Abigail had been waiting patiently outside the door, seemingly watching her sister depart from his office, and from the look on her face, hearing nothing of what was discussed inside.

"I hope everything went all right?" she asked as soon as she entered. She gestured back to her sister.

"It's either you or her," said Jack with a small smile before taking a few moments to enlighten her on the full scope of their conversation.

"Oh, Anna," muttered Abigail under her breath after hearing the full story. "I don't know why she pursued this as hard as she did."

Jack gave her a wounded look. "Do you think I'm some kind of bad catch or something?"

She shook her head. "Not what I meant. Anna has never been great with relationships, and she always seems to go after men that aren't a great fit. Either they are too far up in rank that it makes a relationship impossible or they have some baggage or another girlfriend, or wife, that she finds herself competing against. Her choices in the matter almost always cause her pain."

"I think she's most pained that the other woman in this situation is you," said Jack.

Abigail shrugged. "If it weren't me, it would be someone else. This is just how things usually go with her."