Fourth Vector Ch. 09

"Kat, I'm sorry," said Jack. It was his turn to reach out and touch her, and he rested his hand gently on her forearm. She felt soft and inviting, yet he tried to focus once again on her words. "I know it's important to you. I just don't understand it well and that largely stems from my upbringing. Javans look at prophecy like it's a bunch of nonsense."

"Some of us do hold it in high esteem though," she said softly.

"I understand," he answered. "Maybe one day you can show me what this all means to you. I'm not saying I'll fully comprehend it, but I'll at least give it a shot."

Kat turned her head quickly back to look at him. Their eyes locked, with only the dancing flames reflecting in each other's gaze. "You're a very rare person, Jack," she whispered softly.

"So does that mean you'll stick with me for a while? While we explore the Vector?" he asked.

Kat nodded her head eagerly. "Of course. As long as you'll have me?"

Jack's eyes flickered to her lips. The way she emphasized her last words was suggestive enough to add a thick layer of tension to that which was already present in most of their interactions. The warmth from the fire and the soft feeling of each other's touch fueled the moment, and Jack found himself leaning forward, beckoned in by the sweet siren song of her lips. Kat seemed to feel it too, and she started to lean in as well, her eyes closing slowly.

"Jack, what are you doing up? Can't sleep?" came a voice from several feet away.

Both Jack and Kat jumped apart quickly at hearing the new voice, a rapid reaction that was just as guilty as it appeared. In the next moment, Heron came to stand by the fire, still wiping sleep out of his eyes. Luckily, he seemed to be too groggy to be fully aware of what had almost happened.

"Yeah," said Jack quickly. "Just couldn't go to sleep. I figured I'd keep Kat company for a moment."

Heron started to laugh. "A moment? Look at the moon, son. It's past midnight. It's time for my watch."

Jack blinked.Have we really been sitting there that long? He assumed an embarrassed look, only diminished by the fact that Kat's face held much the same quality.

"Well then, I guess we'll have to be getting to sleep. Can't be too tired for the march into your city tomorrow, right?" said Jack, recovering the situation.

Heron nodded and assumed a comfortable spot on a nearby log. "Not for tomorrow, that's for sure!"

"I suppose Jack and I should get to our sleeping bags," said Kat quietly while standing up to stretch. Jack nodded and followed her on the way out as Heron bid them goodnight.

Jack never got a chance to find out where that conversation could've gone. Kat gave him one last coy smile before she slipped into her bag and turned her back away from him. Jack watched her for a brief moment before turning on his back and looking at the stars.

Mysterious woman, indeed.

*****

The final stretch of road leading back to the capital was more of a blur than anything. For Jack, it meant finally seeing signs of the city long before they reached it. More people started to appear on the roads and the traffic situation increased. Numerous houses and small villages began to cluster closer together, especially as the road turned inland in the last half day before reaching the city.

At one point, Heron even pointed out a separate road that branched off from the main one. "That road leads to my naval base. Let's get everyone back to the palace, and then we'll go see what our engineers have been up to with your ships!"

It was just about midafternoon when the party emerged around a small hill and once again took sight of Heron's capital, partly shrouded by the great defensive wall that had been the sight of their victory against Daimanos. The defensive wall was still in poor shape, with numerous craters and blasts scarring the intricate stonework. However, with the war ending, there hadn't been any rush to fix it. Now, with this new business with the Swabians, there was a new need.

"We'll need to get our men working on getting our wall back to form," said Nikias to the king. "In its current condition, it wouldn't be very helpful."

"You're right as usual, Nikias," said Heron. "See to it that it takes some precedence immediately. We can never be too careful."

"It looks like we're finally back to your home, Heron," said Jack. "Good to be back?"

Heron grinned. "Ecstatic. It will be good to see my people again. Come! Let's see if we can slip through without making too big of an entrance."

If that was his intention, it largely failed. The sight of the king's party at the entrance to the main gate caused a fanfare of its own. Their victorious king, not seen since the last victory over Daimanos at the city walls, was celebrated by the common masses. All around them, whoops and hollers by the Sorellan citizens filled the air, thankful that their sovereign was finally home.

At one point, Greg slipped right next to Jack as they led the horses pulling the wagon. "What do you think they'd do if they knew what was really in this wagon right now?" Greg muttered quietly.

Jack looked back at the wagon. All of the gold underneath was heavily concealed by several layers of tarp. It was just about impossible for anyone on the street to figure out that an entire fortune passed by right under their noses. "Who knows? It's probably a better thing they don't though!"

The euphoria in the capital was a far different experience from the war-torn city Jack had remembered previously. For one, masses of citizens filled the streets, and there was a significant vibrancy about the city that he was just seeing for the first time. Much of the damage from the last battle had been cleaned up as well. Although there was still the occasional building that was in a state of decay, the Sorellan people had done a remarkable job of cleaning up in the past few weeks. Many of the faces of the citizens showed hope, a renewed belief that the worst was now over and that a long peace could return. Jack just hoped that it wouldn't be in vain, and that they could enjoy the blessings of peace for as long as they could. If anyone had earned that peace, it was the Sorellan people.

The entire procession made their way right to the small royal palace near the center of the city. Once on the grounds, Heron gave orders for his servants to escort the wagon inside for unloading into his treasury while he waved off the crowd that had been following them from the city gate. Almost immediately, they began to disperse, but not before offering final cheers for their sovereign.

"Well, now we can get back to some normality," said Heron once the bulk of the crowd had left. Most of his servants had gathered out in the central veranda to await the arrival of the king, many of them excited to see the faces of the Sorellans gathered once more. One face in particular was happiest to see Vera's though.

"Melora!" cried out the young Galician woman as she caught sight of her friend from afar. In the next instant, Vera bounded across the floor and hugged her former friend.

"So good to see you," said Melora as she wrapped her own arms around Vera. "We've all missed you terribly!"

"How long have you been here?"

"Not quite two weeks. We only left Daimanos' palace right after you," said Melora. "Come, all the girls are in the main wing. You should see our quarters!"

Vera looked back to Jack and Heron for the silent permission. The king began to laugh once he figured out what she was seeking.

"Go on, Vera!" implored the king with a fatherly smile. "I'm sure it'll be good to see your friends after all this time."

Vera grinned while nodding her head to the king. Before she left, she grabbed Kat by the arm and pulled her along too. "You have to meet my friend, Kat, as well," said Vera as their voices started to echo down the hall. "She's from my country too. Kat, these were the women I was telling you about." Kat's eyes searched for Jack one last time, giving a helpless smile as she was practically dragged along the hall. Their voices slowly started to peter out the further away from the veranda they walked.

Jack started to chuckle. "I think Vera had the best homecoming yet," he said to Heron, earning a hearty laugh from the king.

"Well, at least it sounds like those girls are in good spirits. While my palace is nothing like that of Daimanos, it seems that Melora is at least happy. I so hoped that this arrangement would work out for them."

"Now that we're back, I'd say there's probably a mountain of paperwork I'll need to catch up on," said Nikias next. "I really should start attending to that."

Before Heron could respond, Elektra started to nod her head as well. "Same with me. There's no telling what's slipped in while we've been gone."

"Not a problem, unless you're sure you don't want to accompany myself, Jack, and Greg up to the naval base?" asked Heron.

Nikias shook his head. "That's okay. I'd like to start getting caught up in the meantime."

Elektra was in full agreement as well and without waiting for a further response, the two disappeared deeper into the palace.

"Well, that was a bit curious," said Greg as soon as they were gone.

"I had no idea they were that eager to get back to work," said Heron with an incredulous smile.

"Or perhaps two weeks of our company was just about enough for them," said Jack with a laugh. The three men chuckled amongst themselves for a moment until Heron had an idea.

"No matter," said Heron with a wave. "Let me get my carriage ready to go, and we'll ride up the coastal road to the naval base. It'll be better than horses and a much-needed comfort after all this time on our feet."

Just about forty-five minutes later, they left the palace once again in the king's gray-colored carriage on their way to the Sorellan naval base. For Jack, leaving so soon after arrival felt a bit odd but even though it happened quickly, he was eager to go to the base. For one, he missed his comrades with the task force dearly and for two, he really wanted to check out their progress on the repairs while he was away.

It didn't take very long for them to arrive, retracing their steps back up the coastal road and then taking the short path that Heron had identified earlier in the day. It was near dinner time when they finally arrived at the entrance of the great base, and Jack nearly gawked at seeing it up close.

He never would have guessed that Heron's facilities were this impressive. Multiple buildings with their own different roles surrounded the bay that made up the base, and once he was able to get a full view, he could see clearly all the ships he was looking for. TheTiger was the first in sight even though she was the furthest one away and berthed against the main quay. Jack was pleased to see her nose had been repaired, and a recent paint job left the ship with a full shine against the backdrop of the setting sun.

As his eyes swept over to the dry docks, he found the other two ships of his task force still being worked on. The sound of that work carried over to his side of the base as multitudes of men worked to get the vessels fully repaired. He was pleased to see that theDestiny appeared to be in good shape, but just as dismayed to see theValiant still had the damage to her deck.

On the other side of the harbor, he noticed his supply ships, recognizing the class from the last time he had seen one back at Quiller's Cove. The sight of so many Javan ships filled him with happiness, and he was anxious to see the crew once more.

Heron must have noticed his change in behavior because he laughed heartily as he clapped Jack on the back. "Come. Let's go find your crew!"

The three men slipped past the front guard who, seeing that he had the king of Sorella himself approaching as a visitor, quickly informed his superior to get word to the chief of the base. Heron bid them all to meet in the common room of the local barracks, and they soon made their way there.

Along the way, Jack began to see familiar faces. Sailors and marines who had cruised with him for months could be found all around the base, most of them recognizing him or Greg as they walked by. A good portion of them greeted their arrival with great enthusiasm, and Jack found himself just as happy to see their faces too.

They entered into the main barracks building and quickly turned down the central hallway to a room just off to the left. As soon as they were inside the room, Jack found himself grinning ear to ear at seeing some old, familiar faces.

"Oh, no, he's back," said Luke with exaggerated reluctance. "Party's over!"

He was quickly swatted at by Kim as the sudden mass of Javan officers swarmed the two of them. Jack looked on as just about every face he remembered—Luke, Kim, Vicky, Kyle, Stephanie, Bill, and Cory—greeted him with a great number of hugs and handshakes. Even Anna was right there too, a beaming smile worn prominently on her face as she crushed him with the biggest hug yet. For him, it brought back the question of their status and the ultimatum she'd given him before he left.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're back," gushed Anna as she pulled back from their hug. Her eyes sparkled with their usual amount of mischief as his nose buried within her dark locks.

"It's really good to be back," said Jack before looking back at all the officers. "I missed all of you."

"It just wasn't the same without you, Jack," said Stephanie with a wide-set grin.

"I really need to get back on a ship," said Jack with a laugh. "All that dry land has me missing the open waves."

"You'll be delighted to know about our progress then," said Vicky. "I'm sure Abigail will want to be here when we brief you but things have been going well."

"That's great to hear," said a relieved Jack before he looked around the room. "Speaking of, where is Abigail? Is she around?"

"She's right here," said a voice from behind him. Jack spun around to see the gorgeous face of Abigail Wainwright right behind him. She didn't wait very long for his reaction before she bounded into his arms and hugged him fiercely.

"You're back," she whispered.

"I'm back," said Jack with a laugh. "You missed me?"

She nodded. "A great deal." Her eyes then caught something just behind his shoulder before flickering back to his. In the next instant, she pulled back from him and settled her gaze on the floor. When Jack turned to look at what caught her attention, he found Anna watching them with a less than pleased expression. Soon it would be time to confront that situation for good.

Before he had a moment to think about it anymore, Abigail grabbed his arm and began to point at another man whom she had walked in with. "Jack, let me introduce you to Andros. He's the head engineer at the base, and he's been an incredible help to us."

Jack nodded at the Sorellan and offered his hand. "I've heard much about you, Andros. We're very pleased to have had your help."

Andros smiled. "The pleasure was all mine. Getting a chance to see your ships was worth all the time we spent on them." He then turned to look at Heron and performed a deep bow. "Your Majesty, it's great to see you again."

"And you, Andros, and you," said a grinning Heron.

"I'm surprised you didn't bring us back any of the gold," said Luke with his hands on his hips. The rest of the group started to laugh.

Jack waved the man off dismissively. "Gold for you? You get paid too much already."

Luke started to laugh. Abigail opened up next. "Everything go okay though? Did you bring the gold here?"

"No, we stopped at the palace first," said Heron. "The gold is once again safe in our treasury, thanks to our great allies!"

"Well, that's a relief," said Abigail with a smile. "I guess our work here is just about done. Sorella can rebuild in peace."

Jack cast his gaze toward Heron, whose face was filled with a worried expression. "Not exactly. There's much that's changed since we recovered the gold. There's a new situation with another local country that we feel could be extremely dangerous to all of us. We should discuss it while all of us are here."

The entire crew gave murmurings of approval. Heron and Andros were able to direct them to a small meeting room and all the officers were able to take their seats while Heron was able to produce his map of the local area around Sorella.

For the next half hour, Jack and the king filled them in on everything that had happened with the Swabians. From the encounters with Melitos and finding out about Barak's more nefarious intentions to touching on the letter from the Swabian Lord Avila and the history behind their first attempt to conquer Sorella before, the two men informed the entire crew about the situation now surrounding them.

"So that's where we find ourselves now," said Jack as he finished. "The Swabians seem to have set their sights on trying to attack the island once again. And if they attacked now, we'd be unable to stop them."

"Especially not with our current army or navy," added Heron. "We've taken much too many casualties in men and equipment over our civil war."

"And although our ships are powerful, there's only three of them," said Jack grimly. "From the sounds of it, these Swabians have a lot of resources at their disposal."

"So we have the Swabians to our west and the Occitanians to our east then?" asked Abigail. "Not exactly great odds."

"Well, we know for sure that the Occitanians are hostile," said Jack. "Until the Swabians make a move, their actions are shaded with a tone of gray."

Abigail turned to look at Heron. "You mentioned that the Swabians had attacked Sorella before and you turned them back, right?"

Heron nodded. "Yes, with the help of Sorellan fire. Other than that, I'm afraid we would have been conquered."

"What are their warships like?" asked Abigail. "Are they steel like ours or wooden like yours?"

"The Swabians have long been an advanced society," said Heron. "One of the most advanced in the entire Vector. Their ships look closer to yours than they do ours. The last time I saw a Swabian warship up close, it was a curious mixture of wood and steel, but that was nearly forty years ago."

"Can we assume they've only grown more advanced in that forty years?" asked Luke.

Jack nodded. "We have to. We may be dealing with an enemy that is every bit as advanced in technology as we are. If that's the case, we may be in a real pickle with this."

"We don't have to fight the Swabians though," said Vicky. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but we came to the Vector to seek allies, not to find new enemies. Why would we have to fight?"

Heron remained quiet and turned to Jack. The commander took a deep breath before responding. "I think the situation in the Vector is a lot more complicated than initially imagined when we received our first orders. I'm not sure how many of you remember, but the very first map we received back in Quiller's Cove was nothing but blank space. I doubt the Admiralty or Bancroft or the emperor know how many peoples and different countries are in this space. Perhaps if it was just one, it could have been easier to secure their alliance against the Occitanians. Especially if this portion of the world was divided up into a few empires like our portion."

"But that's not the case," continued Jack. "There's a lot more nations here in the Vector than anyone really knew. For that reason, we need to navigate the channels of diplomacy as best we can. We came here to find alliances. We wouldn't be a very good ally if we didn't support them in times of war. If we have to ask the Sorellans to contribute to our war against the Occitanians, then we can't leave them fighting the Swabians on their own."

"So what do you want to do then, Jack?" asked Abigail.