Fourth Vector Ch. 10

"What about the rest of the crew? All the other sailors? I thought you didn't want them to find out."

Abigail took a deep breath. "I do and I don't. I think it's foolish for us to expect that word won't get out sooner or later. I mean, just look at Luke and Kim. It's the biggest open secret in the entire task force. We'd be fooling ourselves if we thought we could keep this under wraps."

Jack smiled. "This? What exactly isthis, Abigail?"

"I don't know," she said with a giggle. "But I like how it feels. Don't you?"

He circled his arm around her waist. "I do too." His mind circled back to the last thing Anna told him before he left. "Your sister told me to look out for you."

She looked up at him. "Oh, really?"

"Mm-hmm, and I intend to do that," said Jack. "I think she may have known that we had the stronger connection and she didn't want to fight that."

Abigail giggled. "I think she was just jealous that I got to you first."

"Either way, it's in the past now. I'll miss her."

She took a deep breath. "I'll miss her too. I hope she's safe on theValiant. I hope all of them are safe.

"They will be," said Jack firmly as theValiant finally slipped out of sight. "Come on, let's go talk with the rest of the officers. I want to make sure that Cory is comfortable at the controls. Something tells me we'll need a crack weapons head for the days ahead. I don't think it'll be long until we have to deal with the Swabians."

Without words, Abigail pulled away from him and began to walk back to the ship. Naturally, his eyes watched her body as she walked away, especially the way her hips rocked from side to side and the way her ass filled out her trousers. Now that they didn't have to hide the way they felt about each other, there was something extremely refreshing about being able to be open with their feelings.

"Jack?" Abigail turned around to catch him in the act of ogling her. "Aren't you coming?"

"Right behind you," he said with a grin.

-------

The morning after theValiant departed Sorella, Jack made his way down the staircase of the barracks in order to meet Heron on the first floor. It wasn't too early, but it was late enough that Abigail had already left his bed to go about her tasks for the day. Jack smiled to himself as he remembered their night. She had been insatiable once she was in bed, and he found himself yawning as he descended the staircase, not having slept much of the night due to her enthusiasm.

It was an interesting turn of events for the both of them. Especially now that Anna was gone, something seemed to have changed with Abigail while he was in the Sorellan interior. Quite possibly it was those few weeks spent apart that changed her perspective, but he found her much more open and willing to communicate her thoughts and desires. With the only real barrier to them being together now sailing in the opposite direction, Jack was pleased with where their relationship was going.

Yet part of him still felt a little guilty about the situation with Kat. His mind reeled with confusion as he thought about her as well, their last meeting sealed by long bouts of kissing and affection. While that had been all they'd done that day, it didn't mean she wasn't frequently in his thoughts just as much as Abigail. It was almost like his heart was torn. Part of it wanted to surrender to Abigail while the other half wanted to unravel the mystery of Kat. He shook his head lightheartedly. If anyone should have learned a lesson about getting caught between two women, it should've been him. Yet, here he was again. At least they weren't sisters this time.

Jack emerged into the main hallway of the first-floor barracks and entered the main meeting room. Heron was already waiting for him, sitting at the table and writing his morning orders as was his usual at this time of day. The king noticed his entry and looked up at him instantly.

"I'm trying to ignore that fact that you and your countrymen are leaving Sorella today," said Heron with a whimsical smile.

"Hard to believe," said Jack. "We've spent a lot of time here."

"And you've done a lot of good! Or at least, you've been a part of it."

"That doesn't have to end. As long as I have breath in my lungs, we'll come to the aid of our allies in Sorella."

Heron grinned. "I know that. At least I know you're going to a good place like Picardy. Even if these latest reports out of that land are a little disturbing."

"I'll let you know what happens when we get there," said Jack. "We'll send a message back. I'm hoping it's just a misunderstanding, but then again, who would send a trader away?"

"My gut feeling isn't good on this subject," warned Heron. "I just hope King Aedan is all right. If anything happened to him or the royal family, I'd be very distraught."

"We'll let you know as soon as we get there," said Jack. "Whatever is happening in Picardy, we'll get to the bottom of it."

Heron beamed with a smile. "I know you will, Jack. Anyway, thank you for joining me this morning."

"Of course. Was there anything in particular you wanted to discuss?"

"Yes, and I'm just waiting for Andros to come by, although the man is just about always late. It seems he was conferring regularly with your engineers when they were here, and he wants to show something to us before you leave. I can't imagine what kind of new invention he's come up with though."

"This should be interesting," said Jack with a chuckle. "He was quite enamored with some of those designs of his after seeing the blueprints for our ships."

"That he was. I just hope this isn't a waste of time."

"I can assure you, Your Majesty, that this will be a good use ofall of our time," said a voice from the door. Both Jack and Heron looked up to find a grinning Andros leaning against the frame and listening to their conversation.

"There you are, Andros," said Heron. "Come on in. Forgive me, Jack and I were just talking lightheartedly."

"Nothing to forgive, Your Majesty," said Andros with a swipe of his hand. "But you're correct. I do have something that will be quite useful for us moving forward."

Andros produced a blueprint that was being held behind his back. He brought it over to the table in front of Heron and Jack and carefully unrolled it in front of them.

Jack studied the blueprint in front of him, quickly recognizing it as looking very similar to the ships that Heron had recovered from his brother's fleet. In front of them was the sailing ship,Hera, so named after Heron's recently deceased daughter.

"All right, so you have a ship here, Andros," said Heron after a moment. "But what am I looking for?"

"I'm glad you asked, Your Majesty," said Andros with a grin before he dropped his finger on the hull of the ship. From what Jack could see, something had been added to the hull, but it was impossible to make out just from the blueprint alone. "After a few discussions with our new Javan allies, I've learned a lot about ship construction. Most importantly, I've learned that it wasn't so long ago that the Javans themselves had ships that looked very close to ours."

"That's not that surprising," said Heron. "Our technology has always been a little backwards here but even the local powers like the Swabians and the Galicians have had the technology to make ships that look closer to Jack's than they do ours."

"Correct, you are, Your Majesty," said Andros. "But what we were missing for so long was what was the next step in designs. What separates our sailing, wooden ships from Jack's steel behemoths? The answer is iron."

"Iron?" asked Heron confusingly. "Why not steel? Why iron?"

"For one, iron will be easier for us to make instead of steel so it will be more readily available," said Andros. "But it's also the way we can armor the ships and make them much tougher to incoming fire."

"Wouldn't it make the ships too heavy though if they were built entirely out of iron?" asked Heron before turning to Jack. "Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you've found a way to do it with steel but I'm not sure if we understand how to make them buoyant enough to float."

"I believe I have a design for an all-iron ship, Your Majesty," said Andros proudly. "But that will take a long time to make, especially in our current situation. However, this is meant to be a stopgap, especially if we have to face any Swabian aggression." Andros then pointed excitedly to the hull of the ship again. "We can fit iron plates to the existing ships along the hull. Thick plates too, about four or five inches thick. If we line the entire hull, we'll make them much harder to sink."

"Can they still stay afloat with that much weight added to the hull?" asked Heron.

"They'll have a low freeboard after we're done with them, that's for sure," said Andros. "We'll need to keep them close to shore as well as keep them out of any storms, but it's not much different than what we do now."

Heron tapped his chin. "I'm not sure I see this happening, Andros. I don't see how you can keep these ships afloat. Sure, the protection sounds great, but it won't work well if they can't stay on the surface."

"I thought you might want to see a demonstration," said Andros with a grin. "That's why I had one prepared for us this morning. If you both wouldn't mind, would you follow me out to the harbor?"

Together, the three men left the barracks and moved to the main quay that held the berths of Heron's fleet. Near the end of the wharf, Andros had a small trawler tied up, but it was no ordinary boat. Jack could tell there was something odd about it, and once they were close enough, he could see that the entire hull had been plated with iron just how Andros had described. Predictably, the freeboard was almost nonexistent, only about a foot or two of the hull poked out from the waterline.

"That reminds me of some of the ships tied up at the Javan Naval Academy," said Jack as he pointed to the trawler. "Early iron-plated ships just like those. We called them ironclads."

Heron turned to Jack. "So they all rode so low in the water?"

"For the most part, but they're a crucial link in the development until you're able to engineer them to be more oceangoing."

Andros led them closer to the ship, but instead of following down the main quay where the trawler was, he led them down another quay about fifty feet away. On it, he had a cannon set up with a local crew.

"Like I said in the barracks, I thought a demonstration might be in order," said Andros confidently. "I had this old fishing trawler plated myself after placing an order with a local smelter. I hope you won't be too upset with me, Your Majesty, but I arranged to have them bill the royal treasury."

"I won't be upset if this works like you think it will," said Heron while crossing his arms.

"I think you'll be pleased," said Andros with an embarrassed look. "Anyway, I had the entire ship plated and I arranged to have this cannon brought down here to demonstrate the strength of the iron. These cannons used to be on one of our older ships that was sunk by Daimanos. They are not as powerful as the cannons he had during the war, but they'll work for this demonstration. If you'll both cover your ears, I'll light the fuse."

Both Jack and Heron did as they were asked while Andros worked on the fuse. In the space of about thirty seconds, the cannon roared to life with an explosion, followed by a spark of fire against the trawler. Once the explosion was over, both Jack and the king dropped their hands and walked back over to the cannon. Andros stood beaming proudly and he pointed to the trawler.

Jack looked over to inspect the damage. While there was a good-sized dent in the iron plating, the trawler was still afloat. Most importantly, it would stay afloat even with a shot at near point-blank range.

"If we shot any of our ships with such close range, they'd be at the bottom of the harbor right now," said Andros proudly. "But this simple modification ensured that even the most basic of fishing trawlers can survive cannon fire."

"This is incredible," whispered Heron. "I want to get a closer look at the ship. Let's walk over."

The three of them walked back over to the other quay where the trawler was. Sure enough, the dented iron plate was easy to see but otherwise, the boat showed no damage.

"How remarkable," muttered Heron. "How long did it take you to plate that boat?"

"Sourcing the iron was the hard part," said Andros. "Otherwise, it wasn't so bad of a job with all the extra help we've had lately. I imagine it won't take us long to do our four remaining ships and make them more impervious to cannon fire."

"Just cannon fire, I take it?" asked Heron. "I imagine any heavier ordinance against those plates wouldn't last as long, right?"

"Exactly, Your Majesty. But it will give us a fighting chance as we work to develop an all-iron ship moving forward."

"What you've been able to accomplish in a short period of time is nothing short of remarkable, Andros," said Jack. "I imagined you'd be able to progress our technology further, but not nearly as quickly. I'm very impressed."

"As am I, Andros," said the king while putting his hand on the engineer's shoulder. "You've done extraordinary work."

"Thank you both," said a clearly embarrassed Andros. "Luckily for our sake, we've been able to establish direct communications with the Javan naval base at Quiller's Cove by a transmitter left behind by your engineers, Jack. That way, if we need any assistance with our shipbuilding, we have a direct link."

"This is a very promising start for the future," said the king. "Never would I have guessed we'd be able to start to rebuild the navy as quickly as this."

"My thoughts on that matter are that it should take some precedence," said Jack. "After all, if you can destroy your enemy at sea, you keep him off your shores. And that last thing Sorella needs right now is another enemy on its shores."

"You and I are of the same mind right now, Jack," said Heron before turning to Andros. "Please start the modification process with the existing ships and full steam ahead with the ironclad warships."

Andros beamed with a smile. "Of course, Your Majesty."

"With any luck, we'll—"

Before Heron could finish his sentence, a whistle sounded from the entrance to the harbor. All three men turned to look directly at the jetty that signaled the entrance.

"There must be a ship on the way," said Heron. "That whistle signals the approach of a friendly naval vessel."

"Who could be coming here now? Perhaps another trading ship?" suggested Jack.

"It's not improbable," said Heron. "Come, let's find out."

"I'm going to get back to work on these designs, Your Majesty," said Andros before heading off in the other direction. Both men waved goodbye to the engineer as he set off towards his office near the barracks. Jack and Heron moved along the docks as other personnel rushed about ready to welcome the incoming ship. However, no one could have predicted the condition of the ship that slipped inside the jetty.

For one, it looked to be barely afloat. Much smaller than the Sorellan trading ship commanded by Aristides, this small ship looked like it had come out on the wrong side of a nasty shooting match. Parts of its wooden hull were scarred black and that seemed to be the lucky parts that were still attached to the ship. Gaping holes filled both sides, both above the water line and below as evidenced by a noticeable list to the starboard side. The charred remains of fire were easily visible as well, along with the tattered shreds of the sails that were still attached to the mast.

"What in the world?" muttered Heron while watching the ship come in to dock. "That's a Picard merchant ship but it's in awful shape."

"It looks like it's been attacked," said Jack. "Who would have attacked the Picards?"

"I have no idea. They're not at war with anyone. Unless it's the Swabians up to no good again."

"I'm beginning to get tired of hearing the name of those peoples," said Jack angrily. "It seems like everything that goes wrong in this portion of the world can be traced back to them."

Heron turned to look at him. "You're not far off with that accusation." He then turned back to look at the ship as it moved to dock alongside the quay. "That ship isn't going to be floating for much longer. We have to help them."

Together, the two of them began to gather a force of local dock workers and sailors who could help rescue what they could from the barely-floating vessel. As soon as they were able to get the ship anchored, a multitude of men rushed off the craft, many of them still fearful and in a bad shape. A good portion had bloody wounds or gashes on their bodies, evidence of a fight. Heron directed his men to get on the ship and start unloading while they still could, hoping to save a decent portion of the goods before they ended up on the bottom of the harbor.

It was only once all of the Picards were off the ship that the captain, an older man with fiery red and wild hair limped down the gangplank. It was obvious by the number of bruises and wounds that someone had taken their time with his punishment. He nearly collapsed once his feet hit the dock.

"Someone get me some water, quickly!" yelled Heron as he and Jack rushed to the fallen captain. "It's okay, man. You're safe now, you're safe now."

"Too many of them . . . didn't stand a chance," muttered the captain as his eyes went wide in remembrance.

"What happened, captain? Who attacked you?" asked Heron.

"Shot us with weapons. Boarded our ships. Our women, our poor women." The captain continued to mutter about in a delirious manner, unable to answer a proper question with any confidence. Jack and Heron huddled over the man while they waited for fresh water, and as soon as it was brought to them, they let the man have it. He drank eagerly like it had been days since he last quenched his thirst.

After letting him have a few minutes to drink and collect his thoughts, Heron tried again. "Who are you, friend?"

The man's eyes rolled to lock on Heron. "My name is Captain Wally Sheamus. This is my ship, theSunflower."

"Your ship has seen better days, Wally," said Heron. "What happened to you out there? Where are you coming from?"

"Coming from Samara, sir," said Wally. "Just a simple trader, I am. We had a load of Apulian spices and Angarsk herring with us. I heard rumors that the war was over here in Sorella, so I thought I'd come down here to sell my wares."

"We thank you for stopping here," said Heron. "But what gave you the trouble? Who did this to you, Wally?"

Wally's head tilted back. Jack noticed he had a small gash on his neck, and since he lacked any proper first aid kits, he applied pressure with his own hand to stop the rush of blood from his neck. "We only ran into problems coming down the East Swabian gap. I've never seen anything like it, sir. We were set upon by a Swabian dreadnought who stopped us along the way. They told me that going any further south was forbidden and that Sorella was in civil war. They made it sound like it wasn't safe."

"Why would the Swabians be interfering in international waters?" said Heron. "They've never been so bold as to do that on this side of the ocean."

"I don't know, sir," said Wally. "But I told them I heard the war was over and that it was safe again. That seemed to placate them and they let me go. We were barely out of sight from the Swabians when they opened fire on us, sir. We took a few indirect hits but nothing serious enough to sink us right away, thanks be to the gods. Otherwise, I wouldn't be still alive right now. But I'm not stupid enough to think I can outrun a Swabian dreadnought so I ran up a white flag and waited for them to catch up to us again."