Fourth Vector Ch. 10

Taking his seat at the main command station, Jack took one last look at the Sorellan base around them before he issued his next order. "Cory, get the boilers fired up. It's time for us to hit the open seas."

As Cory issued the orders into his radio, Abigail sat next to him and looked over. Catching her eye, her hand crept into his and squeezed gently. She offered a small smile and a look that suggested more to come in their next moment of privacy.

With a sudden lurch, the large cruiser sprung to life and left its position on the farthest quay. Jack took a deep breath as it approached the long jetty that signaled the entrance to the harbor, only turning briefly to watch theTiger fall in behind them. Once they were clear of the harbor, theTiger would sprint in front of them, acting as their eyes and ears for the journey north. As the task force left the harbor and made the turn north, Jack looked out to the horizon. Somewhere out there were the Swabians. Along with Kat and Vera. He just hoped to reunite with them before the Swabians found them.

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The first day out from Sorella was a quiet one. It was just before noon the morning after they'd left and theDestiny was cutting through the waves as they made their passage north to Picardy. It was an overcast day, the skies clogged with low-lying, thick clouds, heavy with the bounty of future rains.

Jack sat in his command chair on the bridge, his binoculars plastered to his face as he scanned in every direction. Due to the overcast skies, he couldn't see as far out as he normally could, but so far there remained nothing else to see but water and waves.

At this moment, the bridge was rather empty, as most of the other officers were either in their own quarters or doing other tasks. His only company was Lt. Cory Renner, formerly of theValiant. Having already taken to the new position well, he was currently writing a new order not far from where Jack was sitting.

"Cory, will you give me an update on our speed and course when you have a moment?" asked Jack.

"Yes, sir, we're headed east northeast presently at twenty knots," answered Cory.

"You know you can dispense with the sir when it's just you and me, Cory," said Jack with a laugh.

"I know, it just takes me a while to get used to it," said the embarrassed officer.

"How's the adjustment been for you? Are you getting used to theDestiny?"

Cory nodded. "It hasn't been too bad. She purrs a lot louder than theValiant, that's for sure."

Jack started to laugh. "TheValiant is an older ship. TheDestiny just got commissioned at the beginning of the year. Her polonium reactors are in much better shape."

"Believe me, I've noticed. I barely give the order before I feel the ship start to push forward. It's a welcome change from theValiant," said Cory before looking at Jack with a sheepish grin. "Plus, there's a certain pride to it that I like."

Jack chuckled. "What do you mean by that?"

"I just feel like I'm making more of a difference on theDestiny. This ship being so new and powerful as it is, I feel like this is where I'm supposed to be. I was only too happy to switch spots with Anna. I can't imagine why she didn't want to be here."

Jack lost his smile as he looked away. He had only just started to get used to not seeing Anna at her typical station, and judging by Cory's response, it wasn't as common knowledge as he might have suspected that she'd been occupying his bed. If that was the case, Jack would keep it secreted away as long as he could.

"Some people just have different callings, that's all," said Jack cryptically. "Besides, maybe she's the smart one. TheValiant is almost sure to see action in the coming weeks."

Cory shrugged. "I don't doubt that, Jack. But with all that's going on, I think we'll see our own action here soon enough. I don't think these Swabian fellows are up to any good. It sounds like we'll need to show them who's in charge soon enough."

"I think you're right, Cory. I think you're very right."

They didn't have to wait long for the first sight of trouble. It was shortly after midday when Jack received the call. He'd gone below deck to talk with Greg for a short while when his command radio went off, and Stephanie's worried voice came through. He ascended back above deck as quickly as he could and found himself the last to arrive on the bridge shortly after. Abigail's face was pressed near the starboard window, searching the horizon with her binoculars.

"What's the trouble? What's going on?" asked Jack.

Abigail let her binoculars drop so she could look at him. "Smoke on the horizon. Definitely a fire. Look over here," she said while pointing. Jack grabbed his binoculars and looked for the telltale signs of trouble.

Sure enough, there was a single plume of smoke just off to the horizon. It was just subtle enough to almost avoid detection from this far out, had not the lookouts been extra vigilant. His eyes followed the smoke down to the surface, finding something small and dark just beyond what he could make out from this distance.

"What do you want to do?" asked Abigail quietly.

"Change course and bring us closer," said Jack. "Get word to Vicky as well to swing a course around it. With all the news from this area of the world, I want to be sure of what it is before we leave. I'm hoping it's not a distressed trading ship like theSunflower from yesterday."

"Changing course now, Jack," said Cory, following instruction.

"Get a message to the lookouts as well. I want them to keep an eye out for any trouble on the horizon," said Jack.

It was a daunting few minutes as theDestiny changed course and began to steam due east towards the sight of smoke. After enough time, Jack could begin to make out more details about the source, finding themselves heading to a small island in the middle of the sea. Once they were even closer, Jack could see that his suspicion was correct. The smoke was all that remained of a burnt-out ship, beached on the small strip of land to prevent sinking.

"That looks too small to be a trading ship," said Abigail as theDestiny drifted closer.

"Looks like a fishing boat," said Jack. "Who the hell would have wanted to attack a shipping boat?"

She turned to look at him. "What is going on in this area of the world? This looks like a war zone that popped up overnight. Too quickly for innocents to get out of harm's way."

Once they were close enough, it was easy to see that the island was surrounded by its own coral reef that would have prevented them from getting any closer. Not seeing any danger on the island itself, Jack had several launch boats readied as he and Abigail, along with a small contingent of marines, went ashore to check out the wreck.

There really wasn't much to the island in itself. Barely a couple of square miles in size, it was just a jagged and sandy outpost of the greater sea. Not big enough to support any large creatures of its own, the only other inhabitants of the island seemed to be seagulls, flapping around and looking for food. Once they beached the launch craft, Jack jumped out the vessel as the smell of smoke hit them almost immediately.

"What do you think happened here, Jack?"

"I don't know, but this happened fairly recently. Let's check for survivors."

They didn't need much time to check. The size of the ship and the poor condition of the parts that hadn't burnt away meant that it didn't take long for them to realize there were no survivors. The only thing they did find was a burnt corpse of a man who had been locked below deck. While much of his skin was charred, his expression showed that he was very much alive when he started to burn.

"Who would do something like this?" whispered Abigail.

"It all points to one people," said Jack. "And I'd bet theDestiny that the Swabians are behind this."

After searching what they could, there was a small portion of the boat that was still loaded with some personal effects, even if they were still quite charred. Jack found a trunk full of women's clothes as well as other parts where various clothing, utensils, and other accessories had been. He pulled them all off the vessel and made a small pile on the beach.

"I think this ship suffered much the same fate as theSunflower," said Jack. "The man that we found was not traveling along. There is clothing for several different people here across a wide array of trunks. Whomever this man was with, they were either pulled off the ship or dumped overboard."

"Or sold as slaves," said Abigail. "That's what we heard about the other ship. Especially if they were women."

Jack nodded. "There's nothing else we can do for this ship now. But this is now the second vessel we've come across which means we're seeing a trend. We need to stay vigilant. Someone is preying on these merchant ships."

"Let's get back to the ship," said Abigail. "I want to find whoever was responsible for this and blast them out of the water."

"You and me both," said Jack. "This kind of crime shouldn't go unpunished. There's no reason whatsoever to attack simple merchants and fishing boats. I have a feeling whoever is doing this is trying to strike fear across the entire region. When the entire ocean is in chaos, they'll strike. If it's the Swabians, we can't allow this to continue."

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The rest of the day wasn't nearly as eventful as the late morning. Shortly after ten o'clock, Jack made his way below deck in order to turn in for the night. There was no other sign of life on the transit north, and despite the extra vigilance of the lookouts, Jack felt the need to get some rest. There was one stop that he needed to make before that could happen though, and for that reason, he stopped to knock on Abigail's door.

"Who is it?" came the reply from behind the door.

"It's Jack."

"Come in."

Jack poked his head into her quarters and looked around. At first glance, she wasn't in sight. Remembering her fondness for evening baths, he closed the door behind him and stepped into her bathroom.

Jack had to grab hold of the steel frame to avoid falling over. In front of him, Abigail stood as nude as could be while she toweled off from her evening bath. Small beads of water dripped down her tits as she carefully toweled off her long, delicate legs. It was a sight he could have watched all night. The way she worked the towel around every portion of her skin was incredibly arousing and he soon found himself pressing against his trousers.

"Are you just going to stare at me?" asked a coy-looking Abigail as she moved the towel between her thighs.

"I'd like to do a whole lot more than just stare."

"Who's stopping you then?"

Jack grinned and moved closer until only mere inches separated him from her naked body. Abigail smiled once he was close enough and reached out to wrap her arms around him. Pressing a needy kiss to his lips, she then ground the rest of her body against his.

"What do we have here?" she whispered as her hand grabbed his manhood. Jack fought the urge to groan as she stroked him under his trousers.

"What you have is a very horny commander that just saw the ultimate peepshow."

"Why limit it to a peepshow?" said Abigail with a giggle. "When there's so much more that we can do?"

"I was hoping you'd suggest that," said Jack as his hands slid down her back. Grabbing each cheek in his hands, he placed an echoing slap against her ass, enough to make her shudder.

"Mmm, now you're speaking my language," she purred.

"I'd hoped that you would like that."

Abigail placed a sucking kiss to his lips. When it ended, she locked eyes on him. "There's only one thing you're forgetting, Commander."

"Hmm? What's that?"

"You're fully clothed and I'm not," she whispered with a sultry voice. "Tell me what's wrong with this picture."

"We can change that in a hurry," said Jack as his fingers hurried to undo the buttons on his jacket.

Abigail shook her head. "Not here. Let's go to your room. Your bed. I enjoy waking up in your bed more than anything else."

Jack started to chuckle. "It makes that much of a difference to you?"

"Oh, absolutely. I always wake up in here and just about always alone," said Abigail. "When I wake up in your room, it reminds me where I spent the night. It's a subtle reminder that I'm yours."

Jack smiled. "I like that."

"I thought you might. Give me five minutes and I'll meet you over there, okay?"

"Don't keep me waiting too long."

Abigail grinned and stroked him several times. "Just make sure you're still ready for me when I get there."

Jack kissed her one last time, savoring the sight of her nudity before he finally pushed away and left her quarters. Once outside her door, he took a moment to adjust himself lest he point the way back to his quarters and prayed that he wouldn't see anyone else before he got there. Luckily for him, it was a quiet evening, and he made it all the way back to his room without seeing another soul.

Once he was back inside, Jack carefully stripped off the rest of his clothes and got into bed. Keeping only his faint bedside light on, he awaited Abigail's entry. In the quiet moments that followed, he grabbed his cock and squeezed gently. It was still throbbing hard, desperate to penetrate the dark-haired lieutenant commander.

She didn't keep him waiting long. Sly as a fox, Abigail slipped into his room quietly, wearing only a silken robe that he was sure was definitely not issued by the navy.

"I'm pretty sure that's not standard issue," said Jack with a grin while she spun the cinch.

"How else am I supposed to entice you?" she quipped. "I can't do that with just my uniform."

"Oh, trust me, you definitely can," said Jack while he eyed her body. "You could make a brown paper bag look sexy all on your own."

Abigail gave him a sultry look while she undid the cinch. She grabbed each side of the robe and parted it so that only the valley between her tits and her belly button appeared. "Is that right, Commander? You certainly have a way with words."

"What do I need to do to see more?"

"Just keep talking nice to me."

"You mean keeping telling you how sexy you look and how badly I want you?" said Jack while playing along. "Because I could tell you that all night and still have enough steam to go through the morning."

Abigail moaned and pulled her robe open wider. The only thing preventing it from falling open completely were her nipples, catching the ends of the fabric and holding it in place. "Speaking of having enough steam to go through until the morning, do you think you can make this an unforgettable night for us both?"

"I think you do that enough just being here," said Jack. "Your gorgeous body, perfect tits, and a smile that keeps me hard from dusk until dawn. There isn't anything I wouldn't do right now to slide so deep inside you, Abigail."

She moaned again and this time a finger traced a path down her body, carefully sinking into her sex. Jack immediately heard the sounds of wetness as she primed her body for what was to come. "Can you hear how wet I am for you?"

Jack grinned. "Why don't you come closer so I can hear it better?"

She sashayed her hips on the walk over to his bed, all the while her robe slowly slipped back and started to fall off her shoulders. Her nipples were already hard, sticking out fully from her body and ready to be sucked on. The closer she got to him, the louder he heard the gushing sound coming from her pussy.

Once she got to the bed, they swapped hands. Jack stuck his hand between her legs, slowly raising up her thigh until his fingers teased her slick folds. Slipping inside her wet, waiting hole, Jack rubbed and probed until her breathing became heavier. She wasted no time either, her hand reaching out to grasp his cock, her digits still slick with the evidence of her arousal. She coated the tip of his erection with her essence, and Jack watched as it turned shiny with her own fluids.

Finally, she could stand it no longer. "Jack, I need you right now," she moaned with need.

Jack patted his thigh with his free hand. "Come here. I want to watch you while we fuck."

She grinned and tossed her dark hair behind her shoulder. With slow and deliberate movements, she crawled into bed and straddled his lap. Once again, his hands slipped behind them and grabbed her ass as his cock pushed between her thighs. Jack could only look up at her, her sensual smile and the look of desire in her eyes driving him wild with need.

He couldn't wait any longer. He grabbed his cock and lined it up with her body, and then the sounds of both of their groans echoed throughout the room as he pushed all the way inside. She was so completely drenched that Jack slipped in easily, her body squeezing him with steady pressure.

"Now, fuck me, Jack. Please give me all you got. I need it so bad," she moaned as she began to grind her body against his. Jack gripped her ass and started to thrust, arching his hips so that his cock slid along her wet walls to fully penetrate her. In his next move, he carefully withdrew, leaving only the tip inside her before crashing upwards again, causing her to moan loudly.

Their rhythm continued in this teasing manner for several minutes as Jack alternated between deep yet reserved thrusts while she struggled with the force of taking him all. At one point, she leaned down and kissed him passionately while their hips moved in unison, only locking eyes with him after the kiss broke.

"Don't go softly on me. I need it now. As hard as you can give it to me, Jack," she said with glazed over eyes but a firm voice.

Jack smiled and used his hands to press her body forward. Her head landed against his own, pressed into the pillow as her entire body leaned up higher. It was just the position he was looking for. Arching his hips higher, he was now able to give powerful, rapid thrusts while holding her in place, locked between his own body and his pistoning hips.

"Oh, fuck, yes, Jack! Oh, fuck me!" Abigail screamed as he held her in place. His hips started to move like lightning, a blur of motion as he tried to bring her to orgasm as quickly as possible. Abigail's moans went louder still, and for a moment, he was concerned they might wake up the entire ship. Her chest began to turn red steadily and her mouth hung wide open as she was hammered in this position and soon enough, she began to squirm against him.

"Oh, cum in me, please! Cum in me, Jack! Fill your slut up with all your cum!"

Her own words sent her over the edge. She shuddered in the next instant, her body strength leaving as she forced herself all the way down on his cock. It was all he could do to hold her place as she largely went limp, still shivering with the force of pleasure. He was nearly there himself. The rapid speed that he penetrated her tight hole was having its own effect. Her slick, wet walls were applying just enough pressure that he soon felt that familiar feeling. It was coming too quickly and there was no way to stop it.

Jack pushed his hips up with a carefully timed thrust as the first spurt of cum shot into her body. Abigail moaned in pleasure and pressed her hips tightly against his in an effort to capture every drop. He felt his eyes start to roll to the back of his head at the intensity of the orgasm, his primal brain taking over as he obsessed over getting every drop inside the brunette officer.

They collapsed together a moment later, her sweat-soaked body landing against his. Abigail blew a strand of hair out of her face in the next moment as the rest of her face rested on his chest.

"Oh, Jack, I absolutely adored that position," she panted after several moments. "I felt that so deep, and it was like I was helpless as you had your way with me."