Fourth Vector Ch. 11

Despite it being early, there was already a small stack of notices on his desk ready for his inspection. He had come to expect it over the years, as there never really was a boring or quiet moment when you commanded a navy of over several hundred ships, especially during wartime.

He flipped his way through several of the messages, determining which ones were simply giving him advanced notice of orders or operations and those that would require a more formal response.

As he continued to flip, he came across a series of orders that came from the emperor, and that was when he started to find his anger rising. Most of them had to do with the troop movements throughout Java on the rail network. While the messages had absolutely nothing to do with naval affairs, Charles IX still found the need to deposit them on his desk, a not-so-subtle reminder of their previous conversation over a week ago.

Bancroft gritted his teeth as he remembered the encounter, the emperor having countermanded his orders to requisition the country's rail network for moving raw materials for his ships. It was a pivotal moment in their relationship. Before that day, Bancroft had been nothing but subservient to the emperor's wishes, no matter how much he disagreed with their intent. The war had a way of pushing that limit, and realizing what a weak ruler Charles actually was, Bancroft decided to push back against him to see how far he could go.

Yet even Charles had a limit and Bancroft found it last week. Even still, he had a war to win, and he couldn't let the emperor's shortsighted orders cause them to lose control over a conflict that had been a long time coming. No, if anything, the encounter with the emperor showed him he would need to be more creative with getting his own way, even when it directly contradicted the emperor's own orders.

The current order in his hand, a message from Charles about timetables for sending an entire division across the continent to the staging area on the north coast of Java, was particularly detailed and orderly. Bancroft could tell it hadn't come from Charles' actual hand, obviously written up by one of his generals for the punctuality it required. However, the more that Bancroft read of the order, the more time it gave for an idea to form. A smile soon formed on his face as he grabbed a typewriter.

Bancroft opened one of his drawers to rummage through it while looking for one item in particular. He chuckled when he found it, a separate box of the emperor's stationary, exclusively used for giving orders at the highest levels. Bancroft only had the stationary because he, as the highest naval officer in the country, was authorized to issue orders in the emperor's name and bearing his signature. Yet, it was something that had to come from the emperor first, although that little fact wasn't going to stop him this time.

Bancroft carefully replicated the first part of the emperor's order and then added a second, completely new addendum to the orders. Grinning to himself once he had the finished product in his hands, he placed it in the outgoing pile so that it could get out to the rail operators as soon as possible. It was his ticket to getting what he needed, even if it meant directly disobeying the emperor. This was even a step further than that. It was direct insubordination, a move that may remove his head from his shoulders. Yet, it was the only way to get what he wanted, what heneeded to win the war.

Sometime later, his deputy Rear Admiral Clark came into the office, clutching an order and looking greatly confused.

"Admiral Bancroft, may I have a moment?" he asked as soon as the door was closed.

Bancroft smiled. "Of course, Clark. What's on your mind?"

Clark raised the first of two orders in his hand. "This is particularly confusing to me, sir. This order seems to contradict itself."

Bancroft decided to play along. "In what manner, Clark?"

"Well, the first paragraph dictates a transport schedule for an army division, but the second paragraph explicitly states to transfer several containers of steel before the division is to be moved." Clark then looked up at Bancroft. "I thought the emperor wanted to move the troops first?"

"He did," said Bancroft with a conspiring grin.

Clark raised an eyebrow. "Did this order come from the emperor?"

"Why Clark, I can't fathom what you're suggesting," said Bancroft. "Are you suggesting I forged an order on behalf of our emperor? Surely you'd know that doing such a thing is a death sentence in our country?"

Clark didn't seem to be so easily fooled, a credit to the man's intelligence. "Which is why this order is particularly perplexing. If I had to guess, only the first part of this came from the palace."

"Very good, Clark. This is why you're still my deputy after all these years. Your intelligence is second to none."

"This is a dangerous game you're playing, sir. If the emperor gets word of this—"

"He won't," interrupted Bancroft. "Charles pays little attention to orders after they've been issued. Besides, even if he does question the late arrival of the troops, there are plenty of reasons why that I can offer him. As long as he believes he's the one fully in charge, we can still get what we need while he is none the wiser."

"It still seems a bit risky," said Clark. "You're essentially gambling with our lives."

"Not our lives," said Bancroft. "Just mine. You are just my deputy, Clark, and you knew nothing about my modifications to a few certain orders. If anyone's head will roll for this, it will be mine exclusively."

"A few certain orders?" repeated Clark. "Is that where this second one came into play?" Clark then read the part of the order that concerned him. "This order formally activates the 189th, 190th, and 191st marine regiments. Each regiment is to swear fealty to the Chief of the Imperial Javan Navy, Fleet Admiral Percival Bancroft before being considered active for duty."

Bancroft shrugged simply. "I thought since they were marines under the navy's jurisdiction, they should be taking their oaths directly to me, not the emperor."

"This one is especially damning," said Clark. "This one will get you killed someday."

"Clark, you need to have a little more faith in me. You don't get to be the chief of the entire fucking navy without having a few skeletons in your closest. Besides, we are at war. I'll do whatever is necessary to keep Java safe and prevent the country from being attacked."

"How does that relate to whom the marines swear loyalty to?"

"Details that make no difference in the long run," said Bancroft dismissively. "The difference is that Javans take their oaths seriously. There may come a time when we need to attack rather than wait, or defend instead of attack. I trust my judgment, someone who had spent their life training for military matters, over that of the emperor's any day."

"You know, if anyone else saw this order, they might accuse you of trying to create your own private army," said Clark warily.

Bancroft scoffed. "You know me better than that. What use would I have for my own army? I just need men who will follow my command, especially when I need them to follow orders that may seem a bit . . . contradictory to that of the emperor's."

"You're playing a dangerous game, sir."

"Unfortunately, that is the game that all of us play with imperial politics, Clark," said Bancroft with a heavy sigh. "It's not possible to survive at this level without playing the game and it always has its inherent dangers."

"It makes me uneasy."

"That's why you should leave this kind of thing to me, Clark," said Bancroft. "The more in the dark you are about this, the less you'll have to lie about it should anyone come asking questions."

"That is something we both can agree on, sir. Just be careful and please don't be so reckless with your own life. There are many of us that believe you are the only person who can win this war."

Bancroft smiled. "Now you see why I'm doing it in the first place."

"You know, it's funny that—"

Before Clark could finish his sentence, Bancroft heard what sounded like a low whistle start from a far-off place and then continue to get louder. By the sudden turn of Clark's head, he heard it too, and the two men waited for several tense moments to find out the source of the whistle.

BOOM.

They didn't have to wait long before jumping out of their chairs at the sound of the explosion. Bancroft ran to the window of his office that looked out over the bay of the capitol city, his face turning to confusion as he saw naval vessels just off the coast that he didn't recognize.

Clark saw it too. His eyes went wide in terror at seeing the foreign warships especially as another volley soon rushed forward from the nearest ship, its fireball arching up over the bay and landing with a tremendous explosion over the city.

"Where the fuck did those Occitanian ships come from?" yelled Bancroft as he dashed to the radio to begin issuing a series of orders. To have enemy warships off the coast of the capitol was a disaster of the worst proportions, and he soon realized that this raid was the retaliation for his own strike against the Occitanian capitol weeks ago.

Around them, the ground shook heavily as another incoming blast hit closer than the others, Bancroft watching as a stone building just across from the Admiralty took a direct hit, practically bursting apart in a shower of rocks, mortar, and glass.

"Sir, we need to get out of here!" yelled Clark as he rushed to grab Bancroft's hand.

"Not yet, we need to get orders to—"

Bancroft never finished the sentence. In that next moment, the Admiralty building took a direct hit. Bancroft watched in near horror as the room around them started to collapse, the mixture of brick and wood falling all around them and soon burying their bodies beneath the rubble.

Bancroft closed his eyes in pain as a heavy crossbeam fell across his back and soon his world turned black.

---------

"Damned fog," swore Luke as he looked out from the bridge on theValiant. "I swear this is the third foggy morning since we got back to Quiller's Cove. Is it never going to let up?"

Kim started to laugh. "Maybe around midmorning, but it appears we should just get used to it with these early morning patrols."

Luke growled for a moment before returning his attention back to the horizon, at least the part of the horizon that he could see. Visibility was currently terrible and limited to about a mile out from the ship in current conditions. They had been part of the patrol task force for three days now, the force assembled under Rear Admiral Reynolds that sought to protect the territorial waters around the Javan base.

So far, nothing had been sighted but it wasn't for a lack of trying. The four heavy cruisers under Reynolds' immediate control had struck a course northwest from the base, trying to rendezvous near the last recorded sighting of the Occitanian task force. With them were four additional light cruisers, of which theValiant was one, as well as a force of eleven destroyers. While having no battleships of their own, they did outnumber the Occies in terms of cruisers and destroyers, so that was one thing they had going for them on their search of the enemy fleet.

The other thing was surprise. From the very first briefing given by Admiral Reynolds, it was assumed that the Occies wouldn't expect them to sortie from the base due to a lack of strength. They were also unlikely to know that reinforcements had arrived, and thus the Javans were now up to a decent enough strength to entertain thoughts of engaging the enemy in battle. For that reason, they were now out for the majority of the day searching for the Occie fleet.

"We're never going to find anything in this fog," said Luke angrily. "We could be almost on top of the entire damn fleet and we'd have no idea."

"At least we're somewhat spread out," said Kim. "Far enough away to cover a wide stretch of ocean but close enough to support each other should we find them."

"There is that though," said Luke. "I just wish I could see what was right in front of me."

The radio at his waist was exceptionally chatty today, as many of the commanders checked in with the Admiral to report their findings throughout the morning. It was one thing Luke hated to do, mostly because of the risk of interception. Even though the Occitanians were unlikely to find their radio channel or decipher their codes, it still could potentially alert them to their close presence. For that reason, Luke kept radio chatter to an absolute minimum.

The other commanders weren't nearly as cautious, and Luke listened as a variety of them reported their sections being empty during most of the morning. However, theValiant represented the extreme left flank of their battle line, and for that reason alone, Luke wanted to be extra vigilant since he would have less protection than anyone else should they stumble across the fleet.

As Luke listened to Reynolds' order to the task force to execute a turn to the west, he looked over to Kim. "I think we have to be getting close to them."

Kim looked at him with confusion. "Why do you say that?"

He pulled out his map of the local area. "We're searching this area right here," he said while pointing out a section to the northwest of the base. "The last reported sighting was all the way over here to the northeast of the base. We're only searching our present location because we estimate they kept moving from their last position and would now be over here. However, if they were only looking to cause us trouble, they may be positioning themselves right here to pounce."

"That is if they haven't continued on toward the Vector," said Kim.

Luke shook his head. "Something tells me that they won't go to the Vector without delivering a blow to Quiller's Cove. It's the smart thing to do. Destroying or disabling our main base out here would seriously hamper any missions we have going on in the Vector. I just don't think they'll bypass the base to strike at Jack."

"Which means we're likely to be right on top of them if you're right," whispered Kim.

"And at the end of the flank, we'd be most vulnerable," added Luke. "I feel like this is the sector we need to be in."

Kim looked over to him and smiled. "Let's see if you're right."

It was only about a half hour later that a sighting was called in from one of the forward lookouts. Luke pressed his binoculars against his face as he tried to make out the fog-enshrouded object directly to his northwest.

"Maybe it's a small island. That's not unusual in this part of the world," said Anna.

"Or it just as easily could be the Occie fleet," added Bill.

"It could be the damn emperor in his pleasure yacht for all we know," said Luke sourly. "Anna, speed us up a few knots. I want to figure out what the hell that is."

"You got it, Luke," said Anna as she radioed the order down to the boilers.

"We should tell the admiral as well," said Kim by his side. "Just in case it's something interesting."

"I don't want to be the guy that radios the discovery of a small, uninhabited island to the entire task force," said Luke. "Wait until we get closer a little more. We're close enough to theStardust that they can offer support if we need it."

The ship soon pushed forward with more speed, bringing it closer to the dark outline on the horizon. Soon the outline began to take more shape, and directly to the one side of the shape, a trail of water began to form, taking the shape of a wake left behind by a moving ship.

"Luke, that really looks like a wake. That's got to be another ship," said Kim while looking out the window.

Luke swallowed hard. "Bill, I want you to get the gun crews ready and get your sights on that object. I don't care what it is but the only other thing out here that could possibly be moving is an Occie ship."

"Aye, sir, we'll get the guns on it shortly," said Bill while issuing a series of commands. As their six-inch guns began to rotate to fix on the spot on the horizon, Luke began to make out part of the hull emerging from the mist. Above the hull flew a flag that he could just make out from his spot on the bridge. An Occitanian flag.

"Admiral Reynolds, come in. This is Lt. Commander Ravencross on theValiant. We have the enemy in sight at the following position," said Luke, reading off a series of coordinates to the commander. "We're moving in to engage."

"Good spotting, Ravencross," came the radio back from Reynolds. "All commanders, finish executing your turn to those coordinates. The enemy is near, I repeat, the enemy is near!"

Luke then turned to look at the weapons command station. "Bill, how long until we can fire our first shot?"

"About thirty seconds, give or take! Give me a moment and we can get off our first salvo!"

"Let's make it count. We're so close to those bastards that we have a serious shot! Get all the men to battle-stations immediately!"

The great alarm system began to ring all throughout the ship. Down below deck, men and women began to rush about the light cruiser preparing to engage. It was a tense thirty seconds as Luke waited for the guns to be ready. As if by some luck of fortune, the Occitanian vessel hadn't spotted them through the fog yet, meaning they might be able to get off a couple volleys before the Occies could answer in kind. They just might be able to cripple the ship before they even knew Luke was there.

As soon as the forward turrets were locked on, Bill gave the signal. "Ready to fire, Luke!"

"Good, let's give them a wake-up call. Fire," ordered Luke.

With a mighty roar, the four working turrets of the ship blasted off a mighty salvo that broke the still morning air. With a flash and an explosion, one of those shots caught the Occitanian vessel near the aft, not far from the stern. A colossal plume of thick, dark smoke went into the air at the blow, while the rest of the ordnance largely missed the target.

"Tell the gunners to readjust the turrets," yelled Luke back to Bill. "We're all over the map with the shots that didn't hit!"

"Will do, Luke. We'll get them with this next salvo."

"Luke, it looks like we don't have the element of surprise any longer," said Kim while tugging at his shoulder. "Look!"

Luke looked out at the Occitanian ship as she started to turn to the south, offering up the rest of the ship to his guns. But it also put them in better range for Luke to offer a traditional broadside to them. He watched as their turrets soon swung into place, fixing on his own ship as they started to sail parallel to them. Luke could tell by the similar size of the ship that it looked to be another cruiser. In that moment, he was thankful he didn't have to tangle with a battleship with only his light cruiser.

"They're preparing to fire, Bill. How soon will those guns be ready?"

"Eight seconds, Luke!"

He counted down the eight seconds in his mentally, hoping they'd be able to get off the salvo before the Occitanians were prepared to offer their first. Once he reached zero, he yelled back at Bill to get the shot off.

The turrets roared again as another deadly volley raced toward the Occitanian vessel. Luke watched and cheered internally as several more shots connected, one seemingly blowing up the vessel's rear turrets and causing another loud explosion, the fireball soon racing up into the air. The superstructure of the warship absorbed another shot, causing a small plume of smoke and a much smaller explosion.

"We got them, Luke!" exclaimed Kim, looking jubilant as several dark trails of smoke soon erupted from the wounded cruiser.

They didn't have long to celebrate their victory. The forward turrets of the enemy cruiser were still unharmed, and they were able to get off their own volley soon enough. Some of the ordnance struck a glancing blow at the bow of theValiant however it was as close as they were able to get. Luke looked down to the bow to see some slight damage but nothing that couldn't be fixed quickly. They were lucky, as if that shot were any lower, it would have punched a hole directly against their hull.