Fourth Vector Ch. 14

"Why don't you go get washed up? The baths are that way," said Jack while pointing. "I can't have you going home to your wife looking like that. She'll be worried to death."

Jack helped the slave to his feet and gestured for another cook to help him on the way to the baths. As the pair walked away, the beaten slave looked back at him. "Thank you for everything, Your Majesty."

Jack could only bite his tongue and nod. No other moment more symbolized for him what needed to be done. He just had to find a way to make it work.

A short while later, Jack made his way into his morning briefing with Bazu, who was already prepared with a list of scrolls on his desk. Before he could even get started, Jack opened up with his own form of questioning.

"Bazu, how many slaves are present here in Septhada? Do we have a count?"

Bazu gave him a confused look. "I might have a count somewhere. Hold on a minute, sire." The small vizier went digging through his files, searching for an elusive folder that remained just out of reach.

"Ah, here it is," he said, pulling it out from the stack. "Let's see, we have approximately three thousand of them here in Septhada alone. Just shy of three hundred of them work for the palace while the rest are down in the city. Why do you ask, sire?"

"Because I have to do something about this slavery question, Bazu. And I'm going to start with them. I just need a way to free them. I need a way to make sure when they're free, they can purchase food and shelter. Basically, we need to pay them."

Bazu's eyes rolled up in thought. "Are you asking if we have the money to do so?"

Jack shrugged. "Is there any room in the treasury to pay over three thousand slaves enough money to start their lives?"

"Not at all, Your Majesty," said Bazu with a shake of the head. "Vertulis was a man of many tastes, and despite how much money flowed into the coffers, he usually found a way to spend it shortly after."

"Can we sell something off then? Surely a man that liked to spend had too many possessions. What can we sell to generate cash?"

Bazu shook his head. "Vertulis didn't like to spend money on things. More like on people. Money that isn't easily recovered."

Jack pursed his lips and then sighed. "There's got to be something we can use."

Bazu thought for a moment and then his eyes went wide. "Sire, what about all the gold that we requisitioned from the payments to the Swabians?"

Jack's head snapped over to the vizier. "The slave money, of course!" He then started to laugh. "How ironic."

"What's ironic, sire?"

"That the money that was supposed to go towards the purchase of more slaves will now go to free them," said Jack with a grin.

"I daresay it would add insult to injury for the Swabians though, sire. They won't like that they're not being paid. They will absolutely hate what you've done with the money too."

"The Swabians have been throwing their weight around this part of the world too much lately. It's about time that someone stood up to them," said Jack. "How much money is in that fund?"

"It's quite substantial, sire. They've brought a lot of slaves to Andalucia, and it was to be their monthly payment until we stopped it."

"Enough to get a few weeks of wages out to every slave in Septhada?"

"More than enough, Your Majesty. With some left over as well."

"Good, here's what I want you to do," said Jack. "We're going to commandeer that fund and do some good with it."

*****

The next morning, all the slaves were given their freedom in the city of Septhada. Early on in the day, Jack had drafted a proclamation to be read out across the city that detailed the change that was to be made. No more would anyone have to wear the metal clasp of servitude in the capitol city. From that day forward, any slave that existed in the city, or crossed its threshold, was free and independent.

By midmorning, you could hear the celebration from the city all the way up to the palace. Roving bands of former slaves took to the streets to celebrate, the vast majority of them crying, dancing, and celebrating their freedom in any form of expression they could muster. The scene wasn't limited to just the city for very long either. Soon enough, the slaves owned by the palace were celebrating as well, especially given the fact that Jack had managed to have them all hired on as help moving forward. They not only had their freedom—now they had paying jobs as well.

It was not only the logical thing to do, but the right one as well. Jack still had a need for the help provided to keep the palace running, and the former slaves would need a paying job if they wanted to keep their freedom, so he had the former slaves added to the palace budget.

For every slave still in the city, they were to meet on the palace grounds the next day in order to receive a small payment of up to four weeks of wages. It wasn't a fortune, but it was enough to get them started with building a life free of servitude. All of the money was requisitioned from the Swabian fund, with orders to keep taking from it to free the rest of the country next.

It was only in the middle of the afternoon that Jack took a moment to relax for the day, spending the time on one of the many balconies that overlooked the city. Sounds of jubilation could still be heard from both the palace and the city, and he took in soothing sounds of freedom. He even had to go out of his way to cheer up the few Andalucians who weren't yet ready for the change, even though many of them didn't seem to want to hear his words of comfort. Their society was about to change forever.

"It's a beautiful sound, isn't it?"

Jack turned to find Vera watching him from the door. She had her arms crossed and a small smile on her lips.

"It sure is," said Jack as she joined his side. "I can only imagine what they're all feeling right now."

Vera giggled. "I don't think you have to imagine it, Jack. We canhear what they're feeling."

He chuckled with her. "I suppose you have a point there."

"So many times when I was enslaved here, I wished for a way out. Any chance to get my freedom back. For so many of them out there that were enslaved against their will, you gave that to them today. You gave them their lives back, Jack."

"It was long overdue," he said with a gesture out toward the city. "I couldn't let it continue here any longer. I just needed a plan, and I feel like I got what I needed only yesterday."

Vera looped her arm through his and rested her head against his shoulder. "You did really good, Jack. I'm so proud of you."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I don't want anyone else to have to go through what you did. No one else should have to suffer for no reason. I wanted today to be the first day toward building a new Andalucia."

She turned toward him and smiled. "They're right about you, you know? About calling you theTur'hava. You've changed their society. They saw that from the moment you stepped foot here."

"Let's just hope I changed it for the better," said Jack grimly. "The last thing I'd want is to be known for bringing chaos to this land."

Vera shook her head firmly. "I don't think that will happen. Not from that sound," she said while gesturing to the city.

Jack squeezed her tightly. "We can only hope."

*****

"Your Majesty, there's an urgent report from up north!"

Jack opened his eyes as Bazu slammed the door open to his personal chambers and slipped inside. Beside him, Kat shuddered herself awake, her eyes going wide at the intrusion.

"Bazu, what time is it?" asked Jack, blinking out the sleep from his eyes.

"I'm sorry, sire, it's only seven in the morning," said Bazu with an alarmed tone. "But I had to see you at once."

Jack leaned down and kissed the sleeping form of Abigail still before shifting his way out of bed. In the process, he slipped over Kat and greeted her the same way.

"I'll be right back," he promised.

"Hope so," she murmured before kissing him again and letting him by.

"Now what's so urgent that you had to wake me up early," said Jack peevishly as he and Bazu left his personal chambers and made their way down the hall.

"This report I just got, sire," said Bazu. "It concerns the clans to the north. The ones we've had our eyes on this entire time."

"Right, theLapusa and theGartala clans. What's in the report?"

"We had our own men scouting after these two clans after their unusual movements in the last three weeks. As you know, both of them have moved further north than their traditional lands for no apparent reason. However, they've begun to act hostile toward our scouts in the region."

"Hostile how?"

"In the beginning, it was verbal barrages to our warriors," said Bazu. "Then it became arrows. Any scout that got too closer was liable to be shot at. Now they've detained and put to death several of the men that we had watching them. As you know, those men are your envoys, Your Majesty. Such a move is unheard of with the respect that's due to the throne."

"Have we given them any reason to be hostile?" asked Jack. "I don't recall anything special about these two clans, and they never came up during the war against Vertulis."

"That brings me to my next report, sire," said Bazu with a heavy gulp. "This message just arrived this morning from Clan Chief Purva of theTurvada clan. It appears he was approached by a two man embassy of the Swabian Empire."

"Two men?" questioned Jack as his eyes narrowed. "Do we know who they are or what they were doing?"

"The clan chief states that their names were Berimund and Adalbert."

"Berimund. I recognize that name. That has to be the same man I met in the camp of theMuthada. Right when I first arrived in Andalucia."

"The name is known to me as well, sire," said Bazu with worried eyes. "He came to the court of Vertulis as well."

"For what purpose?"

Bazu's eyes shifted uneasily. "To rally the clans against you. This Berimund was the main force behind this."

Jack started to nod. "Well, that answers that question. And let me guess, he's up to his old tricks again?"

"According to this, yes. He's trying to rally those clans with promises of gold to anyone that will stand up to you."

"To what purpose though? I'm the king now, Bazu. Even if he's rallied two clans to his side, I still have at least a dozen more that would move against him if that was the case. What do they gain from doing this?"

Bazu closed the scroll to look at him. "Sire, I can see the point you're making, but at one point, you just had two clans against you yet here you stand. This situation can't be underestimated especially in this country. Not to mention, these are two of the largest clans, almost entirely untouched by the prior war. They would be formidable in any scenario."

Bazu had a point. Two clans could be dangerous especially if they were allowed to get momentum. Even though he had the advantage of having the marines with him, theMuthada and theNumratha had been significantly bloodied by the time he took them over, and it was still enough to propel him to the kingship. And with Swabian gold behind them, there was no telling what might happen.

"How long would it take us to get our army from here to the northern coast, Bazu?"

Bazu's eyes rolled up in thought. "Probably a week or more. It depends on how fast we could leave Septhada."

"We'll have to get moving right away," said Jack. "Put out a message to all the deputies of my clans, as well as to the clan chiefs nearest to Septhada. I want them to start moving in the direction of these clans. It's time we end Swabian meddling in Andalucia for good."

*****

Later that day, Jack called for a war council with all of his forces in Septhada. In addition to his Javan forces, all three clans under his personal command sent their deputies to be in attendance. Jack also had riders sent out to address the nearest clans, but due to their distance, they couldn't be present that afternoon.

After getting a makeshift map of the northern coast prepared by Bazu, Jack was able to point out the current positions of the two rogue clans as they dominated the highlands of that area of the country.

"I'm proposing we send not only our full army but also that of every clan within marching distance," said Jack after pointing out their positions. "Every clan that can offer assistance should do so in order to put out this rebellion."

"Isn't that overkill though?" asked Vera. "It's just two clans."

"So were we at one point," said Jack with a grim look. "We can't take this too lightly, especially knowing that the Swabians are spending gold to organize against us."

"Do we know who it is that's spending the gold?" asked Greg. "Is it Lord Avila again or is this a more centralized operation involving the emperor?"

Jack looked to Bazu who deposited some of the Swabian gold on the table. "It's impossible for us to tell at this time, as all of their coins depict their emperor. However, we know firsthand the interest that Lord Avila has in this part of the world, so I wouldn't doubt it's his influence."

"Lord Avila was the central figure behind the slave trade as well," added Bazu. "It wouldn't surprise me if this is his way of protecting his revenue stream."

"Nor can we allow him to get another foothold on this island. This rebellion has to be squashed," said Jack.

"We're ready to march with you, Your Majesty," said Masud of theBurlada. "Our people can be ready to move by first light."

"As will theNumratha, sire," added Samir.

"TheMuthada will do their duty as well," said Abel.

"My thanks goes out to all of you," said Jack to the Andalucian deputies. "We'll surely need your men when the time comes." He then turned to Abigail. "We'll want the extra firepower of theDestiny as well, since they are so close to the coast."

"If that's the case, I should get back to the ship," she said. "I've been away long enough as is."

"I'll feel better with you at the helm," said Jack reluctantly. "Especially if the Swabians start sending ships instead of gold."

"We can only hope," she said with a small smile. "There's been a lack of action around here lately."

Jack chuckled. "You're starting to sound like Luke."

She let out a soft laugh but otherwise nodded her head in agreement.

"Jack, I can have the marines ready to go in the morning as well," said Greg after consulting with his two captains. "We're down in men, but we're still a significant force."

"What's the current count as of this morning, Greg? How many are ready to fight?"

"I have ninety-five men in fighting condition," said the major. "Ten are wounded and will have to be left behind, though. I think most of them will pull through, but they just need more time to heal."

"We'll leave them behind in Septhada," said Jack. "I'll leave half of mySciavo guard here to watch the city just in case we have to deal with any threats to our rear. The rest of them will come with us."

"It sounds like we'll have a significant fighting force, Your Majesty," said Samir when they were all done. "I almost feel bad for those that are about to face us."

Jack chuckled. "I appreciate the confidence but let's not get too cocky about this one. At least until the battle is over. Something tells me that this won't be as easy as it looks. The Swabians are a wildcard here that we can't underestimate. Once we get our forces moving, let's spend some extra downtime training, as well as having them remain vigilant at all times. They should expect anything and everything just in case. I won't be caught by surprise again."

The room nodded and confirmed their acknowledgment as one being.

"Good," said Jack. "We move out in the morning. Let's get ready."

*****

As the sun rose that next day, a long column ofMuthada,Numratha,Burlada, and Javan marines emerged from Septhada onto the northern road on their way for battle once more. It was a bitter feeling for Jack to have to know that he was once again heading to war. It was especially daunting that he didn't know what he'd find once he reached the north coast of the country. Would it still just be two clans? Or more? And would there be Swabians there too?

There was too much to ponder over, although the hardest part was saying goodbye to Abigail around midmorning. Once they reached a fork in the road, one of the paths led east to the coast, the shortest distance for her to meet up again with theDestiny. For that reason, she had to say her goodbyes once she separated from the column.

"I hate having to leave you," she said sadly as the small squad of marines prepared to escort her to the sea.

"I think I hate it just as much," said Jack. "It feels like you've only just rejoined me after our last absence."

"I just hope this one isn't for as long. Let's get up there and crush this rebellion, Jack. And then we can be back together again, okay?"

"Sounds great to me," he said with a chuckle. "Besides, I'll miss having you at my side every night."

Abigail gave him a coy look. "I'll make it up to you once I return. Let's not forget you still have Kat to keep you warm." She gestured over to the Galician woman, standing not too far away to let them have a moment of privacy.

"I was getting used to having the both of you. One on either side," he said.

"Well, you'll just have to get unused it for the time being," she said with a laugh. She then gestured for Kat to come join them. Kat gave them a shy smile as she joined them a moment later.

"Look out for him while I'm gone, okay? Don't let him do anything stupid," teased Abigail.

Kat giggled and wrapped her arms around his torso. "Don't worry. I'll keep him on the straight and narrow."

Jack let out a playful huff. "Why are you both talking about me like I'm not even here?"

"It's just because we love you," said Abigail, swatting at his stomach.

Jack grunted while the two women embraced each other. He watched as Kat whispered something he couldn't hear in the other woman's ear, only to see Abigail nod a moment later. Once they pulled apart, they said their own goodbyes.

"Keep in touch with me on the command radio," said Jack. "Let me know what's going on the moment you get out there."

"Of course I will," she said. "I'll check in with you every night too."

"Most importantly, stay safe. Let's hope these clans are as easy to take care of as they were in the last war."

Abigail grinned. "With theDestiny on our side, I'm sure they won't be too troublesome."

She pressed into his arms one last time, kissing him deeply. Jack let his fingers entwine into her dark hair, trying to memorize the feeling of her body against his. All too soon she was gone, just a speck on the horizon. He hoped it wouldn't be too long until he saw her again.

*****

Even traveling at a brisk pace, it took the army the better part of eight days to reach the northern bluffs where the rebel clans had congregated. By that point in time, the two starting clans had been joined by a third, a little clan that looked to the other bigger two for safety in numbers. The terrain here much reminded him of rocky territory they'd fought through when they first landed in Andalucia, and he had nightmares about fighting those same battles once more.

Despite his worry, the men were in good spirits. The main force of Javan marines sang their war songs on much of the trip north, many them all too happy to be going back to battle. Jack could never quite figure that one out, especially after the last war had taken so much of their current strength. Yet, Javan marines were a cut above just about every other warrior he knew of, and they gladly marched into the brimstone, usually with a smile on their face.