Fourth Vector Ch. 14

At this point in time, he had three clans with him plus the marines and half theSciavo. Altogether, he had about twenty-eight hundred fighting men with him. Based upon old reports that Bazu was able to dig up, it was estimated that the enemy forces in front of him were almost half that size. The two larger clans had about seven hundred warriors apiece while the remainder went to the smaller clan.

Superiority of numbers was as important in war as ever, a small comfort to him despite not knowing what waited for him on the other side of the enemy lines. He was still nervous about the Swabians being involved, and wondered what form their aid would look like, especially to the outnumbered rebels.

He also worried about their current position. On the day that they spotted the rebel forces, Jack, Greg, and several of the marines and men from the other clans reconnoitered the position for weaknesses. Whoever was leading the clans had some semblance of military training, for he'd placed them on the highland hills that completely dominated the surrounding desert. To take the position, Jack and his army would have to march uphill on a completely exposed plain long before they even got close to the enemy's location. What was worse was that they would have plenty of time to see them and prepare for their arrival.

To make matters worse, the flanks of the position were largely nonexistent. On both the left and the right side, the hill dropped completely into two separate gullies, making any attack on those flanks completely futile. To the rear of the enemy position was another smooth rock face, a completely sheer wall of stone that led down some several hundred yards to a trench below.

The position was unassailable from all but the southern face. It also meant they couldn't use theDestiny to soften it up like they'd had in the Battle of the Peninsula that took out half the enemy clans in the last war. The enemy clans didn't look like they were about to budge either, completely comfortable with occupying the high ground.

"Surely they can't stay up there forever, right?" asked Greg while gesturing to the makeshift defensive wall they'd erected at the top of the hill. "They're bound to run out of water and food soon enough. I'd say all we have to do is just wait here, block their supply lines, and they'll start to think about fighting once they get hungry enough."

"That's only if they didn't bring enough food," said Samir of theNumratha while shaking his head. "They will have their entire clan up there, and it's the end of the harvest season here. I'm sure their stocks are well-supplied right now. They may be entirely comfortable with waiting us out until we want to attack."

"What do you think our odds are?" asked Jack. "We do have the marines, and I'm sure they'd be able to fight uphill to take that position. I just hate to throw them at it with how few in number they are."

Greg studied the southern face of the hill for a few moments. "It's not that I don't think the boys could do it. It's just I have to question how many of them would be left standing at the end of the engagement. That hill is steep, and it's plenty rocky at the top. They don't even need to fire their arrows at us, Jack. All they'd need to do is roll some rocks down on us, and we'd be shit out of luck."

"Fuck," Jack cursed. He studied the rocks at the top of the hill as well. Many of them were just large enough to be moved by one or two men. Once they got enough force coming down the hill, it would roll like a scythe through the front lines. Anyone lucky enough to make it to the top would be too exhausted to fight any further, becoming easy pickings.

"All right, let me sleep on this one for a little longer," said Jack. "Let's reassess the situation in the morning. I don't want to throw anyone's lives away needlessly for this position if we don't have to."

"Clan Chief, with all due respect, the longer this rebellion goes on, the weaker our position with the other clans," said Masud of theBurlada. "Now is the time when all of Andalucia is wondering what type of king you're going to be. To not strike quickly at a rebellion such as this is going to lead many of them to believe you to be weak. It would be inviting more trouble down the line. We should attack right now, while we still have some surprise."

Greg shook his head and jumped in. "Unless you're suggesting that theBurlada lead the attack, it's not wise to attack this position head-on. I'm not one to shy away from battle, but I also won't let my remaining men be thrown into the meat grinder of a frontal assault on that."

Masud raised his chin. "Casualties do not matter to Andalucians. Only results. Your men got a taste of that in the last war. How many times were your positions assaulted when it could have been deemed futile? Yet still the Andalucians pushed on. That is the measure of this country. We fight while we still have breath, until the last one of us is still standing."

"Okay, relax both of you," said Jack, coming between them. "Nobody is doubting the prowess of the clans, Masud. Let's just be a little more strategic on how we go about this. Let me sleep on it, and see what the situation looks like tomorrow."

Both men nodded only with reluctance and soon separated, heading back to camp. Jack let out a low sigh as he turned toward the position once more. This attack would be more daunting than anything they'd faced thus far. He just needed the right strategy to do it. Or he needed a way to convince them to come down from their position. Both ideas seemed to lead to an unlikely result. Squaring his shoulders, he marched back to camp to think on the idea.

It wouldn't be the only source of bad news that day.

Toward the evening, one of the scouts that Jack had posted along the eastern coast came running into camp. He was panting fiercely, having run a great distance to make it back in the shortest amount of time. Jack knew this man, Dula, as a member of theMuthada, and he was a trustworthy source, which is why he was set to scouting.

"Your Majesty," said Dula, bending at the waist and still panting heavily. "There's a bunch of great ships along the eastern coast. Big ones, sire. They are made of metal just like yours, but they are much more numerous."

Jack sat up from his desk. "You're sure about this? Made of metal, right?"

"Yes, sire! They were hugging the coast so it was easy for me to see them."

"What was the count, Dula? How many ships?"

"At least four really big ones. One bigger than the rest. There were about four of the smaller ones," said Dula, doing his best to describe something he was completely unfamiliar with. "They completely dwarfed anything I'd seen, apart from your own ship, sire."

"This is really important, Dula, so I need you to do your best to remember," started Jack. "But were they flying a flag of some sort? Something that would have been whipping in the wind off of their superstructure?"

Dula nodded his head eagerly. "Yes, sire, they certainly were!"

"Can you remember what type of flag it was? Do you think you could draw it?" He handed Dula a pencil and gave him the back of an old report. "It's really important that you do it accurately."

"I got a good view of one of the little ones that was closest to the coast," said Dula as he began to sketch it. "But all of them flew the same flag, even the really big one. It was a lot like this."

Dula sketched something rectangular that was split by a broad stripe down the middle and one that went across the middle as well. In the remaining fields in each corner, he drew a small flower, four for each edge.

"It looked just like that, Your Majesty. The flowers were colored white as well as the stripes in the center and across the middle. The fields left in the corners were colored blue."

Jack's face lost all of its color. His mouth dropped open, staring in disbelief at the sketch in front of him.

"Your Majesty?" asked Dula, watching him remain speechless. "Is this good or bad?"

"If this is the flag you saw, Dula, this is definitely bad. That's the Occitanian flag. What you saw is an Occitanian battle fleet."

For the next several moments, Jack made him recount the sighting two more times to make sure all the details were right. Based upon his best interpretation of what he didn't see with his own eyes, it seemed the Occitanian force was comprised of a single battleship, three cruisers, and four destroyers. Against which he only had the force of theDestiny and theTiger, wholly inadequate in any sense of the matter.

What was worse is that they were on the way here.

"Abigail, come in," said Jack through his command radio. "Abigail, I need to talk to you at once." Her last position had been just off the northern coast, within range of rebel clans, but still too far away to do any damage to them.

He waited several moments until he heard her voice on the other end. "Jack, what's the matter? Your voice doesn't sound the same."

"Abigail, you have to get out of your current position and head west. There's an Occitanian battle fleet just off the coast, and they're headed your way! Get moving quickly before they get to you!"

*****

By the morning, the situation had gone from bad to worse. Not only were the rebel clans completely comfortable holding their position from the top of the hill, but now the Occitanian battle fleet had crested the northern shore of the island, precipitating Abigail's movement away from them. With the loss of naval support (not like it mattered much at this point anyway with the position of the rebel clans), Jack was at a loss for how to tackle and overcomeboth problems.

It had become especially apparent once he got a full report on the bearing of the Occitanian force. After his initial report from Dula, Jack sent with him Captain Bridge in order to go back to the coast and get another sighting of the enemy fleet. Bridge had spent enough time in the marines that he'd be able to identify the ships if possible and confirm the sighting. Not that Jack didn't trust Dula's report, but rather he wanted Javan eyes to confirm something they'd be more familiar with.

"There's a battleship with them, sir," said Bridge, making his report after getting back. "Three heavy cruisers and four destroyers, just like you thought."

"Goddamnit," swore Jack. "How the hell did they find us? Did they see you?"

"Negative, sir, we stayed low to the ground and hugged the terrain. No way they could've seen us. They didn't appear to be searching for anything either."

"How do you figure that?"

"They moved slowly, almost tentatively through the waters. They didn't come too close to shore nor were there any expeditionary parties. My guess is that they don't know we're here."

"We can only hope that's true for our own sake," said Jack. "We don't have the firepower to fight off a force of that size."

"Maybe they've just gotten lucky. Maybe they'll move on soon enough without any action on our part."

"I sure hope you're right, but we can't be caught unprepared. Especially if they get sight of either theDestiny or theTiger. Then they'll know we're here, and they won't stop hunting us until we're dead," said Jack. "How far away is it from our current camp to the coast?"

"Maybe about six miles, give or take," answered Bridge.

Jack shook his head and started to swear once again. "Damnit. If we open up with our rifles, that sound could carry out to sea. Any officer worth their salt on their side will be able to recognize the distinctive sound of a mass of NT-12s, and our position would be given away for sure."

"Are you suggesting we hold off any attacks then?"

Jack nodded. "At least until today. Not that it does us any good, especially with their formidable position."

Jack had barely stopped speaking when Bazu flew into his tent, already babbling up a storm.

"Sire, we have another problem."

Jack groaned out loud.Were there no shortages of problems in this country?

"We already have enough of those already, Bazu."

"This one is serious, Your Majesty. It concerns the movements of the clans."

"The ones holed up on the hill?"

Bazu shook his head. "No, sire. The ones that are supposed to be coming to reinforce our position."

Jack squinted. "What do you mean?"

"Apart from your Javan allies and theSciavo, we have three clans here with us today. We put out the word about the rebels and asked for any clan that could give assistance to send a force. I had three more moving in this direction."

"What do you mean 'had' moving, Bazu?"

The vizier swallowed heavily. "They've stopped, sire."

"How could they just stop?"

"Their reported movements haven't changed since yesterday," he said, showing their positions on a small, tactical map in front of him. "This clan has only moved a mile closer, give or take. These two haven't budged in two days now."

Jack studied the map in front of him. For whatever reason, all three of them had set a brisk pace in the previous few days but had stopped in their tracks.

"What could be the reason for it?" he asked Bazu. "Lack of supplies? Do we have an enemy clan in our rear?"

Bazu shook his head. "Our supply lines back to Septhada are perfectly clear. Worryingly enough, these clans are directly over our supply lines. My concern is that the Swabians may have gotten to them, or they may be slowing their marches down to see who comes out as the victor in this next battle."

"Don't they know I'd be just as liable to have their heads if they don't show up?" asked Jack with an angry grimace. "This is treason."

"This is a common move by Andalucian clans, sire. They won't want to be caught backing one side too strongly in case that side loses and that puts their clan in jeopardy. So they'll hold back until a clear winner emerges and then throw their support to that side. It happens all the time here, unfortunately."

Jack felt the urge to punch something. "Remind me to deal with those clan chiefs once this battle is over."

"So we have enemy clans to our front, Occitanian ships to our east, and treasonous clans in our rear," said Bridge, who'd been listening to the report. "It's beginning to feel like old times."

"Almost too much like old times," muttered Jack. "I'd hoped all this nonsense was in the past once I took the throne."

Bridge chuckled lightly. "It appears all these forces need a reminder of what we can do. Besides, do you remember the best part of being surrounded?"

Jack cocked an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"You can start fighting in any direction and still find the enemy," said Bridge with a grin.

"You've been hanging out with Greg too long."

"He has started to rub off on me, hasn't he?"

Jack managed a small laugh. "Go update him on the situation for me, will you? Make sure we don't start any engagements if we don't have to, especially while that fleet is still sniffing around."

Bridge gave a short salute and headed back out into the field, leaving Jack alone with Bazu for the moment. Between the two of them, he drafted up short but explicit orders for the three meandering clan chiefs, giving them one last opportunity to pick their pace up or face consequences.

At this point, it was more of an idle threat. With their combined strength, if they abandoned the fight in favor of the rebels, they'd match his numbers of men evenly. What's more, they could pinch Jack in against the coast where he wouldn't have the luxury of calling in for naval support for theDestiny. It was a tough situation for anyone to be in, and he hoped that at least their reported loyalty to their sovereign would outweigh the risk of defecting.

After he'd sent Bazu off to get riders for those messages, Jack slumped back in his chair, already exhausted despite it being only late morning. He needed something to take his mind off the trouble in front of him. He allowed himself to drift off for a brief moment, remembering one particular evening with Kat shortly after he rescued her. The memory brought a temporary smile to his lips.

Thankfully for his mood, Kat soon slipped into his tent, wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind. She nuzzled against his cheek as her blonde hair tickled against his neck. The soft smell of her skin drifted across his nose, making him savor the moment.

"You always know just when I need you," Jack muttered quietly. "Your presence is so relaxing to me."

"That's why I'm here," she said with a slight giggle. "I sensed you needed me."

"You must be psychic then," he said with a chuckle. "It's exactly what I was thinking."

She turned his head softly and placed a full kiss against his lips. "What has you so troubled?"

Jack threw his hands up. "Whatdoesn't have me troubled? That would be a much shorter list."

"We'll find a way to get through this," she said after listening to his complaints. "We've been in worse situations already and somehow pulled through."

"I'd really like to get my hands around this Avila character's throat," said Jack with a grim stare. "I feel like most of our problems come from his hand."

"I'm sure you'll get your chance soon enough," she said cryptically. "Besides, we're doing what we're supposed to do. We're building alliances we need to take on the Swabians. It just takes some time."

"Time is not on our side at the present moment," he said before turning to look at her. She looked so beautiful in the soft light of the tent, her blonde hair carefully framing her angelic face. "Perhaps we should just go to Galicia and see if they want to join our alliance next instead of Picardy?"

The look of tenderness on Kat's face dropped instantly. "That's not a good idea."

"Why not? I thought you said Galicians and Swabians instinctively dislike each other?"

"They do," she said with a nod. "But the Galician regent is a weak man, and I think he'd be more inclined to give them a free hand."

"You speak as if you know him personally, Kat."

Kat turned away from him, staring off at the floor for several moments. She didn't answer him nor did she make any attempt to turn around. Jack reached out for her hand. "Kat, what's on your mind?"

"It doesn't take long to learn about the current regent and where his strengths lay," said Kat ominously. "The current one, Eric Rosdahl, is very predictable, Jack. He wouldn't be an ally to us."

"Kat, it's okay," he said, pulling her to him. She had turned very tense in that small amount of time, her face filling with worry. "I know how you feel about your homeland. That was more a playful tease than a serious suggestion."

Kat nodded quickly. "I'm sorry. It's just that there's so much I haven't told you about Galicia. So much that you should know. You need to know. It's just that—"

In an instant, both of their heads whipped around to the north as the sound of gunfire rang out all across the front lines. The two of them shared a look of horror at the sound.

"Damnit, I told them not to fire yet!" said Jack as he launched himself out of his seat while grabbing his NT-12. "The sound of that much weaponry might carry out to the Occitanians!"

Kat hurried along by his side as the entire camp came alive at the sounds. "Jack, something doesn't sound right. That gunfire sounds too far away."

"If they've launched their own surprise attack against the rebel clans, I'm going to be pissed."

Jack crested the hill to see the front lines of his own army. Up until a few moments ago, it had been set up to have the more numerousBurlada in the middle and theNumratha/Muthada on the flanks, while the Javan marines were situated in bands and scattered throughout the line as a way to beef it up.

However, Jack soon saw that it wasn't his marines that were attackingout of the defensive line. Sure, they were firing at the current moment, but they were also being fired upon by a force coming down the hill from where the enemy clans were.