Fourth Vector Ch. 18

"This is madness, Aedan," said Kat as she put her hands on her hips. "Carinthia is your oldest ally. You cannot fight a war against them!"

Aedan snapped at her. "Don't you think I know that, Katherine? I've been putting out diplomatic feelers all morning but Reina has been quiet on me. I'd not be surprised if her whole army shows up on my doorstep just because of the actions of some jumpy commander."

"What are the chances that she'd accept this whole thing as just a misunderstanding?" asked Jack. "Surely she can see the logic of the situation? I'm sure you can even pay compensation for the ship."

"I've already offered," said Aedan with a wave of the hand. "The Carinthians are a prideful lot. Their honor means everything to them, sometimes even to the point stupidity. I'm worried they'll feel compelled to go to war." He started to shake his head. "I just wanted to appear tough to them. Not this, never this! What's worse is that the Swabians have already shown up and promised aid in the form of soldiers to fight the Carinthians."

"Please tell me you won't accept that," said Kat. "You know what happens when you let Swabians onto your soil. They will never go away."

"I know, I know. I've held them off for the time being, but they keep demanding an answer. They even sent a cousin of Lord Avila, no doubt because of his interest on the island. I'm beginning to think this was a bad idea."

Jack didn't say anything, only exchanging a knowing look with Kat. Before anyone could respond, there was a knock on the door, and an envoy slipped into the room wordlessly and slipped a dispatch into Aedan's hand. Jack watched as he scanned it quickly before letting out a loud groan at the end.

"Damnit," swore Aedan. "I knew it. I'm going to have that commander kicked out of the navy."

"What does it say?" asked Jack.

"The Carinthians are breaking diplomatic relations," replied Aedan weakly. "They are setting a deadline of one week to release those men responsible for sinking their ship to their custody for punishment." He looked up at Jack. "I can't do that. The very notion is an assault on Picard sovereignty. Reina should know better."

"I imagine passions are just as hot in Carinthia from the loss of the ship," said Kat quietly.

Aedan groaned again. "I can't let this happen. I have to fix this relationship. I can't fight a war right now, especially with the plague ravishing the country. Our army is in no condition to fight. I have several regiments completely struck with the plague, and I'm afraid their strength would be compromised."

Before Jack could respond, Kat lightly touched his arm. "Trust me," she whispered before she turned to look at Aedan. "Aedan, let us mediate this conflict with the Carinthians. We will go to Carinthia and talk with Queen Reina and prevent this from degrading into a war."

Aedan's head popped up quickly. "Will you? You're not just saying that, right Katherine? You'll really talk to Reina?"

Kat looked to Jack quickly, her eyes imploring him for a response. Jack answered for her. "We will. We're a neutral third party, technically, so we aren't on any one's side. Being that Kat knows the both of you, she'll be trusted enough to help mediate this. The last thing we want to see is another war."

Aedan sprung up from his chair and wrapped the both of them in a hug. Jack was taken aback by the king's sudden push for affection, finding his great beard tickling the side of his face.

"Thank you both." He pulled back to look at them. "If you'll do this, you may have just saved Picardy."

"We'll do the best we can," said Kat. "But we should get going. If we have a week's deadline, we need to get to Carinthia. It will take us a few days just to make it to the capital city of Polana."

"Please keep me informed of your progress. Send me a dispatch whenever possible," said Aedan as he turned away from them. "And may the gods look over you. And Picardy for that matter."

Even though the meeting was brief, it changed everything about their stay in the country. They were escorted to the entrance of the palace, and it was only once they were outside that Jack looked over at Kat. "What's on your mind?"

She gave him a sheepish look. "I hope you don't mind what I did, but I have a plan."

He started to chuckle. "I'm all ears."

"We need to get both Picardy and Carinthia in our alliance, and we very well can't do that with them at war with each other. I know Reina quite well, and I should be able to get her to see that what actually happened here was just a mistake and not worth fighting a war over. If we can mediate this, we'll have Reina on our side, and Aedan will be so thankful that we'll have enough clout with him to rope him back into the alliance." Kat gave him a small smile. "If we do this right, we'll have an alliance of Picardy, Carinthia, Andalucia, and Sorella at the end of this."

"I'm impressed," said Jack finally, as they started to near the port.

"I was paying attention during my strategy sessions with my father," she said with slightly red cheeks.

"I'm glad you're on our side then," he added with a chuckle. "Let's get back to the ships. We need to get moving."

"I'm glad we'll be leaving," said Greg with a grunt. "I think a few days at sea will do me some good."

Jack looked back at Greg. "Now that you mention that, you're not looking so hot."

"I think I ate something funny," he said while rubbing his stomach. "Hopefully when we get to Carinthia, we can eat some real food at the palace. I'm getting tired of all this ship food."

Jack laughed. "Hopefully. We have to get on Reina's good side first."

Kat grinned. "You leave that to me. We'll have a better first reception in Carinthia than we did in Picardy."

"I sure hope you're right," said Jack with a chuckle.

*****

"Adalbert, will you walk faster please!"

Adalbert's feet started moving a little quicker as he tried to catch up to Magda. They were on their way back to the port, where a new Swabian trading vessel was preparing to dock. Just this morning, they had made a surprise call on the palace. The two of them had been quick to learn of the incident in the harbor the night before, Adalbert's own eyes seeing the spot in the harbor where the Carinthian vessel now rested just below the surface.

The tension between the two former allies had been a delightful surprise for their mission here, and now it afforded just the kind of opportunity that his cousin sought to take advantage of.

It was also splendid timing for the cargo that they were about to receive from the inbound ship.

"I can't wait to see these two at war," said Magda quietly as their feet echoed off the dock. "The kind of money this is going to make us is going to make me filthy rich."

"How are we going to make money from it though? If the Picards go to war, I hardly see how we are going to continue our trading efforts. They won't be buying shitty robes, but bullets instead. We're not trading bullets."

Magda shook her head at him. "You're thinking too small, Adalbert. I suspect that's the reason Andalucia fell apart on your watch."

They began to climb the gangplank into the new vessel. The main deck was littered with containers, and a quick count of all of them put a shocked expression on his face. "We don't even have room in the warehouse for all these containers. What are we going to do with all of this?"

Magda rolled her eyes and pulled him by the arm until they were below deck. He kept following her until they came into a large holding quarters, and suddenly, Adalbert gasped.

It was filled with soldiers. Gray robed Swabian soldiers, all bearing the patch of his cousin on their shoulders.

"Where did all these men come from?" he asked with a confused expression.

Magda grinned. "A gift from your cousin. Once we ally with the Picards, we are going to completely destroy Carinthia in this war. Then, with the Picards too weak from the war and the plague to resist us, we'll take over the country. We'll knock out two traditional enemies in one blow. It's time we abandon our 'trading' mission. This new opportunity will deliver this country to us even quicker."

Adalbert could only stare as he took in the sheer quantity of soldiers. The Picards and the Carinthians were in for one hell of a surprise.