Fourth Vector Ch. 19

Bancroft reached out and patted the man's hand. "Have a little faith, Clark. I've never steered you wrong before now. It's about time the emperor saw what the navy is capable of."

Clark could only shake his head, slinging away from his desk like a wounded animal. Bancroft knew he didn't have to swear the man to silence. Clark would never betray him. It's the reason why he left the man in his place for so long.

Unfortunately it meant the sacrifice of Vice Admiral Henrik.

While Bancroft would shed a tear for a loyal officer, one man's life was worth sending a message.

As his heart raced at the implications, Bancroft looked out to the now darkened bay, watching as the waves created their own series of shadows as they rippled toward shore. One tiny movement out in the deepest part of the bay could have a huge effect on the wave that reached the shore.

One tiny movement could change the course of history.

The die had been cast.

*****

King Aedan was fuming once again.

Just like the other recent incidents, this one again involved the Swabians in some manner, and his patience had now finally evaporated. They'd not only gone one step too far, but now in his hands was an allegation that the entire plague in Picardy was their handiwork.

Aedan clutched the message from Jack Easterbrook in his hand, detailing the nature of his man's investigation of the Swabian warehouse, the nature of their cargo, and how quickly he got sick from being exposed to such. The message made it clear that Jack thought their tainted goods were the explanation for the plague's appearance and its rapid spread from when it first appeared in the marketplaces.

It all made sense. Almost too much sense, to the point that Aedan wondered how he didn't see it before. The plague only started once the Swabians arrived, and while they hadn't been completely immune to its effects, they did escape a serious infection rate. It brought up too many questions to be a coincidence.

When added to the larger picture, it became quite logical. They wanted a weak Picardy, a country too consumed with its own problems to fight back. Their hands had never been outstretched in friendship. They simply sought to see how far they could push him before they could rip his country out from under him.

No more.

Aedan wouldn't permit the country of his forefathers to be treated in such a manner. Not when his very own heir was about to be born in the next few days. That unborn child deserved to live in a free country, ruled by those of his own blood, not a foreign power who couldn't care less.

Now was the time to act.

As he came to Ciara's sitting room, he entered to find the queen sitting near the window, reading something in one hand while the other rested on her giant belly. She looked up at once to see the look of fury on his face.

"Aedan? What's wrong, dear?"

"This. Read this," he said, thrusting the message into her hand.

Ciara took a moment to read over Jack's message before her gaze hardened too. Even though the tiny queen couldn't possibly be more beautiful, the look of anger on her face was enough to cow nations.

"They've worn out their welcome," she said firmly, her eyes ablaze.

"My thoughts as well. It all makes sense now. The spread of the plague, the marketplaces. They've been poisoning our people from the inside, making us too weak to resist them."

"I'd say we have a cause for war. This cannot be allowed to stand. It's not enough that we kick them out of Picardy," said Ciara, ripping the message to shreds. "They need to pay for all the blood they've spilled."

"That's why I've drafted a new order. The Swabians have twenty-four hours to leave Picardy completely before we declare war. Our alliance is at an end," said Aedan with a firm chin.

Ciara nodded hesitantly. "What about the Carinthians? Have we heard any word on that regard yet?"

Aedan grimaced. "Not yet. But I'd rather face a war with them alone than have to worry about a so-called ally in my rear, stabbing us from behind. The first task when poisoned is to remove it from the body. The Swabians are our poison."

Ciara mulled the idea over for a minute before she agreed. "I'm with you one hundred percent. Whatever needs to be done to save Picardy."

Aedan grinned and then reached down to rest his hand against her stomach. "Perfect. Anything to make a better word for our child."

Ciara smiled. "Agreed."

They didn't have long to celebrate their temporary moral victory. Two minutes later, a servant brought a member of Aedan's army into the room. Aedan recognized the man as a colonel in charge of the city defense. The colonel's look was worrying to say the least.

"Your Majesty, I need to speak with you. The city is swarming with Swabian soldiers," said Colonel Fagan.

"What do you mean swarming?" said an alarmed Aedan. "They were ordered back to their barracks!"

"They've left, Your Majesty. Starting this morning, they've moved into positions all around the city. They've positioned themselves at the three main shore batteries as well as at all the city gates and towers. They have requested full control."

"And they are to be denied," insisted Aedan. "Why weren't they resisted? Why didn't the men fight back?"

Fagan looked confused. "We thought the order came from the palace. We know the alliance with them is being further cemented right now, especially with events with the Carinthians. But I only came here because it's highly unusual for us to give over full access to these installations to a foreign power. That's why I wanted to talk with you before we do anything further!"

Aedan opened his mouth to speak but then the door into the sitting room crashed open. Before anyone else could enter, he could hear shrieks and the sounds of disturbances from the hall. Suddenly, a fully dressed Swabian soldier entered the room, training his rifle on Colonel Fagan.

"What is the meaning of this?" roared Aedan. "This is the royal palace of Picardy! You will lower your rifle right now!"

"Oh, I'm afraid he's just following orders, Aedan," said a voice from beyond the door.

Aedan turned to face the exit, watching as the self-satisfied smug face of Magda entered the room shortly after. In her hand was a drawn pistol, while the form of Adalbert sulked in behind her.

"Magda, what is the meaning of this?" said a now tense Aedan. "You've violated just about every major diplomatic custom today. Now you have your own soldiers in my palace pointing weapons at my people. You better explain yourself right now!"

Magda grinned. "I would've thought this would be enough of an explanation for you, but like everything else, I will explain it in easier terms for your feeble mind to understand."

"Feeble mind? How dare you?" cried Ciara.

"Shut up, bitch," said Magda, pointing her pistol at the queen.

Seeing this, Aedan instantly jumped in front of the path of the gun. "Be reasonable now. There's no need for any weapons in here. You have my attention."

Magda smiled but still didn't lower the gun. "Wonderful, I'mso glad for that. As you may have noticed, our men are taking over the city. At this very moment, Swabian soldiers are stationed at every defensive point in Daban."

"For what purpose? I told you we are mediating this war!"

Magda started to laugh. "I couldn't give two fucks about your mediation. There's going to be a war, whether you like it or not. We're going to fire on the next Carinthian ship that arrives anyway, to make sure the war gets started in earnest."

Aedan looked defeated. "Why? What reason can you have?"

"Poor, stupid Aedan," mocked Magda. "Did you never question the sudden interest in Picardy? Why we were seemingly ready to ignore centuries of hostility in order to become 'allies' with you?" Magda let out a rich laugh while a menacing Adalbert stalked closer to the queen. "This has been the plan the entire time. The weakening of Picardy, to ensure that you won't oppose our plans."

"So that's why you did it," whispered Aedan. "That's why you released the plague amongst our people?"

"Oh, so you're not that stupid after all?" said Magda. "I'm surprised you figured that one out, but yes. It was step one of the plan, making sure you were too weak to resist. We would've invaded one way or another, but then a new event forced us to change plans. We never would've considered that the Carinthians would threaten you with war."

Aedan seethed. "Sorry to ruin your plans."

"Oh, they're not ruined. In fact, they're even better now. We're going to be your official allies on paper when the Carinthians invade. They are going to destroy your weakened forces. We'll make sure of that, when the Picards make up the front ranks of the counterattacks while our men direct the show from the rear. Soon, your entire forces will be decimated from either the plague or from the Carinthians."

"Then what happens to you? The Carinthians will still be in the country," argued Ciara. "You'll have to fight them out if you want control of Picardy."

"Our army is much larger than the Carinthians," said Adalbert with a shrug. "We'll crush whatever forces they send here. Soon enough, they'll be nothing left of the armies of Picardy and Carinthia."

"And then what? Once you have domination of all of us?" asked Aedan.

"That's not for you to worry about," said Magda with a false sense of sweetness. "But you can consider it revenge for centuries of warfare. You didn't think that Swabia wouldn't address all those injustices of the past when our star was on the rise, did you?"

"Injustices?" raged Ciara. "You mean the ones that you caused? Swabia is just as much to blame for the events of the past, if not more so!"

"I thought I told you to keep your mouth shut, bitch," said Magda, raising the pistol to the queen's head.

Aedan put his arms up. "Be reasonable with that thing. There's no need to point it at anyone!"

"Nor will there be, if you do what we're asking you to do," said Magda.

"Who says the army won't resist you?" asked Fagan, who had been quiet until now as he was guarded by the lone Swabian soldier. "One order to my men, and you'll find a war started in five minutes between our forces."

Magda started to laugh. "You won't give that order. In fact, none of the men or commanders in your forces will dare to resist us."

Fagan sneered. "What makes you so confident of that?"

Magda began to move, stalking closer to the queen. She kept her gun trained on her the entire time, but as she closed the distance, she lowered the weapon to the queen's oversized torso. "Because if anyone so much as resists our occupation, I will put a bullet into the future crown prince's head." Magda racked the pistol. "He'll be killed for sure, and maybe even your precious queen as well."

With that movement went that last shred of resistance for Aedan. In the next instant, he fell to his knees, his eyes pleading with the Swabian woman. "Anything but that. Please, take your gun off of my family."

Magda smiled sweetly. "No problem, Aedan. Just make sure your men understand what happens if they resist."

"Aedan, don't do it. It's not worth the country," said Ciara, angrily eyeing the two Swabian envoys. She was then slapped by Adalbert.

"Stop it now! Stop please!" cried Aedan. "Leave them alone. I won't resist you."

"Aedan no!"

He held up his hands to his wife as his eyes filled with tears. "It's not worth your lives," he whispered clearly before turning to Fagan. "Don't resist. Tell the men to stand down."

"Your Majesty, we can fight—"

"I won't risk their lives," cried Aedan, pointing to his family. "Just do what I say!"

Fagan bit his tongue, but offered no further resistance. After a moment or two, he gave a reluctant nod.

"Very good, Aedan, very good," mocked Magda. "Perhaps there's hope for you yet. You just might make a nice puppet king after all."

"Save your jokes," said Aedan, rising to his feet. "We'll do what you want. Just please take your gun off my family."

Magda locked eyes with him for a minute before pulling her gun back and then holstering it at her waist. "Very well. I'm glad we understand each other. Starting right now, we are taking over the defense of Daban. You better prepare yourself for war, Aedan. It's coming soon."

Aedan swallowed heavily, moving to embrace his wife as soon as he could. Ciara's look was still fiery, and her expressionless eyes settled on him finally.

"I'm sorry," he whispered against her ear.

She patted his hand softly. "I am too."

*****

Back in Carinthia, Jack moved to the door of his shared quarters with Kat, responding to the subtle tapping against the wood that alerted him to the visitor. As he opened the door, he found himself face-to-face with one of her servants.

"Your Majesty, King Jack," said the servant with an awkward bow. "Queen Reina requests the honor of your presence."

Jack let out a small smile at the first time anyone had addressed him as King Jack. He mentally added it to the long list of things he still had to get used to.

"Sounds good, we'll be there shortly," replied Jack.

"I'll be right outside the door, ready to escort you when you're ready," said the servant, letting the door close.

Jack crossed the rest of the room, coming to a stop near the bathroom, where Kat was still getting dressed for the day. She had arrived back late last night, after another grueling two hour trip back to the capital from the port. Jack took in the look of her partially topless, her creamy skin and lovely breasts still exposed as she slipped the straps of her dress over her shoulder. He couldn't help but stare, eventually drawing her attention.

"What?" she asked, her look quizzical but playful.

"Just looking at you," he said with a grin. "You're breathtaking."

Kat slipped the last strap over her shoulder and then approached him, resting her arms across his shoulders. "You're not so bad yourself you know."

"Yeah, you kind of like me, don't you?"

"Mhmm," she replied. "I kind of love you."

He leaned in and kissed her. Only once he pulled away, he placed his hand against her cheek. "I love you too. I'm not sure if you heard the knock at the door, but Reina is ready to see us."

Her eyes went wide. "Let's hope it's with good news. I was hoping today might be the day."

"Me too. Do you need more time to get ready?"

She shook her head. "Just let me grab my bag and I'll be ready!"

No more than five minutes later, the couple exited the room, finding the servant still outside and ready to lead them to Reina. The servant led them from their personal quarters along a wing of the palace out to the main hallway, already fully populated with visitors at this early hour. The colorful array of the palace population made for quite the sight, although even with all of the tempting visions, Jack had to wonder how anyone could not look at Kat. In her outfit this morning, she just looked completely beautiful.

They were no more than on the other side of the hall, when Kat suddenly turned around, her gait slowing to almost a halt. She started to tug at Jack's arm.

"Jack, do you see that person back there? Right over there by the main arch to that hallway?" she asked, her expression confused and almost fearful.

Jack turned quickly, moving his attention to the spot she described. Finding the arch, he looked around, even standing up on his toes to get a better view. Nothing appeared to be in the spot she described, and a steady stream of patrons still moved about the hallway.

"Just a mass of people," he said after a minute. "Why? Did you see something?"

Kat bit her lip and looked back at the spot. "I just thought I saw . . . something. I don't know. I just had the feeling of being watched."

Jack turned his attention back to the arch, giving it another thorough scan. He saw two women with wild, fanciful hats closest to the spot, but they seemed to be engrossed in each other and not paying attention to anything else. He also saw an older male servant walking along with a tray of food, but he also appeared to have his attention focused on his work. He couldn't see anyone else.

"I really don't see anything," he said finally. "Do you want to go back? Check it out?"

Kat shook her head quickly. "No, that's okay. Sorry, maybe I'm being paranoid."

"If you felt something, maybe your gut is trying to tell you something," he whispered against her.

She gave him a brave smile. "It's probably nothing. Sorry again, Jack. Just all those years of watching over my shoulder. I guess I haven't fully gotten over it yet."

"For good reason," he said with a small smile. "But if you ever feel that tension again, please let me know."

"I will," she said with a quick nod. "Okay, let's get to Reina."

They resumed their walk along the palace hallway. Jack was surprised when the servant didn't lead them to Reina's quarters or one of her sitting rooms, but instead, the man brought them outside to the palace grounds. Jack raised an eyebrow in confusion to Kat as they marched further away from the palace, only stopping once they were ten minutes away and deep into the Grove. The servant brought them to a small clearing, an open field surrounded by trees on either side. Despite being in the heart of the city, you'd never know the difference by how remote the surroundings were.

Finally, they saw Reina, standing in a small open patch near the trees, her eyes fixed toward the sky in anticipation, as if waiting for some creature to fly by.

Upon seeing them, she turned to face them. Jack found it hard to get a read from her body language about what way she might be leaning, her face equal bits of neutral friendliness.

"Jack, Katherine, thank you for coming," said Reina as she reached out to embrace them.

"Of course, Reina," replied Kat. "We came as soon as we heard your request."

Reina pulled back and gave them a sorrowful look. "I needed to talk with both of you. This conversation isn't going to be easy, I'm afraid."

Jack felt his stomach drop in that moment. It appeared that Reina had made up her mind, and based on her words, it wasn't going to be with them. He started to mentally prepare himself for the rejection to follow.

Reina pulled out a message from her dress pocket. "I just received this message this morning. It appears our Picard friends are overrun by the Swabians."

"What do you mean?" asked Jack as he tried to get a better look at the message.

Reina handed it over to him and she started to speak again. "We received a dispatch this morning from our ambassador to Picardy, stationed in Daban palace. Right before he transmitted it over, he saw Swabian soldiers taking over the palace. Looking out at the city, he could see them moving in their formations along the streets. Curiosity got the better of him, and he sought an audience with Aedan. He was denied by a pair of Swabians, telling him the king wasn't taking visitors at this time."

Kat gasped and her hands went to her mouth. "Oh gods, no. You don't think that . . ."

Reina started to nod. "I think so, Katherine. I think the worst has already happened. The Swabians have already betrayed Aedan and are making their move to take over the country. It's the only explanation that fits. It seems you were right about their intentions."

"Then as of right now, we have to operate under the assumption that Aedan is a prisoner in his own palace," said Jack as his hand went to his chin.

"My only question is where is the Picard army during all of this?" asked Reina. "Why aren't they fighting back?"

"Their army isn't in the best shape right now due to the plague," answered Kat. "They may not be in the position to coordinate a defense, especially if the Swabians moved quickly."

"Goodness, these are dark days for our Picard friends," said Reina.