Fourth Vector Ch. 20

"Understood, my lord," said Adalbert with a bow of the head. After all, what other choice did he have? He was quite certain that if he didn't say yes, his cousin would have killed him on the spot.

"I always knew your bloodline was weak," said Avila finally, when their eyes met again. "Your father didn't deserve to be with my aunt. You're no better than him. I would've hoped our blood would've made you strong like me, but you've been nothing but a disappointment."

"Perhaps I can finally get something right then," said Adalbert. "If I bring Jack Easterbrook to you, you'll know I'm good for something!"

Avila sneered. "We'll see. You better get moving though. Your ship leaves at dawn."

Adalbert bowed deeply before his cousin before he started moving again. He was almost at the door of the study when he heard Avila call out to him.

"This is your last chance, Adalbert. It's Jack Easterbrook, or you. Choose wisely."

*****

Back in Picardy, Jack, Kat, Abigail, and Dustin joined Aedan and Ciara at the main docks to the city as they watched the great Carinthian royal yacht sail into the harbor. Aboard it was the Queen of Carinthia, and the start of a weeklong celebration in recognition of the freeing of Aedan and Ciara, and the removal of the Swabians from the northern portion of the country.

"I can't wait to see Reina again," said Kat with a grin as they spotted the queen stepping out onto the dock. "If not for circumstances, I'd have rather stayed longer in Carinthia."

Jack playfully elbowed her. "Reina is your favorite? After all that Ciara did for you, me, and Abigail?" he asked in a low voice.

Kat began to turn red again at the memory, while Abigail beamed shamelessly. "We never did get a chance to thank Ciara properly for all those clothes."

"All of them?" asked Jack with a raised eyebrow. "There's more?"

Abigail nodded slowly, the grin never leaving her face. "You better be taking your vitamins, Jack. You're going to need them."

Jack swallowed hard as both women started to laugh to themselves.

It was only with great pomp that Reina soon appeared before them, looking resplendent in a long, purple gown and with her crown set high atop her reddish-brown curls.

"Aedan! How lovely it is to see you," gushed Reina, giving the king a genuinely-long hug. "And Ciara! You certainly don't look like you just gave birth."

She was entirely right, and Ciara was as beautiful as always. Her arm still hung in a sling from the battle, but she was glowing nevertheless. "I'm so happy to have you here, Reina. It's been too long, especially under current circumstances."

"As am I. I can't wait to see the baby as well!" gushed Reina before turning to Jack and Kat. "And here's my other two favorite people. It looks like my faith in you both has been well-placed."

Jack grinned as she enveloped the both of them in a hug. "Not without the aid of your Admiral Romero. With his help, everything went flawlessly."

"I'll be sure to mention that to him as well," said Reina. "Are you both well?"

"As well as can be. And ready to sit down and visit with you once more," said Kat with a smile.

"I'd love nothing more," said Reina before patting Jack's arm. "Jack, if you'd like to be my seat, the offer is still there."

He started to chuckle but surprisingly it was Abigail who scowled at the queen. "Back off, he's ours!"

Reina's eyes went wide as she looked at Abigail, whom she never met, and then back to Kat. "Ours?" She then looked back at Jack. "I should give you more credit. You clearly are a man of good taste and . . . variety?"

Jack finally started to turn red. "It's a long story, Reina."

"Excellent, I can't wait to hear it over dinner!"

"Speaking of dinner," interjected Ciara, while saving Jack in the process, "we have a wonderful banquet prepared for your arrival, Reina. Will you join us at the main palace?"

"That would be just perfect. I'm starved after such a long trip at sea. And I can't wait to hear about all that happened in the meantime," the queen gushed. "And I do want to hold the baby at some point tonight, don't forget!"

The entire group soon shuffled into their own carriages to take them back to Aedan's palace. Jack, Abigail, and Kat were lucky enough to get into Reina's carriage, and she regaled them with stories of her last visit to Picardy, many of which could only be told to adult ears.

"Reina, I had no idea you have such . . . experience under your belt," said Jack finally, when he thought he couldn't get any redder. The queen beamed at the obvious compliment.

"I really like her," said Abigail with a grin. She then turned to Jack. "Plus she just gave me a few more ideas."

"You can thank me some other time then, Jack," added Reina, as they all began to laugh.

Soon the carriages pulled up to the palace, and they all exited for the main dining hall. Inside the hall was a verifiable who's who of Picard nobility as well as the officer corps of the city. When coupled with Reina's entourage, which soon included Admiral Romero and Leo the engineer, it was a good showing of all the leadership in this corner of the world.

Despite all the numbers, Jack felt a sense of disappointment at so few of his own people being there. Not only did he invite all the ship commanders as well as several of the marine officers, but he was missing two people in particular that would've made the celebration so much better.

Luckily for him, he didn't have to miss them for very long.

"Hey, I heard there's a good party in here," came a very familiar male voice from behind him. Jack turned around to find a very healthy-looking Greg Vaughn beaming back at him. In even better news, Vera was right beside him.

Jack wasted no time on words that didn't matter. Instead he quickly closed the distance between the two of them and wrapped them both up in a long embrace.

"I told you he'd be happy to see us," joked Greg while looking over at Vera.

"You both gave us quite the scare," said Jack. "I still can't believe that we got you back."

"It was a damn near run thing," said Greg with a shrug of his shoulders. "But we're here now. And no worse for wear."

"It's truly gone then?" asked Jack with a grin. "You're not going to reinfect all of us here, right?"

"Truly gone," said Greg. "Kendall cleared us and everything. We've been the picture of health since we woke up."

"And we've been very anxious to get back to our friends and family," added Vera before touching her brother's arm.

Jack grinned. "A lot has happened since you've been gone. It's going to take a long time to catch up on everything."

"Well, we'll just have to find the time then."

Jack chuckled. "You're the second person to tell me that this evening."

"Is it true you took over the whole city while we were out?" asked Greg. "Neutralized a bunch of forts and kicked the Swabians out?"

"It was only one fort, but yeah we did," said Jack with a smirk. "Well, I should say that Dustin did. He's a damn good officer."

Greg nodded. "That he is. But he needs to give me my marines back! I suppose it's back to peace for the time being?"

Jack shrugged. "Who knows with us? I'm finding we'll always have a need. Trouble usually seems to find us."

"This is true," said Greg with a grin. "But I'm ready to get back to it. I'm ready to take up my duties again."

Jack turned to Vera. "What about you, Vera? Feeling good enough to get back to normal?"

The blonde woman smiled and nodded her head quickly. "Am I ever. Besides, I feel like I have an advantage now that I didn't have before."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

He watched as her hand wordlessly crept into Greg's. Both of them then looked at Jack with a mixture of apprehension and confidence that he found hard to interpret. They didn't need to say anything further. With their hands together, it became obvious what the change was.

"Are you sure about this? Both of you?" asked Jack. "Not that I doubt you, just that we still have a long road in front of us. This is what you both want? Together?"

Greg and Vera looked at each other and nodded. They turned back to Jack, a smile plastered on each face. "We're sure," answered Vera finally. "I've had the feeling for a while now, but I pushed it deep inside me. It wasn't until I actually got to spend time with him that I realized it was stupid to keep fighting it."

"Once we were together in the infirmary, it just kind of happened, Jack," continued Greg. "I don't want you to give me the whole big brother act now, okay? It's not just something superfluous or temporarily."

Jack shook his head. "No, I didn't get that impression either. But that is my sister here." Jack tapped Greg's stomach playfully. "Mylittle sister."

Greg grinned and rolled his eyes. "That I'm planning on being with for quite a long time."

Vera whipped her head around and stared at him. "You really mean it? Really, Greg?"

He started to nod. "I really do. As long as that's what you want."

Vera beamed. "Nothing would make me more happy."

Jack started to chuckle as they got lost in one another's eyes. "Well, I know better than to stand in the way of true affection. I'm happy for the both of you. I really am."

Vera turned to look at him before nearly rushing into his arms. "I really missed you, Jack. It's so good to be out again."

"And it's great to have you back. I really hope you two are hungry."

"Famished," answered Greg. "You think we could crash your little party here?"

"I'd like nothing better!" replied Jack.

As he found seats for Greg and Vera, and as they rushed to reconnect with Abigail, Kat, and Dustin, Jack looked on proudly at the team he'd assembled. It had been many months since he first arrived in the Vector, or the West as he now began to think of it. Many of his perceptions had changed. This wasn't just some savage outpost of the civilized world. It was a vibrant land, with interesting people, culture, and cities. Every day, he found more of a sense of purpose, and a sense of home, from being in this part of the world. Jack suspected that was his bloodline calling to him, but as time went on, the link back to Java became fainter.

"You look like you're deep in thought," said Kat as she joined him a moment later. She placed her hand against his back and gently rubbed at his muscles. "Are you okay?"

"Just thinking," he replied. "How much my life has changed in the last eight months or so. I never thought I'd be here of all places, or that we would've accomplished all that we have. But we've created quite the force."

"Indeed, you have," said Kat. "We have Picardy, Carinthia, Andalucia, and Sorella wielded together in one alliance. Not to mention Java, of course. We are nearly strong enough for the Swabians."

"Nearly, but not quite," said Jack. "We still need more allies if we hope to tangle with them. We've come a long way, but our work isn't complete just yet."

"I have no doubt that you'll continue to amaze us," said Kat with a thin smile. "No matter where that might take us from here."

"I wonder where the road lies from here," said Jack. "There's still many places we could go, but I was thinking possibly Apulia once we can leave Picardy? Help them rebuild their army?"

Kat smiled. "Apulia would be nice. It's probably the next best option for us. Although who knows how long it will take us to kick the Swabians out of southern Picardy."

"At least that's not in doubt for me anymore," said Jack confidently. "We'll get there. We always do. We may have setbacks, but eventually we figure out a way."

"I think that's your influence there, my king," said Kat as she leaned up to kiss him. "Your influence on all of us. You're the one the world has been waiting on. Perhaps that helps to make it easier to guide you on the path it wants you to take?"

"And what path do you think is open to me next?"

Kat winked. "Possibly the path back to our bedroom?"

Jack started to laugh. "I've created an insatiable sex monster."

Kat stuck her tongue out at him. "You love me and you know it."

He squeezed her tight. "That I do. That I do."

Before they had much of a chance to express any more of their love, Jack was interrupted by a tug of his arm. Behind him was Twitch, and he was holding a dispatch in his hands. The man was noticeably more pale than usual and Jack knew instantly that something was up.

"What's wrong, Twitch?"

Twitch gulped heavily. "This just arrived from Java. I ran all the way up here to get this to you promptly." He handed it over to Jack to read.

Jack scanned the dispatch three times before looking up at Twitch as his mouth fell open. He could scarcely believe the message inside, something that flew in the face of all his thoughts from just minutes earlier. Jack swallowed heavily and handed it back to Twitch.

"What do you want me to do?" asked the deputy.

"Get word to all the commanders. Let them know at once," said Jack. "I'll plan a war council tomorrow to discuss it further."

Twitch saluted before he took off, leaving Kat beside him with a confused look on her face.

"Jack, what's the problem?" she asked, tugging on his sleeve. "Is something wrong?"

"That message was from Admiral Bancroft," said Jack, locking eyes with her. "He's my commanding officer back at home."

"And what of it? What did he ask of you?"

"He wants all of us to come home," said Jack. "We're headed back to Java."