Fourth Vector Ch. 26

Once he was close enough, Jack gestured to the marine on the engine. "Cut power. Let's hold off in this spot right here. No reason to make them any more nervous."

"Now what, Jack?" asked Doug, looking out at cannons that were close enough to rip them to shreds.

"Now we wait," said Jack firmly.

Your move, Heron.

*****

"Are you sure it's him?"

Elektra nodded before handing the crude binoculars back to her father. "I'm sure it's him, father. I remember his face."

Heron peered out from the fortification to watch the tiny Javan vessel make its way closer to shore. His eyes sought out one face in particular, those of a man he hadn't seen in nearly a year.

He found them sure enough as the main figure on the boat, the one positioned on the forward bow. He looked just like he remembered him in that crisp dark-colored Javan uniform and naval cap. Jack Easterbrook looked completely undaunted like an angel of death about to devour them all.

"Jack's here. And he's either very brave or very stupid," said Heron as he watched the boat. "Is he in range?"

"All you have to do is give me the word," said Elektra. "And he's history."

Heron pursed his lips and looked back out to Jack. As he was looking, the launch boat suddenly stopped in its tracks, bouncing harmlessly in the waves in its current position directly outside the harbor.

"What's he doing?" asked Nikias. "Why'd he stop?"

"He wants to talk," said Heron. "This is his way of meeting in-between the lines."

"There's no time left for talking, right father?" asked Elektra. "Can we open fire?"

Heron took a deep breath as he mulled over the options. True, he could very well end Jack right now but he was certain it would be followed by a full bombardment by the Javan ships out in the harbor. In any event, they would contest the landing as best they could but Sorella would ultimately fall. They could also turn Jack away and refuse to meet with him but that would likely cause the same outcome as killing him.

For Heron, there was only one option. He wanted to hear what Jack had to say.

"I'm going out there," he said, handling aside his binoculars and making for the nearest ramp down to the ground. "He wants to talk and I'm going to go listen to what he has to say."

Elektra shook her head fiercely. "I thought the time for talking was over. Why are we going to give him the time of day?"

"We can give him that courtesy as a gesture of what he's done for Sorella," said Heron. "Either way, talking with the man doesn't change a thing. Sorella will not be a colony to anyone."

"What if he takes you hostage though?" asked Nikias. "What are we to do then?"

Heron smiled grimly. "Then you're not to worry about an old man about to meet his maker."

"Be serious, father," said Elektra. "This is a real threat and you're a vulnerable target."

"In that case, don't worry about me truly," said the king. "If they kill me or take me prisoner, I'll die knowing that Sorella is in good hands." He gestured to both Nikias and Elektra. "Elektra you'll be a mighty fine queen, and Nikias was meant to lead. The two of you will be more than fine without me."

"Will you at least take a few guards?" asked Nikias. "A few men in the boat. By the looks of it, he has his own guard out there too!"

"Fine," replied Heron before looking around at the nearby soldiers. "You three, come with me!"

Three of the men nearest to the harbor came forward with confused looks on their faces. It soon became evident what he was about to do once Heron got his own boat in the water. "Take us over to that launch boat," he ordered. "Let's hear what Jack has to say."

*****

Jack watched as the tiny boat made its way closer to his. He looked behind him at the task force, knowing all their eyes were on him at the moment. He was sure it was the same for the Sorellan side as he saw Heron's face inching steadily closer to them.

Finally, the two of them stopped as the boats closed the distance. The tension was thick as one of the marines threw out a rope, tethering the boats together so the waves couldn't separate them. Jack was able to study Heron in that moment, his face having aged considerably in that past year. The wrinkles above his forehead seemed deeper than they were before and his beard was whiter than Jack remembered. Most remarkably, the resolve in his eyes didn't seem dampened in the slightest.

"Heron," greeted Jack warmly, putting on his political face (the same one he'd learned from Kat). "It's good to see you."

Heron raised his chin. "I wish I could say the same thing to you, Jack."

The meeting was obviously not off to a great start.

"It seems things are a little more tense here than I remembered when we left," said Jack. "And I think I know the reason for that."

Heron chewed on his lip before he responded. "I wondered who they would send against us. Whether they would send another commander or whether they would send an old friend back to conquer Sorella."

Jack shook his head. "No one came here to conquer Sorella, Heron. Not after all we've been through last year."

Heron pointed out to the task force. "Then what is the need for all that firepower directed at us?"

Jack smirked and pointed back to the city. "I could ask you the same question."

Heron didn't answer it. "Where've you been, Jack? We've sent you plenty of dispatches."

"And I've received them," Jack answered. "I've been busy though. I had to go back to Java where I tried to intercede with my emperor to remove the viceroys."

Heron raised an eyebrow. "How did that go?"

"Not well," said Jack. "I wasn't able to get them to see my point of view."

"What a pity," said the king. "All these long months we've waited for you, waited for a response that we might not be suffering needlessly without a champion to stand up for us. Now it's too late."

"What I had to do took time, Heron," explained Jack. "It takes time to cross the ocean—nearly two months one way."

"And we had to spend all that time putting up with Lucius Grant." said Heron, his face contorting in anger at the mere mention of the man's name. "Do you have any idea how foul that man was? How despicable? He treated us like we were slaves! Like all we were good for was to raise goods for him to take back to Java."

"I know that he wasn't the best man," said Jack. "But did you really have to kill him?"

"How do you know we killed him?"

"You asked me if I had any idea how foul hewas," said Jack. "Was is the key word there. I take it he's dead?"

"He is dead," confirmed Heron. "We destroyed his supply ship with theHera and he decided to fight back. He died over there by the docks. I'm embarrassed to say that we didn't give him a proper burial in your custom nor did we burn his body. We simply dumped it into the ocean."

"He probably deserved it," said Jack.

"Indeed he did. So that's it, Jack," said Heron, putting his hands together. "Are you prepared to destroy all of Sorella for the offense? Will you kill all of us for what we did?"

Jack blinked a few times. "Why would I kill you all?"

"I hardly expect such a transgression against an official member of the Javan government to go unanswered," said Heron. "Why else would you send all those ships?"

"Because we were the closest force when the order came down," said Jack. "My force just got back to Quiller's only to find out that we weren't receiving dispatches from Grant anymore."

"Probably because his ship is still at the bottom of the harbor," said Heron glumly.

"Even still, we didn't know what was going on out here," continued Jack. "We didn't know if you'd killed him or if he simply had a busted radio."

Heron raised his chin. "Now that we've established Grant's fate, what is to be ours? Are we going to war, Jack? Will you do me the professional courtesy of letting me know before the fighting begins? Mostly as gesture to all that we've been through last year."

Jack shook his head. "I'm going to do no such thing, Heron. I'm not going to direct my forces to fire on your city. There are several in my task force that are suggesting that I land my men up the coast and march toward the city. Take it from behind if you will. You know the quality of the marines under my command. And what they did to your brother's army."

"That we do," said Heron with a small shudder.

"So you know that we would be able to take your city before the end of the day," said Jack. "But I'm not going to do that. If you'll have me, I'd like to come ashore and work out a compromise with you."

Heron's mouth dropped open. "A compromise?"

Jack nodded. "I don't want to fight you, Heron. I've spent too much time putting your country back together to destroy it again. Beyond that, I know that you and your countrymen are good people who just want to live peacefully. The last time I left here, we were allies, remember?"

"I remember," said Heron quietly.

"Besides I know why you did what you did," said Jack. "You told me what happened with Grant when he first arrived. You told me of his abuses. Frankly, I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did."

Heron gave him a wary smile. "Cooler heads were able to prevail for longer than expected."

Jack started to chuckle. "What happened to the cooler heads then?"

The king shrugged. "Eventually, they got hot too."

"Understandable," said Jack. "The truth of the matter is that Javan imperial policy is wrong. You were brought into this as an ally and then you were treated as a colony. That's not a way to run an alliance let alone an empire."

"Is that what they really intended, Jack? Is that what Java's plans are? To expand their empire on this side of the world?"

Jack nodded. "I believe that now. I truly do."

"Then what are you doing here telling me you're not going to follow those orders?" questioned Heron. "How can that be?"

"We can talk more about it this afternoon if you like," said Jack. "I'm getting a little tired of calling out to you in this boat. How about we put aside our weapons and our armies and talk together like we used to?"

Heron studied Jack's face. "How can I know I can trust you? Your words sound good, Jack. But after all that's happened, how can I trust anything that comes from Java anymore?"

"I won't blame you if you don't," said Jack quietly. "But if you don't hear me out, then we can't stop all of this." Jack gestured to Heron's fortifications and back to his ships. "Besides you've trusted me before when your country was in worse shape. Can't you do the same for me now?"

Heron remained quiet for several moments as he deliberated on Jack's request. The shallow and choppy waters of outer harbor crashed harmlessly against their boats while the king thought over the request. Jack felt his heart beating wildly at not knowing which way the king would go. Everything hinged on Heron giving him a chance.

"All right," said Heron finally. "Come to shore for old time's sake. Let's discuss the matter like we used to—when we were allies."

"Thank you for your trust in me, Heron. We'll even give you a tug back." Jack nodded his head and gestured back to the marine near the engine. "Take us to shore."

*****

Off the shore of the main island of Swabia, where the capital city of Dagobern was located, Lord Avila stood against the railing of his warshipTempestas and spied on the defenses—or in this case, the lack of defenses.

"I don't see any sign of new fortifications," he muttered under his breath. "Could Aurelius really not have counted on this outcome?"

It was true—across the entire city, Avila couldn't see one hint of manned gun emplacements, occupied forts or indeed any sign that the city might be prepared for war. All was almost too quiet at Dagobern, causing Avila to let out a wide-set grin at his luck.

After all, he almost expected to be fired upon by Aurelius' forces before he even sighted the capital city let alone got close enough to attack it. It had been not quite a week since he received the emperor's summons, ordering his men to come to the capital city to take part in wider exercises with all the lords of Swabia. The order was a carefully designed feint, the object of which was to pull away Avila's remaining troops so that Aurelius could use the rest of the Swabian lords to crush him.

It would have been a good plan for anyone else had they not been facing a foe as crafty as he was. For Avila was now here to follow that order but it wouldn't go down like Aurelius expected. In the last week, Avila had worked tirelessly and quite often sleeplessly to gather his remaining forces in order to rendezvous with the forces of Godric Katla from Selz. Their combined convoys joined forces on the shipping lane that led to Dagobern, amongst the first to arrive of all the lords of Swabia.

But they would not release their men for exercises. Instead, this was the moment that Avila had been waiting years for. He would treat Dagobern and the emperor like the enemy and fight his way to Aurelius' throne to secure it for himself.

And he would do all of this while technically following the emperor's own orders. He was now here with his forces as Aurelius had commanded. And they would indeed be going through their own form of exercises although those exercises would be entirely real instead of practice.

At the end of the day, Avila would sit on Aurelius' throne. Of that he was certain.

"Otto," Avila called out. "Go get Katla and tell him to meet me here at once. Go quickly please."

Otto went quickly running across the deck to the nearest hatch to find the Lord of Selz while Avila took another look at the city. With no visible defenses that he could see, it left only one variable to becoming the master of Dagobern—the Emperor's Guard.

The Guard was formed of soldiers that were recruited in the emperor's own lordship—an exclusive privilege that made them an extremely loyal force to the current occupant of the throne. When a new emperor took over, the Guard was disbanded and recruited from whichever island the new emperor came from, often from amongst his older soldiers. For that reason, the Guard had a vested interest in keeping their emperor on the throne and repelling any potential usurper.

The Guard was a force of six thousand men strong so they could quite often and easily swing the course of a battle in their direction with their numbers alone. Once engaged, they usually fought to the death to protect their emperor (and their source of income), and they were a critical factor in any plans made to secure the throne.

Avila's hope had been to move too quickly for Aurelius so that all he would have to rely on would be the Guard. With Avila and Katla's force of twenty thousand men, they had more than enough numbers to overwhelm the city, the Guard, and take Aurelius' throne.

But first, Avila had to destroy the Guard and finding their position would be the primary task of this morning so that he could move his men against it. The main issue with that task was the guard's primary fort which stood on the same hill as the imperial palace. He couldn't see it from the sea but if they became aware of landings against the city, it wouldn't take them long to get in fortified positions on the routes that led up to the palace. And if they could seriously contest those routes, they might be able to drag out the conflict long enough for the rest of the lords to arrive. Every day that Avila didn't take the city made his chances of success worse. He had to take the city quickly in order to survive.

"There you are, my Lord Avila," said Godric Katla as Otto brought him to the railing. Katla took a deep breath. "It smells like a glorious day to wage war."

Avila smiled. "That it appears to be. Are the men ready to fight?"

"They're spoiling for battle," said Katla. "They keep getting in fights with each other, so hot is their blood right now. Our infirmary is full with broken noses and black eyes so the sooner we can get them on dry land, the better."

"Make sure they save their energy for the Guard," said Avila. "We have to move quickly through Dagobern before they can raise the alarm. If the Guard fortifies the passes on the hill, we will lose this conflict."

"Men from Selz never lose a battle," said Katla with a hint of pride. "We'll offload as quickly as we can manage."

"I hope you're ready now," said Avila. "The launch boats are ready for you."

"Excellent. We'll get moving at once," said Katla before he started to walk away.

"Godric, one more thing." Avila gave the man a confident grin. "Good luck out there."

"The only ones that will need luck are the ones in the city," replied Katla. "Let's go secure your throne now, my lord."

It didn't take long for the great invasion to get underway. Both Avila and Katla joined the first wave of soldiers, nearly a thousand in all as they made their way forward in about forty different launch boats from the assembled fleet. The surf was rough and the day was overcast but Avila couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. It largely hid their movements and shielded them from sight in the city before they were nearly on top of them.

The first boats hit the rocky shore not far from the city's main harbor, where there were several naval yards all crammed along the coast. The invasion army was split into two distinct forces that had a common goal but differing agendas. Avila's force would hit on the east side of the naval yards and work inward until it found the main artery of the city, a grand boulevard style street that led all the way to the top of the hill and the imperial palace.

In contrast, Katla's forces would hit the western side of the naval yard. They would then move through the residential section of the city in order to hit the other approach to the palatial hill. In doing such, the two forces hoped to squash Aurelius' forces between them and secure the city in record time.

Katla would no doubt be the one leading his forces but Avila was under no illusion that he would do the same. He relied on his trusted generals to do that job, only joining the first wave because the men would expect to see him there. He did not issue any tactical commands nor did he interfere or offer his advice when an obstacle was met. His job was to be seen with the men working their way to the palace.

For tactical command, Avila chose his most capable warrior, a general by the name of Ambros Ferberg. Ferberg was a grizzled veteran of many campaigns, having originally joined the Cormfeld army when Avila's father was still the lord there. Over the years, he worked his way up from mere corporal to general, becoming Avila's most trusted tactical and strategic mind.

On this day, Ferberg was ready for action. Disappointed at not being given command of the Picardy operation, Ferberg was deliberately kept close to Avila for just such a day as this one. His superior strategic organization and tactics would be the difference in Avila becoming emperor or becoming just a poor footnote in history.

Unluckily for Ferberg, they hit the shore not to a hail of gunfire or exploding bombs but to baffled port workers and street vendors. Their secrecy had been so absolute that the common folk had not gotten away from the war zone and could be found going about their day like nothing was out of the ordinary. It was a beautiful sight to Avila's eyes, knowing that his best chance of success depended on stealth and speed, and his forces quickly created their own beachhead before pushing onward to the grand boulevard.

That boulevard was the main thoroughfare in all of Dagobern. On ordinary days, its sides were marked with various vendors and shops, all designed to capture the business of those ordinary Swabians who were going about their day. It was also the main procession way when the city celebrated a great victory. Avila already had plans to enjoy his own coronation parade down such a street once the city was conquered.