Fourth Vector Ch. 30

Ben started to shake his head. "You're asking too much of me."

Jack didn't reply. Instead, he looked down at his feet. The lieutenant was close to breaking but he wasn't there just yet. Perhaps he could help him arrive at the answer if he kept working on the man.

Right now, Ben was the only chance that Jack had at escaping certain death at the hands of Eric Rosdahl.

"I cannot give you the answer you seek," said Ben quickly as he pushed up to his feet and made for the cell door. "You need someone higher than me to help you. I'm just a naval officer."

"So was I before this all started," said Jack. "But you'd be surprised what a difference even the smallest players can make."

Ben seemed lost in thought to that statement. He didn't linger long. The door shut behind him and within five minutes, another guard arrived to take up his watch.

Jack sighed as he looked back at the old mattress.

One way or another, he had to find a way to escape this fate.

His options were running out.

*****

The next morning, Jack listened carefully for a sign they were nearing Kalmar. Like theTollwitz, the cell on theCanaria was close enough to the boilers that he would know when power was cut to them. That occurred a few hours after he woke up that morning, a close enough signal to him that the ship had arrived in the Galician capital city.

After time spent docking the ship, Jack heard the sounds of several footsteps as they approached his cell. Two guards appeared, being led by Ben, who still gave no indication that he was prepared to do anything other than console with Jack on his condition. Jack didn't try to intervene in front of the guards but he noticed that Ben had a hard time meeting his eyes.

That seemed to be an answer in itself.

Ben led the group to the nearest hatch to ascend to the main deck. Jack's footsteps were heavy as he moved throughout the ship, wondering what his first glimpse at the city would entail.

Once they'd moved through the last hatch and emerged outside, Jack gasped.

The city of Kalmar stood proudly in front of him, quite possibly the most beautiful city that he'd ever seen. Perhaps he was biased, knowing it was the ancient home of his ancestors but objectively, the city combined grandeur and beauty on a scale to which he'd never seen. Easily as large as Daban or Dagobern, Kalmar managed space in a way that minimized the sprawl of the other larger cities. It seemed to be tiered, or layered in such a way that the inner confines of the city were built on top of the outer layers. Like Ben had told him the previous day, the city revolved around the central castle, no doubt where the kings had resided at one time. That castle was without a doubt the highest point in the entire city.

From the castle, the rest of the buildings sloped downward until it reached that last layer that was right along the water. Water covered Daban on all but one side where a small strip of land connected the city to the rest of the mainland. Once connected, the rest of the mainland came out around the open waters next to the city, surrounding it to form a natural harbor.

The only thing that spoiled the view of the city was the sight of Eric Rosdahl standing in front of it.

"It's been a long time since a member of your family has set foot in this city," said Rosdahl with a biting smirk. "In that memory, I'd like to welcome you to Kalmar, Jack. It's the last city you'll ever be in."

Jack didn't respond. He was too busy trying to savor the sight of the city and commit it to memory. In that moment, a flood of imagined memories assaulted his mind. He pictured what the city looked like when his ancestors ruled it, back in the days when Galicia was the proud protector of the West. He could see kings that vaguely resembled him walking along the city's streets, inspecting the warships of the proud country. Even more strangely, he could picture a teenaged Kat sulking away from her omnipotent and uncaring father within the city. It was hard to believe that this was where she'd spent so much of her life.

And now he was here.

"See that part of the harbor right over there, Jack?" asked Rosdahl as he pointed to the open waters on the northeast side of the city. "Those waters are very deep right there. Probably the deepest part of the harbor. I fully intend to dump your body right about there. Of course, I'll have to have you weighed down so you don't come washing back ashore, but I think that's going to be an appropriate final resting place for a piece of shit like yourself."

Jack feinted an aggressive move at Rosdahl. He wasn't able to get far before the two guards moved to restrain him but for a brief moment, fear appeared on the regent's face.

It wasn't much but Jack was able to count it as a small victory.

Once he recovered, Rosdahl lost the arrogant smirk and replaced it with subtle rage.

"You'll regret that," he promised while staring daggers at Jack.

"Looking forward to it," muttered Jack.

"Get him out of here," Rosdahl instructed the guards. "Take him to the castle and hand him off to my personal guards." He then turned to address Ben directly. "Make sure they understand the same directive that I gave to you."

Ben saluted. "I will, Your Highness."

Rosdahl's eyes returned to Jack. "I hope you enjoy your last few days, Jack. Try not to get too comfortable in my dungeon. You won't be there for very long."

With those final words, Rosdahl turned heel and quickly descended the gangplank from theCanaria. Jack watched as he stepped into the backseat of his own carriage, and it was soon spirited off in the direction of the castle.

Jack turned to look at Ben, who now shared a sympathetic look with him.

"It's all right, Ben," said Jack finally, not wanting to pressure the conflicted man any further. "Let's go to this dungeon before we incur any more of the regent's wrath."

Ben swallowed heavily before giving the nod to the two other guards. He looked even more ambivalent than he did before, and Jack didn't doubt that there was an intense internal struggle for the man's conscience.

The guards led Jack down the gangplank into a second waiting car. Much less opulent than than the regent's, this car soon sped away from the docks and began to climb toward the castle.

Unlike Dagobern, Kalmar was alive. Jack watched out the window as the common Galicians went about their day, walking to the market or going about their jobs. All of them looked exactly like him with their shimmering blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

Interestingly enough, many of them seem to recognize that there was something (or someone) extraordinary being carried in that very ordinary car. Jack made eye contact with several of them, all sharing the same questioning expressions as he'd come to expect from the Galician people.

Their bewilderment of him ended when the car entered an underground area that was attached to the castle. It was there that Jack was handed over to the palace guards by Ben and his men. Ben shared one last sympathetic look before he walked away for good.

Despite the conditions, Jack didn't blame him for what he didn't do. Jack imagined that he would be just as conflicted as the young naval officer if placed in a similar situation. Jack nodded his head toward Ben before he was led into the castle.

He was promptly placed into his own cell while being somewhat separated from another rowdier bunch of inmates. Unlike Avila's cell, the darkness down here wasn't total. There was even some natural light that somehow got into this underground portion of the castle.

Jack sighed once he was left alone. The last place he'd expected to be when he finally arrived in Kalmar was a prison cell.

Yet here I am, he thought.Now how am I going to get out of this mess?

*****

Kat growled at the persistent knocking. It wasn't that she didn't like visitors. Quite the opposite in fact. It was that it took her longer and longer to get up to answer the door that made receiving visitors more of a challenge.

She finally managed to stand after lugging the growing bump in her stomach with her. Once on her feet, she grabbed the edge of the couch to steady herself, already wondering what this would feel like in another few months. At six months pregnant, she was definitely showing, and what used to be simple movements were getting more challenging by the day.

For example, she'd accepted the fact that she could no longer touch her toes. What used to be an easy demonstration of her limberness was now downright impossible. Abigail assured her that her bump wasn't that big but to Kat, it felt huge. Knowing that she still had a couple more months to go didn't make that feeling any better either.

Kat opened the door to find two faces looking back at her. One was that of King Aedan. The other man could only be Galician judging by his features. Kat recognized him as the Galician ambassador to Picardy. Knowing that he was one of her cousin's creatures, it didn't help her mood.

"Katherine, do you have a moment?" asked Aedan before peeking into her room.

"I can spare one for you," said Kat before she glared at the ambassador. "But this one, most likely not."

"You're going to want to hear what he has to say, I promise you that," replied Aedan hastily. "May I bring him in too?"

Kat pursed her lips and nodded. She opened the door wider and let the two men enter. Once they were in, she walked back over to the comfortable chair and set herself down as easily as she could manage. Once she was down, her hand went to her stomach.

Aedan eyed her hand. "How are you feeling today?"

"I feel like I should be out in the harbor as part of Abigail's task force," said Kat sourly. "Put me in the water and I'm sure I'll float."

Aedan chuckled. "You remind me of Ciara when she was pregnant with Davin. The last few months were the toughest ones if I recall."

Kat arched her eyebrow. "For her or for you?"

Aedan cleared his throat awkwardly. "For her, of course."

It was clear she'd made him uncomfortable and Kat sighed afterward.

"I'm sorry for my mood today, Aedan," she said finally. "I didn't sleep well last night, and I know I'm being crabby. I'm sorry."

Aedan waved his hand. "Completely understood. I just wish I had this level of understanding for Ciara the first time around. It would have saved a lot of arguments!"

Kat actually broke a smile. "I imagine she let you have it a few times."

His eyes went wide. "More than a few. Anyway, why don't I tell you why I'm here."

Aedan's gaze drifted to the ambassador, something Kat didn't fail to notice.

"Yes, please tell me," she said, regarding the ambassador coldly.

"I'm sure you know Ambassador Bennett from Galicia," said Aedan while pointing to the middle-aged blond man.

"One of my cousin's men," said Kat sourly.

"Correct," replied Aedan. "Anyway, Bennett has brought me some interesting news this morning. I figured he should be the one to share it." Aedan gestured for Bennett to go ahead, but the man looked increasingly nervous.

"Your Majesty, are you quite sure that—" started Bennett before Kat interrupted him.

"Get on with it," she said impatiently. "What message do you carry?"

"I've received a dispatch from the regent in Kalmar this morning," said Bennett, looking so frightened that he was beginning to stammer his words. "Concerning a recent a-arrival to the city."

Kat raised her eyebrow and shared a quick look with Aedan. "What recent arrival? Who is in Kalmar?"

"The one that's being called a foreign interloper," said Bennett quickly. "Regent Eric Rosdahl has brought this interloper into his custody from the Swabians and has recently arrived back in the capital."

"Foreign interloper they're calling him," said Aedan. "It has to be Jack."

Kat moved closer to the ambassador. "What else did the dispatch say? Nothing of a name or a description or what he was doing with the Swabians?"

Bennett shook his head. "Just that the Swabians had the first custody of him. He's been traded to us but for what reason, I do not know."

"That can't be good," added Aedan. "Anything Eric Rosdahl was willing to trade for Jack to the Swabians has to be serious. And worthy of the bargain. They wouldn't let him go lightly."

"Can you request more information?" demanded Kat. "Make the Galician foreign ministry tell you the name of this man or what the Swabian plans are?"

"I've tried that already, ma'am," said Bennett, now sweating profusely. "They would not tell me anything more. But knowing about the search that was going on in the city for Jack Easterbrook, I figured it was the same man!"

Kat's eyes narrowed. "So why did you rush to tell us? You serve my cousin, do you not? Why come out to us with this news?"

"This is where it gets interesting," said Aedan with a coy smirk.

Bennett gulped heavily. "I wasn't going to tell anyone. My message was intercepted and presented at my feet by the Picards."

Kat shifted her gaze to Aedan who was still wearing his smirk.

"We've been monitoring the dispatch activity out of the Galician embassy," said Aedan proudly. "Truthfully, we've been monitoring just about everyone since we knew Jack was missing. This is the first time we've managed to get information that wasn't supposed to be public knowledge. Of course, the dispatch had strict instructions to keep the message contained to just the ambassador."

Aedan reached over and patted Bennett on the shoulder. "But I think this message is better suited to be shared, and Bennett readily agreed about that."

The ambassador paled in color but didn't say another word.

Kat focused on Aedan. "So we know that Jack is in Galicia. Now what do we do?"

"Let's call a council," said the king firmly.

*****

An hour later, the council began in earnest. All the usual faces were there, and right now, the full Galician dispatch was being passed around to allow everyone the chance to read it.

"This is pretty damning," said Will as he passed it onto Lindsay. "There's no doubt they would consider Jack a foreign interloper with all that he's accomplished."

"I just wish they would have put a name to it," said Abigail. "Yes, it could be Jack but we're not absolutely sure of it. The last thing I want is to go off on a false lead while Jack has to suffer further if we're wrong."

"The timeline of the events fits just right though," said Vera. "Abigail and Lindsay proved that he was taken to Swabia, and this mentions he was traded from Swabian custody. I think the bigger revelation is the extent to which the Swabians are working with the Galician government."

Kat made a disgusted face. "How my cousin could even think the Swabians are to be trusted. That arrogant, pompous idiot!"

"There is no better ally for Eric Rosdahl than found in Lord Avila," said Aedan. "I'm inclined to agree with Vera though. If he were anyone else, I doubt they would refer to him as a foreigner. To me, that label would be reserved for anyone that came from outside the West. Otherwise, they would use their nationality to describe them. That in itself points to it being Jack."

"So for the sake of the argument, let's say it is Jack," said Greg. "What do we do about it? Is the strategic situation any different? Galicia is a much different country than Swabia, and we might have more options on the table for getting him back."

Aedan winced and shook his head. "I'm afraid a political solution to this is quite off the table. My relations with Eric Rosdahl's government have been poor from the start. Ever since he found out about Katherine being in Picardy, they've gotten steadily worse. I don't believe there's anything I could offer him in exchange for Jack."

"So no political solution," said Greg as he then looked over at Kat. "Do you agree?"

Kat bit her lip but ultimately nodded. "Unfortunately, Aedan is right. There's no love lost between the two governments, and I would think it would only exacerbate the problem."

"Then if there's no political solution, let's look at my personal favorite option," said Dustin as he rubbed his hands together. "How about a military solution?"

Aedan put his hands up in caution. "I'm afraid our options for the military option are rather limited. Even with the Galician pivot away from the rest of the world, they still have formidable forces at their disposal, including one of the largest navies in the West, one that would dwarf the resources of Picardy and even Carinthia. I would not like to get into a pissing match with the Galicians in a military sense."

"True but we don't know the state of the Galician military right now," said Kat as she turned to look at Will. "What is the state of the armed forces currently? You would know better than anyone."

Will tilted his head. "Not great. Eric Rosdahl is a cheap man above all else. The army fights with outdated rifles even though new ones are available for purchase. Our proud naval ships rust in their berths without proper upkeep. Desertion because of a lack of pay is common. Does Galicia still have the men and material? Absolutely but morale is low. It might be low enough for us to attempt a raid to free Jack."

"Before we continue down this line of thought, why do we have to bargain for him at all?" asked Lindsay as she looked around the table. "Jack is in Galicia now. That means every Galician in the country is feeling the bond. They will be confused, yes, but my thoughts are that their confusion won't last for long when they realize who has been brought back to Kalmar. The Galician people won't let their king survive in captivity once they know he's alive."

"He might be quite far out of reach of the ordinary Galician though," said Kat. "And if they are demoralized and threatened by my cousin, they might not react at all."

"Or worse, Rosdahl might kill him before the people could demand to see him," added Will quietly. "I don't see Rosdahl allowing him to live when the bond could just as easily turn on him. He's a despicable man but he's not stupid."

"So what do we do then?" asked Abigail. "If Rosdahl isn't going to keep him alive for much longer because of the bond, we need to get our butts to Galicia quickly!"

"How though?" asked Aedan after a moment of silence. He seemed to be the only one willing to tackle the hard question at the moment. He looked over at Abigail. "We don't have the necessary resources available to free Jack. Our entire army is just outside the city trying to keep the Swabians at bay. We would need at least the size of that force to take on the Galicians and that's even if we're just making a lightning quick raid to free Jack. Not to mention, then we'd find ourselves at war with both countries." Aedan shuddered. "There's nothing more frightening than thinking about a war against both Swabia and Galicia."

"We have our naval forces available," said Abigail. "I can lead the task force to Galicia. Our old plan of sending the task force to Swabia will work but we might receive better reception in Galicia."

"If Eric Rosdahl is working with Lord Avila, then it doesn't change things much," admitted Will quietly. "We still don't have the force necessary to free Jack."

"So what would you have us do?" asked Greg incredulously. "Consign Jack to death in that case?"

"No one is saying that, Greg," replied Aedan calmly. "It's just that every option we have is a bad one right now."

"I'd rather attempt a bad one than know I did nothing when Jack needed us the most," said Abigail sourly.

Aedan started to look impatient. He looked over at Kat. "Can you explain to them their odds if they did that? We aren't talking about some minor power here. This is Galicia!"

Kat nodded slowly. "My heart is with their plan though, Aedan," she admitted quietly. "I won't do nothing while Jack suffers. Even a bad plan is better than none."