Fourth Vector Ch. 31

"Welcome to the alliance," said Jack as he took Altieri's hand and shook it firmly.

"How soon can I get my men inside your fortification?" asked Altieri. "I fear the Swabians won't be far behind us."

"Give the orders now," said Jack. "I'll alert my men so they can stand down. Then I'll arrange a meeting between my leadership and yours so we can sync together on the strategy. If the Swabians are as close as you say, then we need to get your men into supporting positions immediately."

*****

The rest of the day was spent integrating the Apulian Army into Jack's existing force. It took only an hour for them to pack up, and they marched toward the neck after setting fire to their existing fortifications to prevent the Swabians from using them. Jack's Galicians stood on either side of the neck as the Apulians walked through their lines on their way to the city.

It was truly a pitiful sight. The Apulians were a ragged and beaten force. Many of the men were wounded, with at least one out of every four men spotting some kind of bandage or injury. Their uniforms were tattered, and there was a lack of regularity to their weapons.

In all, they brought just shy of three thousand men to his existing army, giving him a total of six regiments to which he was to contest the city. Since the Director estimated the Swabian force was nearly twenty thousand strong, Jack would need every man he could get his hands on.

The new outfitting of the Apulian Army began immediately. Spare uniforms and boots were released from the stores aboard the Galician warships. Many in the Apulian force were given spare naval uniforms but at least they fit and gave them some semblance of pride back. Spare rifles were given out to the men as well, especially to those with antiquated weaponry. Soon, a good portion of the Apulian force was equipped with the Bornmount V1 rifle and by nightfall, they were being shown how to use it.

Along with the supplies came work on the chain of command. Jack was present for the afternoon meeting that set the precedence for command. General Chapman would assume total authority, but he was answerable to Jack and the Director in equal amounts, a concession that Jack had to make to keep the Apulians happy.

With the Apulians starting to settle into their new role, it was time to make sure their commander-in-chief was comfortable with his decision. After the war council was over, Jack stopped to see Director Altieri.

"How would you feel about joining me and Lord Calland for dinner this evening?" he asked. "If we're going to be allies, I feel we have much to learn about each other."

Altieri gave him an appraising look and for a moment, Jack suspected the man was about to say no. He relented at the last second however.

"That should be fine," said Altieri grudgingly. "When shall we meet?"

They agreed to meet at Jack's headquarters in the center of Arezzo. A number of food supplies were requisitioned to make for a basic meal and the three men sat down together around six o'clock that evening.

Jack had no other pretenses for the meeting. His first encounter with Altieri had gone along the best it could but he suspected there was a lot more to the man. If anything, he wanted to learn what made him tick. He wanted to know what kind of ally he would be working with in the future.

"You'll be happy to know that the integration of your men into our forces is going along well," said Jack to Altieri once they were served their meager dinner. "We've opened up our supply stores to them. They will have proper uniforms and get new weaponry to help with our defense."

Altieri nodded his head. "I thank you for that. As you could no doubt tell, the army had seen better days. I'm afraid we haven't had much time to stop and assess our situation ever since the Battle of Marmora."

"We received news that the city fell right as we arrived in Arezzo," said Bill. "It's fortunate that you were able to get out in time."

Altieri shook his head. "What was fortunate was that we even escaped at all. Any other commander should have died with his army inside the city. We lost the flower of the reconstituted Apulian Army inside our capital. The only reason we were able to get out at all was because the Swabians didn't cover one of the exits out of the city. It was poor, swampy ground and they figured it didn't need much of a defense. That was the only mistake that they made. If only they made more, I might have snuck out more troops."

"The Swabians don't make many mistakes," said Jack. "I've fought them on three different islands and they are always professional soldiers and well-led. It's fortunate in itself that you were able to get away."

"For now," said Altieri tentatively. "But tomorrow who knows?"

"Tomorrow you have a fighting chance now," chimed Bill. "The Swabians will take plenty of casualties trying to take the neck and that's if they can take it at all. The city is secure."

"I don't doubt your fortifications but what I also don't doubt is the tenacity of the Swabian lord prosecuting this war."

"Godric Katla of Selz," said Jack.

"Indeed. Do you know the man?"

Jack shook his head. "Only heard the name in passing when I was captured in Dagobern. It was there that I heard all of Avila's plans."

Altieri dropped his fork in shock. "All of his plans? So you knew this was coming? You know what is coming next?"

"I heard enough to know that Apulia is not the last stop for the Swabian Army," said Jack. "But much of which I know stems from the fact that they thought I was going to be executed and because of that, they weren't exactly guarded with the information that was spoken around me."

"So where are they going next?" asked Altieri. "What's the next stop if Apulia falls?"

"Samara," answered Jack. "It's the natural choice for them. It's just on the other side of the Slot and it's not well-defended. If Apulia falls, Samara will be next."

Altieri paled. "I can't let either of those events come to pass. Apulia and Samara must stand."

The Director didn't say anything further on the subject but Jack could tell it went deeper for him than just that. There was something personal to the man, a reason why Samara was just as important as his home country. If there was any time to dig it out of the man, now was it.

"Apulia will not fall as long as I'm here," said Jack with a measure of comfort. "But one thing I'd like to know more about is who you are, Director. You know much about my history after our war council this morning. Now, it's time for me to find out a little more about you."

Altieri took a moment to drink some wine. He savored the taste before setting down his glass.

"Good wine this is," said Altieri a moment later. "Any idea who made it?"

Jack looked at Bill who then shrugged. "It was dug out of the cellars here. The building was all but abandoned when we arrived."

"I'm not surprised by that," said Altieri with a sneer. "Any government forces will have run lest they face the Swabians now. But I'll answer that question. It's from a vineyard not far from Marmora. The hint of raspberry in the fragrance was what gave it away." Altieri took another sip and swished it around with his mouth.

Bill looked at Jack again before looking back at Altieri. "I'm afraid I don't understand?"

"What I'm trying to convey is like this wine, I as well come from Marmora," said Altieri. "My entire family does. My father was a carpenter and my mother was a florist in the city. Both of them had middle class roots. I have two younger sisters in addition to myself and we lived a normal life in the city. That is, we did until I was about ten."

Altieri took another sip before he continued. "It was then that my father got himself into some kind of feud. Marmora's ancient democratic politics are legendary for their feuds. The entire city is divided into precincts and generally speaking, the same families get voted to head each precinct every time. Now my father was a bit of an ideologue. He wanted a change from the family that ruled our precinct like it was their own personal playground. He was well-known and well-liked, and he attempted to sway the votes against the family in a bid to get some new ruling blood. He thought he could vote for the competition without any consequences, well, an iron crow bar taught him how foolish he was."

"My father spent two weeks in the hospital for his sin while the ruling family won the election after all. It was my first taste of politics and I hated it."

"I can't say I blame you," said Jack. "I'm surprised you even decided on politics to begin with after that inauspicious start."

"It was that event that fired me, Jack," said Altieri. "Motivated by my father's dishonor and seeing how broken the political system was, I was determined to change it all. My father never attempted to play around in elections again, but he saved every dollar he could to ensure I received a top notch education. I went to the best school in the city and graduated as a young man with knowledge in my head and passion in my heart. I was determined to succeed in the area that my father had failed."

"Politics," answered Bill. "And I don't suppose that family liked it too much."

Altieri smiled. "They did not. What they didn't reckon on though was that I wasn't the same man as my father. My father was too honest for his own good and didn't know how to play a political game. He thought he could win just because his ideas were better. I wasn't that naive. I befriended the enemies of that family and found out their dirty laundry, using it as a weapon against them. At the age of twenty-six, I became the new captain of the ninth precinct, answerable to the mayor of the city himself."

"Twenty-six is quite an age to be handed that kind of power," noted Jack.

"I liked the power and I set about trying to do right by the city," said Altieri. "I inherited my father's notion of ideals and set about putting them into work. I would say my pragmatism and high-mindedness was a recipe for success but it soon became apparent that to really make a difference, I'd have to aim higher."

"I was elected mayor of the entire city at the age of thirty-four," continued Altieri. "From there, I was able to influence all of the precincts and not just the ninth. But like becoming the captain of the ninth, I realized that I would need more power to enact my wishes. I spent ten years brooding my time until I saw the chance to get elected as Director, which I was three years ago."

"What chance was that?" asked Jack.

Altieri looked away. "The last Director intended for his son to follow in his footsteps. He was quite old and in his third term. I suspect he thought it was in the bag since he was almost guaranteed to receive the votes from the South Island. Unfortunately for him, his son was a reckless degenerate that had a love for unsavory things."

"Such as?" asked Bill.

Altieri shuddered. "Nothing that should be repeated here. Something that made even the most hardened political operators disgusted. With that being said, his son wasn't the most discreet person around. He made several enemies, enemies that would do anything to see him not take the Directorship. I simply used that information to discredit him. I spread the word of his private inclinations far and wide. The result was a landslide in my favor."

"What happened to his father?" asked Jack. "I'm sure your victory didn't endear you to him."

Altieri locked his gaze on Jack. "You're quite right about that. He put out a hit on my life nearly a week after the election. So I did the only thing I could do. I poisoned his food with a rare compound that's only found in Cervanos. He died on the spot."

Bill and Jack shared a cautious look after that particular statement. Jack even cast an eye down to his food, knowing that with as much as he'd eaten, any damage would already have been done if Altieri was so inclined.

"You can both relax," said Altieri with a smile. "I didn't poison your food. After all, we are allies now, aren't we?"

Jack didn't answer. He took a sip of wine and quietly put his glass back on the table.

"You might think me a monster for what I've done to achieve power in this country. Apulia is not like Galicia or Picardy or Samara for that matter," said Altieri. "The politics in this country are wicked and cutthroat. Our country was founded on republican ideals and values. Such values were supposed to set us apart from the various monarchies that made up our neighbors."

"So what happened?" asked Jack. "Apulian politics sounds much more deadly than that of the monarchies."

Altieri nodded. "Monarchies sustain power within one family and hold it there. While the common people don't have much say, the king and the aristocracy are always set. They guide the country throughout the ages with little turmoil. A republic is much different. When you give the power of life and death to the common man, as well as giving him the chance to raise his station from nothing to the pinnacle of power, it can get quite ruthless. Poisoning, murder, vengeance, bribery—all common themes in Apulian politics. No one gets to the top with clean hands."

"If that's the case, why should I continue to trust you?" asked Jack boldly, no doubt echoing something that was on Bill's mind as well. "If you're so willing to cast the blood of your own countrymen, what makes me think you won't do the same to us?"

Altieri smiled. "Our politics are inward looking, Jack. We deal more harshly with our political rivals than we do with our external enemies. It's all by design and the nature of our world. However, I've already told you I'm not a monster. I really did believe in Apulia."

"Did?" asked Bill. "You don't any longer?"

Altieri sighed. "It's hard to continue to believe when you've gone from one defeat to another. When you see the fight go out of the eyes of your own countrymen. My army is in shambles and without yours being here, we would have lost the fight against the Swabians. I worked so hard to rebuild this army and it was all for naught."

"I'd heard about Apulia rebuilding the army," said Jack. "It was being seen as a necessary measure against Swabian aggression."

"It was my idea," said Altieri. "Shortly after I took the Directorship, there was an incident with the Swabians that degenerated into threats. I realized that without our army, we would fall in any kind of conflict. Our Directors of old believed in the security afforded to us by the Galicians, however until today, that hasn't been a factor we could count on. It was my idea to recreate an army that could stand up to our enemies."

"How far did you get in that?" asked Jack. "We know how long it takes to create an army and all that goes into it. How far along did you get before the Swabians invaded?"

"I had a force that was about fifteen thousand strong, divided into three legions," answered Altieri. "Of course, they were more like a mob than an army. We had no officers, no arms, no uniforms, no supplies, no bases—nothing. All of it had to be started from scratch. Discipline was lacking to say the least. Supplies were inconsistent. Bases varied widely depending on where they were located. Morale was devastated."

Altieri continued. "I stationed a legion on each of the three islands as part of their defensive network but we continued to see the kind of issues that I'd already mentioned. It's only now that I see that was a poor move. I should have kept the legions together on the same island where they would have been more of a threat. Unfortunately, those legions were defeated quite easily when the Swabians actually invaded, picked off one by one. Of the three thousand men I have with me today, only about one in ten are part of the original defensive legions."

"What's the rest of them?" asked Bill. "I imagine emergency levies?"

Altieri nodded. "Brave Apulians who answered the call when the Swabians invaded. The original legion shattered not long after the invasion and long before Marmora fell. The remnants fell back on the city where they were merged with the citizen levy who volunteered to fight the invaders. Of course, we had to get creative with arming them, which is why you'll see such a hodgepodge of weaponry out there. But at least they're alive. I wish I could say the same for the rest of my legions."

He actually looked away at the point, and it was clear by the look in his eyes that something had touched him at that moment. "I spent so long putting those legions together and building that army. All to see it shattered in a matter of weeks. I might be something of a politician but I'm certainly no soldier."

"You don't need to be one here," said Jack. "We have enough of our people experienced in war but what the Apulians need now is their leader. They need to see your unbroken spirit."

"I can give that to them," said Altieri. "It might be hard for you to believe after everything I've just told you but my heart bleeds for Apulia. I wouldn't have fought my way to the top just to waste the opportunity to do well for my country. Now, in the hour of her dire need, I will do everything I can to protect her."

"We can see eye to eye on that," said Bill. "After all, if something happens to Apulia, then it will become quite apparent that either Galicia or Samara might be next."

Again, Altieri paled. This time though, he actually expanded on the thoughts in his mind.

"I cannot let the Swabians go to Samara either. My ties to Samara are considerable as well. Just as considerable as Apulia."

Jack raised his eyebrow. "What is it about the country that has you so bound to it?"

"My family," said Altieri with a hollow voice. "My wife and my daughters are in Samara. I sent them there once I heard about the invasion, so that they would be safe in the event anything happened to me. I cannot allow the Swabians to land there either. If they won't be safe in Samara, then there's no place in the West that they can hide from the Swabians."

All of a sudden, it made sense. Jack finally found out why Altieri was bound to their northern neighbor. In a way, it was humanizing of him to show his empathy for his family. There was more than meets the eye when it came to the wily political Director.

The dinner was over not long after that. Altieri made his exit so that he could retire for the evening, leaving Jack and Bill alone like any other evening.

"What did you think of him?" asked Jack. "What is your gut telling you?"

Bill let out a deep breath. "My thoughts were a bit all over the place at first. I'd heard that Apulian politics was tumultuous but I had no idea it was that cutthroat. He seems to perfectly represent that, and I was a little worried about the man we'd just brought to our side."

Jack nodded. "That thought went through my mind as well. Even to the point where I thought we might have to get an official food taster before our meals with him."

Bill chuckled. "Might not be a bad idea. Poison is a bad way to go. I've seen it once before when I was younger. Horrible death, I tell you. I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

"In a way though, his character was brought full circle for me," continued Jack. "It wasn't hard to see how his tone changed when he spoke about his family in Samara. His desire to serve his country is strong indeed. Woe to anyone who gets in his way but I do feel like his heart is in a good place."

"Perhaps it's better to have him on our side than to fight against him?" suggested Bill. "He may not know much about fighting but a shrewd political operator might be useful in the days ahead."

"We can only hope," said Jack. "I get the feeling he's not entirely warmed up to us though."

"No, you're probably right about that. Nor can I say I blame him since we did occupy one of his cities. But the fact that he's even here with his forces is a big step for someone like that, especially with all he told us tonight. Things could have been a lot worse, Jack."