Fourth Vector Ch. 36

Trevor pressed himself flat against the wall of the trench and prayed for just a moment's clarity. It was all he'd need to take his shot.

"Downing! Face me like a man! Where are you?"

Trevor barely let him finish his sentence before popping out of the trench. In the blink of an eye, he centered his sights on the back of Roland Smart and pulled the trigger twice.

Two shots left his pistol and entered the back of the Javan colonel. Roland fell to the ground as he sputtered, his hands dropping his pistol and clutching at the exit wounds that had appeared on his chest. He coughed up blood as his eyes took on a shocked appearance, as if to doubt that he'd really been shot.

Trevor wouldn't let him recover. He climbed out of the trench and quickly moved closer to the dying colonel. Roland's eyes blazed with hatred as he looked back but Trevor wasn't going to let him choke to death on his own blood.

Trevor raised his pistol to Roland's head. "This is for Tyrol," he muttered quietly.

One more shot left the pistol and Roland Smart stopped sputtering. His body assumed total lifelessness, and Trevor was pleased that the taunting had finally ended.

He didn't have long to celebrate his personal victory. The Javans were still attacking and his men needed every available weapon to beat them back down the side of the mountain. After a few more minutes of fighting, it quickly became apparent that the Javans had reached their high water mark. The strength of their attack soon faltered and they never again made a serious attempt to breach the integrity of the third trench.

Within half hour, they were starting to pull back, having suffered grievous losses during the course of the night. Trevor could only hope things were going as well on the other side of the mountain but Nina hadn't checked in for some time. His worry piqued, he'd sent someone over to make sure they were fine.

For now though, the Javans were pulling back. It was like the death of their colonel was too much for their collective psyche to withstand. Their will to fight zapped, they quietly pulled back into the night, retracing their steps until they'd disappeared down the side of the mountain.

It had been the closest fight of Trevor's career. Even the ambush from weeks ago was never this close, and there were moments where he thought they'd truly been defeated. With his men catching his breath, he took a small team to jog across the mountain to find Nina's side.

They were in a similar position with the Javans once again pulling back. Their fight had been a close struggle as well since their right flank was nearly overrun at one point in the night. It was only quick thinking by Nina that preserved the flank and their chances of survival.

Nina was a nervous wreck by the time her body collided into his. Like him, she'd suffered her own grazing wound, making for a full-body bandage that covered her entire waist. After a night like this one, everyone would need time to heal.

It was morning by the time they felt confident enough to let their guard down. Trevor's scouts reported that the weakened Javan force was now making all possible speed for the valley floor, no doubt finding the quickest route out of Tyrol. It was only with this news that they felt able to bury the dead.

The Tyrolean dead were attended to first, all receiving honorable burials on the side of the mountain. The Javan dead were put into a large pile and burned for the sake of simplicity. Trevor was the one that personally dragged Roland Smart's body to the pile, finding a measure of satisfaction as the hated colonel burned.

With his archrival now dead, there would be time to rebuild. Tyrol had just survived a death blow by the Javans and now was the time to repay that strike in earnest.

Trevor wanted to bring the war to Javan turf.

*****

Jack awoke the morning after his night with Kat to find strange surroundings. It took him a moment to remember that he was inside the Castle, especially since the sunlight filtering in through the large windows made the room appear a lot different now than it looked in the evening.

Kat nuzzled by his side but remained sleeping, even after a ray of light centered its beam right over her eyes. Jack didn't blame her for resting while she could. Sleep had been entirely precious ever since John arrived.

Jack slipped out of bed softly without disturbing her and began to get dressed. His clothes were still in a bundle on the floor--the result of last night's frenzied actions--but Jack still had a silly smile on his face as he got dressed. They'd managed to have sex twice before finally giving into exhaustion, taking their time with each other's bodies in the remembrance of that passion that defined their relationship so clearly.

For Jack, it was too wonderful for words, especially considering their setting. There were many times in the past year and a half that he thought this moment would never come. Yet here they were, in Galicia, in control of the country, and looking out on the war with a firm base of operations.

Things could have been much worse.

For now though, Jack was content to let Kat sleep until she began to stir about thirty minutes later. She stretched out her arms as she sat up in bed, the sheets falling from her gloriously nude body. Her smile was coy as she slipped out of bed and wrapped her arms around him.

"Last night was incredible," she whispered as her lips pressed against his ear.

Jack grinned at her. "I had to make sure you didn't forget me."

"How could I ever? I have some very present reminders of the role you have in my life," said Kat with a giggle. "Speaking of which, we should probably find Vera. I'm sure John probably kept her up half the night."

"Remind me to say thank you to her the next time I see her," said Jack. "She's really been a big help to us. I don't know what I would do without her."

Kat gave him a confused look. "You don't want to tell her yourself?"

He shook his head. "I'm going to find Bill. I want to talk with him this morning. I think I might take a journey over to Hemswell manor."

Shortly after going their separate ways, Jack caught a ride over to the location of the Calland ancestral home. Along the way, he saw more signs of rebuilding, which always buoyed his spirits, but most noticeably, it seemed that everyone in Kalmar knew when he was on the move. They would stop whatever they were doing to pay attention to him. Many were just content to stare but the braver ones would smile and offer a wave.

It was still common to expect confusion from the Galicians on how to treat a king after so much time without one.

Jack took a proactive approach to that situation. Anyone that was willing to wave or smile got one in return. He even extended the same courtesy to anyone who made eye contact with him, regardless of a greeting.

He wanted to give off one central message to the Galician people--he was thrilled to be their king and he wanted them to know that he was a present variable in their lives. He wanted no separation between the people and their sovereign. Jack wanted them to know he was approachable and that he cared.

In these early days of his rule, it was crucial that he set the tone that he would rule by. It was often the same situation with taking on a new officer posting in the navy. Everyone wanted to know what kind of leader he would be. To that end, the best thing he could do was to show them that he would be present. Favorable was an entirely different matter but being present would do more good than harm.

That was partly why he wanted to talk to Bill this morning. Other than bits and pieces he'd gleamed along the way from Aedan or Queen Reina of Carinthia, he knew next to nothing about being a king. He knew this time would come--a time when the sword would be sheathed and it came time to actually rule, not fight. But now that he was in Kalmar, he needed to learn the art of kingship.

And what better person to help him in that regard than the experienced Lord of Hemswell?

Unfortunately, Bill was nowhere to be seen when the car pulled up in front of Hemswell manor minutes later. In fact, there was nothing to be seen here at all. Eric Rosdahl's revenge against Bill had been completed and the old manor laid entirely in ruins, a broken shell of what it once was. Judging by the size of the foundation and the sheer amount of brick, Jack could have surmised that the manor was once stately in size. To see it as it was now was to know that the Calland family would also have a long road of recovery in front of them.

To that end, Jack decided to go back to the camp, finding it the next logical place to find Bill. Indeed, he found the older lord sitting outside their tent, his view centered on Kalmar in the distance. Bill had a pensive look on his face, one that showed he was deep in thought.

"Am I disturbing anything?" asked Jack as he moved to sit down beside the older man.

Bill seemed to snap out of his trance and looked over. "Sorry, Jack. How long were you standing there?"

"Long enough to know that you were busy thinking something over," said Jack with a grin. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Bill shook his head. "No, just... thinking, I suppose."

"Personal matter?" asked Jack. "Because if so, I can come back another time."

"Yes and no," replied Bill. "I was thinking about my house if we're being honest."

Jack nodded. "I can understand why. I thought I would go there first this morning to find you. Let's just say I quickly figured out why you weren't there."

"Nothing but a pile of brick, stone, and glass now, isn't it?" said Bill. "My guess is that Rosdahl quite enjoyed giving the order to bring it down."

Jack nodded but didn't answer the question directly. The last thing he wanted to do was to rub salt in the wound. "We can always rebuild it, Bill. Just like the city is going to need to be rebuilt, your manor can be rebuilt just the way it was."

"It's going to take a lot of time," said Bill. "Time that no one has. Even gathering the building materials is going to take a large chunk out of my finances, and those have been hurting enough ever since we started feeling the wrath of Eric Rosdahl. Frankly, I'm worried about what we can rebuild. I don't have the resources to make it just like it was. It's going to have to be considerably smaller."

Jack cracked a smile. "It sounds like you might need some help from the royal treasury."

Bill swatted his hand away. "You know me better than that. The last thing I would ask is for charity from the treasury."

"You might not ask it of me but it would surely go a long way in helping you rebuild, won't it?" asked Jack.

Bill didn't answer the question, confirming Jack's suspicions.

Jack put his hand on the older man's shoulder. "Bill, I won't see you out on the streets. Your current predicament is largely because of your support for me. Do you think I'd abandon you now just because we've regained Galicia?"

"No, but I don't expect you to--"

"I want to, Bill," interrupted Jack. "Your experience and knowledge have gotten me much further than I ever would've gotten on my own. Let's not ignore the elephant in the room. It's your actions that are the reason I'm still alive today. I have everything to owe to you and more. The least I can do is help you pick up the bill for rebuilding."

"I still couldn't ask that of you, Jack," said Bill while shaking his head. "I don't know if it's a pride thing but I'm assuming so because of my reaction to it. That money should be used on the people."

"And it will be," promised Jack. "We'll help to rebuild Galicia. I don't consider it a coincidence that we were able to recover the treasury before Eric Rosdahl could abscond with it. And Galicia needs it now more than ever. Kalmar needs it and so do you. You're part of Galicia too, Bill. You don't need to be embarrassed about accepting a little help."

Bill's eyes finally landed on Jack. "I don't know if I could live it down still. You won't tell anyone, would you?"

Jack cracked a smile. "I don't know, Bill. How much is my silence worth to you?"

Before the older man could protest, Jack held up his hands. "A joke, my friend. Just a joke. It would stay between us, of course."

"Well, then I suppose I can look the other way," said Bill with a conspiratorial smile. "And thank you, Jack. It means more to me than you'll ever know."

"There are many things that need to be set right," said Jack. "The treasury will help us do that. And it'll help us prosecute this war. Armies and navies aren't cheap as I'm beginning to find out as our forces continue to swell."

"Rosdahl didn't skim too much from the treasury, did he?" asked Bill. "That was one area that he was actually competent in. Taxes are a huge burden on the people. Rosdahl liked to have every coin that was owed to him without many exceptions."

"Something for us to review in the future then, no?" asked Jack. "The overall tax burden, I mean. But in regards to your question, you're right. The treasury looks to be in good shape. I don't think we'll have any problems paying out our armed forces for the time being."

Bill exhaled visibly. "Well, that's a relief. Money problems are an issue entirely on their own, and usually one without any good solutions."

"Indeed, which is why we're so fortunate at not having to worry about it," said Jack. "The city can rebuild. Your manor can be rebuilt. And we can decide on where we want to go next in this war."

"Have you decided where that will be yet?" asked Bill. "With Galicia under our control and our armed forces significantly enlarged, where should we go? Picardy? Swabia herself?"

Before Jack could answer, a stiff breeze blew through the camp. Despite the sunlight, the breeze was cold enough to give both men the shivers--a reminder of the upcoming turn of weather.

"I think the weather is going to turn here soon," said Jack as he referenced the breeze. "We've had uncommonly warm weather for this time of year but winter isn't far away. That's going to be the biggest determinant of where we go next. Severe weather will keep us contained here in the south, and it might put Picardy off the table just due to the altitude alone."

"That almost sounds like you're considering operations here against Swabia," said Bill with a raised eyebrow. "Swabia occupies the same latitude and would be a better operation for winter weather, especially since the temperatures won't dip that low in this part of the world."

Jack shrugged. "I haven't made up my mind yet on how to proceed. I half expect King Aedan to have a meltdown if we don't go to Picardy next, and I'd like to keep him happy for one. I also worry about the Swabian Fleet out there. It could make any direct attack against the Swabian islands risky."

"I know you'll pick the best choice for us," said Bill confidently. "You've never let us down so far. Why would you start doing so now?"

Jack didn't answer that question directly. Bill had all but scratched the surface for the real reason he wanted to talk this morning, and now that it was here, he wanted to jump headlong into the discussion.

"About that, I was hoping to talk to you further on that very topic," said Jack as his tone became more serious. "This morning, I woke up in the Castle and had plenty of time to think to myself. Do you know what I was thinking about?"

"My guess is that if you woke up with either Katherine or Abigail, you were thinking something along the lines of what a lucky man you are?" suggested Bill with a piercing grin.

Jack chuckled. "Not exactly, although you're not wrong. What I was thinking about is that the entire time I've been out here in the West, I've been in command of a force. Either my original task force or this army, I've always been in command. I've commanded, Bill, not ruled. They aren't the same disciplines, I realize that, but I know a lot more about commanding than I do ruling."

"Ruling isn't that much different than commanding," said Bill with a simple shrug. "Both actions have the expectation that orders are going to be followed. I will say there's more politics in ruling though and more room for interpretation. More cajoling is needed at times but altogether, the principles are very similar."

"Regardless, it's new territory for me," said Jack. "I may have been the Galician King even when we were in Apulia, but I was a king without a country. Now I have Galicia and I need to learn the art of ruling. For that, I need your help."

"My help?" asked Bill with confusion. "Jack, the only thing I've ever ruled is my manor at Hemswell. I had servants and everything but a household is on a much simpler scale than a country."

"I don't know that it has to be, Bill. A household is much like a country just in miniature," said Jack. "You have to keep your people happy. You can't live a happy life without a happy wife or children. You have to keep the finances in order and by that I mean the treasury. You have to keep up maintenance on your house, which could be translated into defense."

Bill held up his hands. "Okay, I see your point. There's still a difference though, Jack. I've never ruled a country before. I don't really know where to start."

"No, but you have some of the best instincts of anyone I've ever met," said Jack. "Your gut feeling about something is rarely wrong, and you know how the Galician government is designed to work. I could use your experience and your knowledge while I'm getting my feet wet."

Bill raised an eyebrow. "Jack, I'd be delighted to help in any way I can, but I do have one question. Katherine knows the government just as well as I do. Why not ask for her help?"

Jack nodded. "I've had that idea but I came to you for two reasons. The first is that Kat has her hands full just being a mother right now. I don't want to put any additional responsibilities on her at this moment. If not for my sister, we wouldn't be able to have any time to ourselves and I don't want to lean on her right now. The second is that while Kat knows the government and can help answer my questions in regards to Galicia, she's missing experience. I would never knock her knowledge but she was only Regent for three months. You've been a lord for how long?"

"Several decades," said Bill with a small chuckle.

"Exactly my point," said Jack. "This is nothing against Kat. I truly believe she has enough on her plate right now. But I think you can help me here potentially in a better way. After all, you're already one of the people I trust most. Why not extend it to this too?"

"Well, Jack, you have a way of humbling me today," said Bill after a long pause. "First you offer to rebuild my house and now you're telling me to be your advisor on the Galician government. You might make this old man's head get a little too big!"

"If that's the case, I'll just find Lisa and she can help me deflate it," teased Jack before he got serious again. "So what do you say? Help me?"

Bill couldn't even contain his grin. "You know you didn't even have to ask, right? I would have done it regardless."

"I felt it better to ask. You've helped me enough as is and you have no idea how grateful I am for it," answered Jack.

"Well, you're a good student," said Bill. "You listen to what you're told, which is already more than I can say for your predecessor. So yes, Jack, I'll help you where I can."

"Thank you, my friend." Jack put his hand on the older man's shoulder. "I just want to be the king that these people deserve. No more, no less."

"Speaking of which, that brings us to another important subject," said Bill. "Now that you're here ruling in Kalmar, there's another matter that we need to discuss."

"What's that?"

Bill grinned. "Your coronation. It'll be the first coronation in Galicia in over two hundred years. I'm sure we can find an old book somewhere in the library about the correct procedure but we need to have a proper start to your reign."