Fourth Vector Ch. 39

"Why not him?"

Michael gave her a serious look. "Because I think if he knew, he would probably have me killed."

There was a heavy silence between them after that statement. Jade didn't seem to know how to respond. He could tell she was thinking but where he might have expected pity, she seemed to get angry.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she demanded. "I've treated you like that for so long, since I met you! Why didn't you trust me to tell me that you weren't really like that?"

"I didn't know if I could trust you, Jade," replied Michael candidly. "I didn't know you that well."

"You could have tried harder to get to know me."

"Trust me, there's nothing I'd like more than to get to know you."

Michael's face turned red after uttering the words. It was the very first time he'd shown even the slightest interest in Jade, and he had no idea how she would take it. Of course, his timing was terrible. He had to wait until she was upset with him before he made any move.

Real smooth, just like Artemis taught you!

To his surprise, Jade actually smiled. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Her lips parted and her shiny white teeth were revealed. When coupled with those devastating brown eyes, Michael could already feel his knees getting weaker.

"I think the biggest surprise of the day is that you have a certain way with words," said Jade after another moment. She looked down at her feet and then back at him.

It was just long enough of a look for Michael to detect that maybe he wasn't a lost cause after all.

"I'm sorry that I had to lie to you," he said while playing with his hands. "It wasn't intentional. It's just what I always do until I can really trust someone."

Jade gave him a playful grin. "Well, do me a favor and don't lie to me again, okay?"

Michael chuckled. "I promise. You don't have to worry about that."

"Good," she replied. "Because it would be really nice to have another friend around the palace. Someone that's my age. I get tired sometimes of having to put up with the condescending behavior from some of the older servants who've been here a while."

"So... friends then?" asked Michael as he held out his hand.

Jade looked at his hand and then back at him. She took it and squeezed. "Friends. I'd really like that, Michael."

"So as my friend, you won't treat me any differently just because of my last name?" he asked. "Or because others might think me... stupid?"

Jade giggled. "As long as you don't treat me any differently just for being a servant around here."

"I think I can do that."

"Well, then I think I can do that too," answered Jade.

"I really wanted to tell you earlier," said Michael candidly. "Ever since you first started working here."

"Why didn't you then?" she asked.

Michael shrugged. "Fear? I don't know. I don't get to see many people here my age that pay attention to me."

Jade gave him a warm smile. "Well now that we're friends, you don't have anything to be afraid of, do you?"

He returned her smile. "I guess not. You are right about one thing--it will be nice to have someone my age around here," he said quickly.

Jade smiled. "Amongst other things. I'm beginning to like our friendship already."

So too was Michael, even if he had the occasional thought about Jade that was far from just friendly. Truthfully though, he was secretly thrilled at having brought her into his secret. She took it well and didn't let his initial dishonesty threaten their friendship, which was more than he could say for some people in his past.

He stood there in the pantry and talked to Jade for another ten minutes before she had to get back to work. It was mostly on the lighter side of things, never getting too deep, but if anything was certain, he felt like he now had the groundwork to build a decent friendship upon.

And maybe it would be strong enough to eventually build a relationship on too.

By the time he'd walked back into the kitchen, a silly grin was prominent on his face. It was easily visible to someone like Artemis, who promptly flashed him a thumbs-up as soon as he reappeared. It was a gesture that Michael reciprocated before he finally left the kitchen toting a few more apples.

Perhaps there was hope for him yet. Maybe he could really build something with Jade after all?

*****

"There she is, just right over there," said Admiral Colin Godfrey as he looked out his binoculars. "The island of Sorella."

Greg followed the admiral's eyes and looked upon the distant landmass that was just visible on the horizon.

"No sign of Swabians?" he asked Colin.

"None whatsoever," replied the admiral. "Radar is clear too. Think we might get lucky again? Are we dealing with Zarah round two?"

Greg smirked. "I highly doubt that our luck would hold that long. After all, why would the Swabians pull back from Sorella? I doubt they'd expected to see anyone coming to liberate them."

"You're not wrong there," replied Colin. "Maybe we can at least catch them with their tails between their legs."

That was the hope that Jack had when he designed Plan B, or the secondary operation that Greg was now executing in lieu of staying in Picardy. The last two islands that were still under Swabian occupation, Sorella and Andalucia had a special place in Jack's heart, being amongst the first places he'd stopped when they'd entered the West. They were also amongst the smallest, and they quickly fell to the Swabians once the war started.

"I'm sure the Swabians won't have large occupying forces on either island," said Jack as he and Greg discussed the plan back in Naxos. "But Sorella is to be considered the more important island. They have the rubber trees which are critical to the Swabian war machine. We need to stop that raw material from getting back to the enemy's industries and being used against us."

And so Plan B was created to take Greg's task force south and liberate Sorella. For now, he would temporarily bypass Andalucia, allowing Jack to liberate it at a later date. Stopping the rubber shipments was more important for now, but so too was liberating the Sorellan people, the majority of whom had suffered enough in recent years.

Greg could still remember the first time they'd landed on the island nearly two years ago. Sorella was locked in a devastating civil war between east and west, one where the casualties mounted each passing day. It was only with their help that the Sorellans were able to end their civil war, bringing back a measure of peace to the war-torn island.

They had such peace for another year before the Swabians invaded and tore it to shreds once more.

Truthfully, Greg wasn't looking forward to landing on Sorella. The scars of a Swabian occupation ran deep, and he'd seen what they did to the Nax as a collective people.

Greg knew the Sorellans better than any Nax. He hoped the Swabian occupation hadn't destroyed their spirit totally. They'd already suffered enough.

"Bring us in closer and have the men prepare the launch boats," commanded Greg. "I want to land near the capital and work our way in. I'm sure the Swabians have probably made it their stronghold."

"Do you want to assault the capital head-on?" asked Colin.

Greg shook his head. "No, too risky. I'd rather land on the western coast and push in. Our guns have enough range to rain down on the capital if we need the extra assistance but all reports seem to indicate the Swabians don't have a huge force on Sorella."

"We'll see it done," promised Colin.

Colin's task force certainly delivered. They prepared the landing site with a bombardment of their own, ensuring that no Swabian forces would be there waiting for them when they arrived. Greg was in the first wave with his Javan invaders, once more invading Sorellan soil just like they did two years earlier.

This time, there were no Sorellans to await their arrival. In fact, there wasn't much of a defense at all from the moment they stepped onto firm land.

"I don't get it," said Greg as he rendezvoused with his subordinate officers. "Where the hell are the Swabians?"

The country was almost too quiet for one that was under foreign occupation. In the entire landing, only two Swabian soldiers were killed, and that was mostly due to the fact that they'd been caught in the initial bombardment.

What was even more interesting were the other bodies of Swabians that were brought to Greg as they pushed in the direction of the Sorellan capital.

They were mutilated beyond belief. Their throats had been savagely cut and they'd been stabbed many times in the chest with what appeared to be a bayonet.

"Did our men do this?" asked Greg as he surveyed the bodies. "Surely these weren't the actions of my Javans."

"Negative, sir, we found them like this," said the lieutenant of the unit that found them. "They haven't been dead long either. My guess is only about forty-eight hours."

Something odd was happening in Sorella but it wasn't until Greg and his force arrived at the capital city that they found out what.

The Swabian garrison that manned the city had completely pulled back to a ring of citadels that lined the harbor. Greg remembered that at one point, King Heron had them occupied for harbor defense but they could only cover a small amount of area within the city itself.

The most bizarre part about the whole thing was that someone had pushed them back into these ringed forts. Even more bizarre was that most of the city sported terrible scars from a raging fire. Several buildings had collapsed while the others that still stood remained burned out remnants of their former selves. Greg didn't doubt that the people that burned the city were the same ones pushing the Swabians back now.

And Greg had a good idea who it was when he heard the sounds of gunfire on the other side of the city.

"What in the blazes is going on here in Sorella?" he questioned no one in particular. "Who else is fighting the Swabians?"

A quick reconnaissance of the city revealed the answer.

"Sir, it's the Sorellans themselves!" said the captain who did the reconnaissance. "They are the ones applying pressure to the Swabians inside the city. It looks like they are using captured Swabian weaponry to execute their own siege!"

"Well, I'll be damned," swore Greg. "I knew the Sorellans were tough but I had no idea they were this tough!"

"What are your orders, General?"

"Make contact with the Sorellans and let them know we're here to help them," commanded Greg. "Let's help them rid their city of the Swabians once and for all!"

It turned out the Sorellans were only too happy to accept help for the final push on the city. Greg allowed his men to man the northern push while the Sorellans pushed from the east, all converging on the harbor where the last signs of Swabian resistance were centered.

Initially, both forces had a tough nut to crack in the form of the harbor forts but that wasn't going to last for very long. Greg called up his mortars and had artillery center in on the structures, and they were soon crashing into the walls of the old buildings.

By nightfall, the last harbor fort had surrendered. Nearly one hundred and fifty Swabian soldiers were all that was left of the entire island garrison.

Sorella was free once more.

Greg couldn't have been happier to see the relatively casualty-free liberation of the island but he had too many questions for his Sorellan allies in the process.

How had they overcome the Swabian beast nearly on their own? When did they start fighting? How did they get the Swabian weaponry?

And most importantly, was Heron still leading them?

It was after dark by the time he'd managed to find out who was leading the Sorellan forces. Greg arranged to meet the mysterious commander near the center of the city, in the same place that he and Jack were almost ambushed two years ago.

At the time, Greg expected to see Heron as the wily commander but instead, he ran into Heron's unflappable daughter, Elektra.

"Greg! It really is you!" shrieked Elektra as she ran forward and embraced him fondly. "We got word that your forces were invading the island, and I couldn't believe it!"

Greg chuckled as he hugged the fiery redhead. "Elektra, it's great to see you! Are you responsible for all this? I'm just flabbergasted at what I've seen since we've landed."

Elektra let out a beaming grin. "Not bad for a bunch of farmers, right? We nearly took out the Swabians on our own."

"You would have even if we would have held back," said Greg. "What's happened here in Sorella? Where is your father?"

The smile dropped from Elektra's face. "Unfortunately, he's no longer with us. He was killed right as the city fell to the Swabians months ago."

Greg touched her shoulder. "You have my sympathy. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thank you," mouthed Elektra. "Come on, I have someone I want you to meet."

Elektra led him through the ruined city until they emerged on the outskirts where there were more farms than homes. In doing so, Greg must have passed nearly two hundred Sorellan raiders, but it wasn't quite accurate to call them an army. They used a hodgepodge of equipment and many of them didn't have much in the way of a uniform.

Finally, they arrived at what could have been once a barn, but had now been transformed into Sorellan Army headquarters. Inside, the Sorellans maintained control over their forces while applying force on the capital.

It was a scene stunningly reminiscent of the old fortification of Daimanos when he tried to take over the city.

"I can't believe you've done this all on your own," said Greg as he marveled at the sight in front of him. "Where is Nikias? Is he still here?"

Elektra's face was unreadable for a moment and Greg suspected for a brief moment that something had happened to Nikias as well.

That was before he heard a familiar voice off to his right.

"Greg, how good to see you again!"

Nikias managed to move toward Greg slowly, nursing his leg with a wound that hadn't been there before. The two men embraced as old friends.

"Did you bring Jack with you?" asked Nikias.

"Not this time," replied Greg. "Jack has been a little busy on his own. At the moment, he's in Picardy as part of the liberation force there against the Swabians. He asked me to come down to Sorella to help rid your country of the Swabians, although I was telling Elektra that you scarcely needed my help after all!"

Nikias grinned. "The help is appreciated nevertheless. It's been a very difficult road since the last time we saw each other. We haven't been without grievous losses of our own."

Greg started to nod. "I'm sorry to hear about Heron. I know how much he was like a father to you."

"Thank you, Greg. Heron died a hero's death. He led the charge against the Swabians and perished to give time for what was left of our army to retreat and regroup. If not for Heron, none of us would be standing here today."

"I have to hear the whole story," said Greg. "Tell me everything. What has happened since we last left Sorella?"

Both Elektra and Nikias looked at each other as if neither knew where to start. Finally, Nikias was the one to start speaking first.

"The Swabian occupation was terrible. They hit us with overwhelming firepower, and our forces didn't stand a chance," started Nikias. "We lost our capital city within hours of the initial attack."

"It was also when we lost my father," added Elektra solemnly. "The remains of our army were chased into the great interior of Sorella."

"But the Swabians weren't content just to occupy our city. They wanted control over all of Sorella," said Nikias. "Specifically, they wanted control over our rubber trees."

"We figured as much on that," said Greg. "Rubber is very useful to a war machine like the Swabians have. No wonder they made Sorella one of their first stops as they tried to conquer the West."

Nikias nodded. "In doing so, they pushed into the interior, tightening the ring around Sorellan resistance. At first, we tried to keep them at bay with hit-and-run tactics."

"But it wasn't enough," added Elektra. "We kept having to push back further until all that remained was a small band of us at the top of Mount Tarpeious. Things were looking truly bleak, and we thought that we might truly perish."

"You've come a long way with just that single band," said Greg. "What was the turning point?"

Elektra's face assumed a grim look. "The same turning point that has been in many prior Sorellan conflicts. I'm talking of course about Sorellan fire."

Greg raised an eyebrow. "What happened with it?"

"The Swabians were sitting right on top of it in the capital without realizing it," said Nikias. "It was at the bottom of an old armory warehouse, and there were enough stores of it to take down the entire city. Seeing as the Swabians had turned the city into an open-air camp where the only Sorellans permitted inside were slaves, we decided to use it to strike back against them."

"And judging by the state of the city, you were successful," said Greg.

Elektra nodded. "It wasn't without loss. Many Sorellans died in the blaze. Nikias and I only just got away with our lives, and he will be horribly burned for the rest of his life."

At this point, Nikias rolled up his pants on the leg that he'd been limping on. Greg flinched when he saw the scared remains of an intense burn.

"That must have hurt like hell," noted Greg.

Nikias nodded. "It did. I don't even remember being dragged from the warehouse. But it's the only reason why I'm alive today. My leg took the brunt of it but the rest of my body isn't without scars as well."

He stood up and removed his shirt, presenting his back to Greg. His back was scared as well, the evidence of a horrible burn. Nikias didn't leave it out long and quickly covered it with his shirt.

"A good many Sorellans perished in the blaze but at least ten times as many Swabians died too," said Elektra. "We started the blaze in the middle of the night, in the early morning hours. Many of the Swabians were still asleep in the houses they'd stolen from our people. By the time they'd realized they were in danger, it was too late for them."

"We estimate at least a third of their force perished in the blaze," said Nikias. "And it started a domino effect on their demoralization."

"How do you figure that?" asked Greg.

"Suddenly, we showed the Sorellan people that the Swabians weren't invincible," replied Elektra. "They saw that the Swabians could be defeated and they started to increase their resistance to being lorded over them."

"Not to mention, the Swabiansunderstood that they could be defeated. They started to be more cautious with their forces. They would only attack into the countryside with force," said Nikias. "With that dose of reality, they started to lose heart."

"And so we did the next rational thing to do," said Elektra. "We increased the frequency of attacks against them."

"And increased the level of savagery," added Nikias quietly.

"The men that we found on the way to the capital," said Greg. "The ones that had their throats cut. They were your men, weren't they? You were sending a message to the Swabians?"

Both Nikias and Elektra nodded. "A message they wouldn't soon forget. It took some time still but our attacks against them worked. More Sorellans started to hope that we might free our country again. They swelled our ranks and deserted their Swabian masters in the process. Every new Sorellan recruit that we received hurt them in some way," said Elektra.

"And that was how we turned the tide," said Nikias. "We finally had them on the ropes, pushed back to their last stronghold here at the capital."

Elektra grinned. "And that was when you showed up."

"We might have let you finish the job on your own!" said Greg. "I didn't need to steal any glory away from the freedom fighters of Sorella."