Fourth Vector Ch. 40

"And those men claimed to be loyal sons of Java," snorted Bancroft. "And here they are planning their treason right under my nose. Here in my very own capital! Who the hell do they think they are?"

Bancroft was moving before the spy could begin to answer the question. He needed to find Clark. At this time of day, his right-hand man should be in his office, and that was precisely where Bancroft found him.

He looked startled when the Emperor burst through the door.

"You are to have the entire crew of theStingray report to the palace immediately and under heavy guard," said Bancroft. "Give them no inclination of what it's for. Actually, lie to them. Tell them they are to report here for their next assignment."

Clark wrote down the message quickly but then looked up at Bancroft. "What has you so flustered? What's the matter?"

"Treason, Clark," answered Bancroft. "And we need to stamp it out quickly."

*****

It was almost shocking how quickly their fortunes changed.

One minute, Thomas was sitting off the side of theStingray catching fish with his brother, while all looked like it was going according to plan.

In the next minute, a heavily-armed group of men made their way to the destroyer, demanding to speak with the senior officers.

Though nothing was dangerously amiss just yet, it gave Thomas a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. With no choice but to comply in order to maintain their facade, Thomas, Cash, Lizzy, and Van alongside another fifteen officers of the ship presented themselves in good order to the arriving group.

A fiercer-looking group it couldn't have been. The guards were the heavily-muscled and armed palace guards and every single one of their faces seemed to have a serious expression written on it. The two men leading the party were from the navy by their uniforms, and they introduced themselves as two of Admiral Melvin's deputies.

"You are being ordered to come to the palace at once," informed the commodore who was the most senior officer of the group. "You will have an audience with Admiral Melvin as well as the Emperor."

Thomas caught a wary look in his brother's eye but it was imperative that he went along with the request.

"We'd be delighted to meet with Admiral Melvin and the Emperor," said Thomas diplomatically. "We'll follow you straight there. Do you have vehicles for us?"

The commodore shook his head. "Walking. You'll be walking there with my men."

It was an odd statement but so far, Thomas was still under the impression that nothing was truly wrong. Perhaps with the war going on, there weren't enough resources to spare to allow vehicular transport at leisure.

Thomas nodded his consent and the group soon started away from the harbor, making their way toward the imperial palace, which stood on the outskirts of the city.

"I don't like the looks of this," whispered Cash in Thomas' ears soon after they started walking. "Why do they need to be so heavily-armed?"

"I thought the same thing," whispered Thomas. "Perhaps it's just how the guards function. They don't go anywhere without expecting something bad to happen around any corner."

"Are we the bad here, brother? This is not giving me a fuzzy feeling in the pit of my stomach."

For once, his brother had a right to his pessimism. Something did seem off. And for the first time on the mission, Thomas wondered if they'd made a mistake.

"Let's see where this is going," said Thomas. "It's too late to back out now, and it could all be for naught. After all, if we were really in trouble, they wouldn't be grabbing the senior officers of the ship. It would be the entire ship that was being punished."

Cash gave him an apprehensive look that told him he seriously doubted that statement. Unfortunately, his brother never got a chance to say anything back.

"Eyes forward, no talking," barked one of the guards closest to the brothers.

That ended all conversation. The only thing that could be heard besides the sounds of the city was the steady marching of boots against the paved city streets.

Even though Thomas had never seen the imperial palace before, he knew when they'd arrived there by the sheer size and scale of it alone. It was easily the largest building in Belfort, dwarfing anything else--even the government buildings. There was a certain ominous feeling that took hold as Thomas looked at the building, almost as if the occupant of the palace was appraising his small group at that very moment.

How right he would turn out to be.

Instead of taking the officers inside the palace, the group of guards led them through a short vestibule until they arrived in the inner courtyard that was surrounded on three sides by different wings of the palace.

It was here that Thomas first put his eyes on Admiral Melvin, finding his stern eyes watching him with intense curiosity.

The man next to Melvin needed no introduction. As a naval officer, Thomas was very familiar with Bancroft, remembering all those years of speeches and dispatches that came from the one-time senior officer of the entire navy.

He'd aged somewhat since the last time Thomas saw him. He had thicker jowls than he had before and his hair seemed more silver along his ears but he still had the same intensity as he used to have.

It wasn't the look of the Emperor that raised the first call to alarm. Instead, it was the words that came out of his mouth.

"Arrest them all," ordered Bancroft as soon as they were close.

It was at that moment that Thomas felt a sharp jab from the butt of a rifle right in the center portion of his back. It was strong enough to make him fall to his knees, temporarily disorienting him long enough to have a pair of handcuffs placed on him from behind. Looking around, he noticed the confusion on the other officers' faces as well, and even a few of them voiced a few words of protest.

"Silence!" yelled the Emperor after they'd all been arrested. "I have no time to listen to the pleas and complaints of a group of traitors to their country!"

As the commander of the ship, Thomas felt the need to respond to that accusation. The words that came out of his mouth next would determine how they got out of this tense situation.

"Your Imperial Majesty, we're no traitors here!" said Thomas loudly. He found Bancroft's eyes on him instantly, the old man glared at him from under his crown. "We're all loyal sons and daughters of Java."

"You lie!" replied Bancroft. "Loyal sons and daughters of Java do not disobey their orders. Your men were commanded to stay on your ship and just today, we had to put to death one man who was caught outside the harbor!"

That caused some anxiety for Thomas. He couldn't help giving his brother a quick glance and he found that Cash had the same look in his eyes.

Before he had a chance to respond, two of Bancroft's men brought forward a lump of... something, which was quickly deposited on the ground near Thomas. It didn't take him long to figure out that the something was a mutilated body, but it had been so bloody and torn up that it was only with some observation that Thomas could determine it used to be a man.

"There!" yelled Bancroft. "There's your man that was caught ashore! See the penalty for treason?"

"Our men haven't left the ship--" started Thomas before he was cut off again.

"Don't you dare tell me one more lie," replied Bancroft. "I know very well what you were doing. You men are nothing but traitors. You haven't left the employ of the rebel Jack Easterbrook. Even right now, you still fight for him while professing loyalty to our country. You ought to be ashamed for your dastardly actions. And you will be punished for your treason!"

With those words, all the officers were approached from behind. They were roughly brought to their feet by the guards, who lined them all up in a row alongside a row of flowers that decorated the inner gardens. At this point, Thomas was panicking. Events were now spiraling out of his control.

"Your Imperial Majesty, might I have a chance to explain?" asked Thomas again. "I'm sure there's a suitable answer for these charges!"

Bancroft shook his head. "The only thing I want to hear from your mouths right now is a confession! I'm going to give all of you one chance and one chance only. Speak of your treason and confess to me what you're really doing back in Java and you won't be killed today! Continue to lie, and you will meet a traitor's death! Speak the truth and let it set you free!"

With those words, Bancroft moved to the man on the front of the line, which just so happened to be Van. His eyes went wide as he saw that he was going to be the first to be questioned.

To make matters worse, Bancroft snapped his finger, and one of the guards trotted directly behind Van. He raised his NT-12 rifle to the back of the officer's head.

"You there, Lieutenant," said Bancroft. "What are you doing in Java? Why are you really here?"

Van looked back and forth between Thomas and Bancroft out of sheer panic. It went on long enough that Bancroft started snapping his fingers. "Answer the fucking question!"

"W-we're here t-to... to surrender and r-rejoin the fighting," sputtered Van.

"Liar!" roared Bancroft as he gestured to the guard behind Van.

The guard raised his rifle slightly and aimed directly at Van's head.

One single shot entered the back of Van's head. He died instantly, which caused a howl of anguish to come from the other officers. It soon ended as rifle butts went to their backs again.

"I didn't say that any of you had permission to speak yet," roared Bancroft before he pointed to the dead body of Van. "He just paid the ultimate price for lying to his emperor. Who is next? You there!"

Lizzy started to shake her head as Bancroft walked up to her next. She looked completely frightened as the rifle was raised to the back of her head.

"Wait. Wait, I'll tell you everything!" yelled Thomas, causing Bancroft to once again stare in his direction. "You're right! You're completely right! We're still traitors!"

"Thomas, what are you doing?" barked Cash, now more alarmed at Thomas' outburst.

"What we need to do," replied Thomas. "We need to tell the truth. Or else we're all going to die!"

"We're still going to die, truth or not," said Cash before a rifle butt quickly silenced him.

"Tell me the truth, Lt. Commander," said Bancroft as he moved closer to Thomas. "Tell me everything."

With a deep breath, Thomas spilled his soul. He told Bancroft everything. How they were really still fighting for Jack. How this mission was designed to extract Jocelyn Hutton under the guise of a fake surrender. How they hoped to escape at the very end. He spared no details.

In retelling the tale back to Bancroft, it quickly became apparent that Thomas wouldn't survive the rest of the day. He made his peace with that, knowing there was no way he would live after what he'd planned to do.

His only hope at that point was to spare the rest of his officers from suffering Van's fate. They might be imprisoned for their crimes but at least they would still be alive.

It was a hope if nothing less.

It would soon turn out to be a fool's hope.

"So that's all of it then?" asked Bancroft after Thomas finished speaking. "Jack Easterbrook thinks he can steal some of my citizens out from under my nose and not face any consequences?"

Thomas knew better than to answer that question but for several brief moments, it appeared the Emperor was in very deep thought. Finally, he snapped and looked back at Thomas.

"Very good, Lt. Commander. I thank you for your honesty today. Even though you're still a traitor, at least you've found one way to be useful to your home country."

With those words, Bancroft gestured to the guard that was still behind Lizzy. With one smooth motion, the guard raised his rifle and shot her in the back of the head.

Once more, protests erupted but none were more verdant than from the two brothers.

"You said no one else had to die!" yelled Cash before her body had even hit the dirt.

"Kill me if you have to," yelled Thomas. "But spare the rest of them. This was my decision! I'll take the consequences for it!"

"Oh, but you will indeed, Lt. Commander," said Bancroft finally. "Your punishment will be much worse than the rest of them. Your fate will be to watch every single officer here be killed right in front of your eyes, saving you for last. Only then will you die knowing you couldn't do anything to save them."

Thomas' mouth fell open. "You said no one else had to die today!"

Bancroft crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I make no deals with traitors. Kill them all. Kill all the enemies of the state!"

One by one, each of the twenty officers of theStingray were dispatched one by one. Thomas couldn't help but yell after the death of each one until he'd finally been jabbed so many times by the butt of the rifle that he couldn't even see straight anymore.

The last to go was Cash. Bancroft seemed to understand the two were brothers, and he saved Cash for last.

As the rifle was raised to the back of Cash's head, Thomas seemed to understand his brother's words from when they arrived in Belfort.

As his brother's body hit the ground, Thomas finally understood.

There was no good left in the world.

*****

The day of battle arrived early the next morning. As Jack moved about his command tent, the sun was peeking on the eastern horizon, illuminating a battlefield that was largely without any cloud cover or blemish.

It was going to be an excellent day for a final contest. Jack took one look to the north where the Swabian Army awaited him. Although he had no way of knowing it, at this very moment they were moving their artillery pieces into position and stockpiling shells for the opening bombardment. The early peace around the city of Castus would soon be disturbed with a hail of artillery.

But not yet. For now, Jack wanted to make sure all units were in their designated places. The bulk of the army stretched across the open plain, making use of rows of trenches designed to slow down the attacker. While most of those trenches ran across the plain, in many spots they ran a more vertical course, enabling different lines to support the trenches in front of them.

Art had sworn to him that any attack, even with tanks, would falter on the open, hilly plains against such a defense.

"The men are ready to go, Jack," promised Art as they moved about the rear trenches. "I've never seen the army in this kind of condition before. You would think they'd still be down on themselves for the two losses but I think they know what's at stake with this fight. They're going to fight like hell to win this day for us."

"We need every ounce of energy they have to give," replied Jack. "You tell them that I'm proud of each man out here. That even though this might be our final battle here, we're going to give those Swabians everything we have to give."

Art smiled. "I'll tell them right now, Jack."

With the main trenches secure, Jack moved back to the city where he could find the few transports that were tasked with moving the marines up the coast. They had already loaded out during the evening as what was left of the marines boarded and made themselves comfortable.

As soon as the battle started, they would sprint up the coast under cover of the few ships left behind not currently searching for the Swabian fleet. The marines were critical to Jack's plan, and that was why he wanted to speak with Greg, who would be leading them, before they set out.

"All ready then?" asked Jack to his other senior general that morning. "How are the marines?"

Greg smirked. "Ready for a fight I'd say, but you know how the marines are. They usually never want battles to end because it means an end to the fighting."

"We're going to need everything they have today," said Jack. "At the core of it, you only have a little more than a thousand men to fall on the flank of an army that numbers nearly eighty thousand. Are you sure they can handle that?"

Greg nodded. "They've handled everything we've asked of them so far. They've gotten us this far, right Jack?"

Jack couldn't help but smile. "We would have been defeated a long time ago if not for the marines. Make sure the men know how grateful I am to still have them by my side after all this time."

"Oh, they know, trust me," answered Greg. "They talk about it all the time. These are the men that chose to fight for you over their own homeland, mind you. I think they'd follow you to the end of the world if you let them."

Jack chuckled. "It's not me they follow but you. You're their commander. You just so happen to be linked to me."

Greg put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "If you honestly think that, Jack, you're not paying attention."

The two men shared a laugh before it was time for Greg to board with the rest of his men. With the transports setting off, Jack repeated the same conversation with Lindy, who would be doing the same thing on the other flank with his Galician regiments.

"You know, this is going to be a contest between Galicia and Java right now," said Lindy with a curious smile. "We'll see which force is strong enough to make the Swabians crumble."

Jack laughed with Lindy. "You know you have a lot more men than Greg has, right? I'd expect you to be doing the bulk of the work."

"And that's exactly what you'll get," promised Lindy as he puffed out his chest. "My men will turn that Swabian flank. I can guarantee it!"

That boast was enough for Jack and he wished Lindy well as he moved to his position. The battle seemed about primed to begin but there was one more person who was trying to get into position for battle.

And it was someone who should have been sitting the battle out.

"Dustin, what in the world are you doing?" asked Jack.

Sure enough, the scrappy major who'd been so grievously injured in the last battle (enough to break his leg and suffer a concussion) was trying to climb into an airplane to take off with the rest of the flyers.

"Getting into my airplane, Jack," answered Dustin innocently. "Well, my new airplane, I suppose. My old one isn't quite working the way I would like!"

"You're supposed to be sitting this one out," said Jack with a disapproving stare. "How can you fly with a broken leg?"

"I don't need my leg to control the plane," said Dustin. "Well, I do, but I can use my other working leg to hit the pedal. All I really need are my hands and those are still working pretty good."

"Dustin," growled Jack.

The major put his hands up. "Let me fight, Jack. Please? This means something to me. I don't belong in the rear while a battle is taking place."

"Dustin, you were pretty banged up in this last battle," said Jack with a softer tone. "We can afford to have you sit this one out."

That last line was an outright lie but Jack said it anyway. He knew he needed every man he could get his hands on but he didn't want Dustin to be reckless with his own life after he was just so recently injured.

Dustin saw right through his words though.

"You're lying, Jack," said Dustin with a grin. "You need me up in the air. That's where I belong. Plus you know as well as I do that this is going to be the decisive fight. There can be no retreat if we lose here. I don't want to know that I sat out on the one fight that mattered the most."

Jack didn't like it but he could hardly forbid Dustin from flying. Not when the stakes mattered this much.

"Be careful up there," said Jack after letting out a sigh. "Don't do anything stupid. And don't you dare get shot down again."

Dustin smirked. "I don't intend to lose any more airplanes, Jack. You can count on me."

It was far from an ideal circumstance but so were the times they were living in. Jack gave his consent but they were interrupted at that moment by the start of a dreadfully powerful artillery barrage that soon started on the north end of the battlefield.