Fourth Vector Ch. 42

Greg's mouth fell open. "Jack, I don't know what to say. What about the other generals? Cartier is still a great choice and he has more experience than me."

"Perhaps," replied Jack. "But I don't know Cartier as well as you. He may be a great general but for now, I want someone in charge of the army that I can trust implicitly. That's you. And similar to how Art served as a mentor to you, I'd like you to serve as a mentor to Lindy. Help to shape and mold him into a general in command. Make him stop thinking like just a colonel. Think you're up to such a job?"

Greg actually smiled for once. "You know, I didn't come over here seeking a promotion, right?"

Jack grinned. "I know. You came over here to grumble about Ferberg. And look what happened, you're now my top general. Congratulations, Greg. The army is lucky to have you."

Jack emerged from behind his desk and embraced the other man like the brother he was.

"We've come a long way, Jack, haven't we?" asked Greg once they parted. "More than two years later and look at us now. Who could have predicted this?"

"From the sounds of it, only my wife," joked Jack, thinking of the prophecy kept in Kat's notebook. "But it has been a long road for all of us. My hope now is that we can spend the next several decades in peace."

Greg could only nod his head but there was a troubled look in his eyes that Jack understood all too clearly. The elephant in the room was what to do about Java, as that threat seemed to loom larger by the day.

For now though, Jack put it at the back of his mind. He just wanted to celebrate one war's ending without thinking about another one starting.

To that end, Twitch arrived in the tent not long after, and he looked all kinds of excited.

"What's going on, Twitch?" asked Jack, noting his disposition.

"Jack, the dispatches are arriving now! The rest of the Swabian lords are surrendering. The war is totally over!"

*****

The flood of dispatches from the rest of the Swabian lords was just the final stroke of luck that Jack needed. Instead of choosing to resist, the rest of the major lords chose to accept that Swabia was defeated and they now looked toward securing a peace settlement with Jack's forces.

The war was indeed over. Now that the last battle had been won, the only thing left to do was to win the peace. With the help of Bill, Jack set about trying to craft a lasting peace settlement that would keep the Swabians from starting another war in anyone's lifetime.

To that end, Jack and Bill started to spend a lot more time together. Jack used the older Galician lord as a sounding board for the ideas and language he wanted to use in the settlement, and all too often, he found himself starting over after Bill's advice.

The key task at hand was how to treat the defeated Swabians without punishing them so harshly that they found the peace settlement untenable. Jack had a number of provisions in mind that would have effectively neutered Swabian power for generations to come, but the majority of them were nixed by Bill to some degree.

"Jack, we still have to live with the Swabians after this," reminded Bill. "If we rob them of their dignity and their pride, what are the chances they're going to abide by this peace?"

Bill brought up an excellent point, and Jack scrubbed some of the harsher provisions that would have been seen as an overstretch. In fact, the more the two men looked at it, the softer Jack's stance on the Swabians became.

Jack was reminded of Greg's warning about using Ferberg in their efforts to help revitalize the country. To that end, it wasn't hard to realize that Galician/Swabian enmity had characterized much of the history of the West, even to the point that the last two thousand years could rightfully be seen as a grudge match between the two giants.

That enmity was deep, and it sewed much of the mistrust that was between both sides. If Jack was to try to heal that breach, he'd have to find a way to stop looking at the Swabians as adversaries and start looking at them as potential partners.

Such thinking was a hard pill to swallow. If it was for Jack, who only had slightly more than two years of bad blood with the Swabians, it would be a nearly impossible task for those Galicians who'd known nothing else for their entire lives.

After discussing it for more than an hour that night, Jack finally put it away to talk about something else.

"My brain is just about fried from talking about this," he said to Bill as he leaned back in his chair. "I partly just want to go back to Kalmar and tell the Swabians to figure it out."

Bill started to chuckle. "That would be no good. We'd probably put them into a state of endless civil war if we did that."

Jack understood the reason why Bill said that. With so many Swabian lords out there still, it was likely that one or more of them would try to take advantage of a Galician power vacuum and seize ultimate power the moment they left. For that reason alone, it was crucial to put in a peace settlement that kept the lords under control.

"I'm not entirely convinced that any system we put in place would be left alone the minute that we leave," said Jack sullenly.

Bill grimaced. "I don't know, Jack. The lords all surrendered to you and have acknowledged the war is over. Right now, your personal gravitas couldn't be any higher. I think even if you did leave, the threat of coming back would probably keep them in line longer than you'd expect."

"We can hope," said Jack quietly. "In any event, I'll be looking forward to going back to Kalmar. I know it hasn't been my home for very long, but I do miss sleeping in my own bed."

"As I do mine," said Bill with a laugh. "I'll just be happy getting out of bleak Swabia. At least Galicia has some color to it. This whole country seems to be just different shades of gray."

"Well, Bill, I think your bias might be showing there," quipped Jack.

"Probably but that's to be expected when you're my age," said Bill. "I'm too old to change now."

The two men were still chuckling to themselves when a visitor arrived. The visitor was expected (at least for Jack) but there was quite a reaction when Bill saw who it was.

"Your Majesty, good evening," said Ferberg as he entered the room cautiously. Instantly, his eyes settled on Bill, and Ferberg largely returned the look of distrust that Bill gave him.

"General, have a seat with us," said Jack as he gestured to one of the chairs.

Ferberg sat down gingerly but he never seemed to be able to relax as long as Bill was looking at him. To that end, the same could be said about the older Galician lord as well.

Jack noticed the situation and could only smile. "You know, I'm not asking you both to suddenly become friends. You don't have to stare daggers at each other."

Bill was the first to react. "Sorry, Jack," he said before his eyes drifted to Ferberg again. "And sorry to you too, General."

"Sorry," mumbled Ferberg awkwardly.

Despite the apologies, Jack felt that nothing had changed about the situation. It still seemed just as awkward as before and that caused him to start speaking again.

"This is the kind of thing that I've been thinking about a lot in the past week," he explained, looking back and forth between the two other men. "There is so much history here that it overshadows everything else. All of the history of the West can be boiled down to the fighting between Galicia and Swabia. It's so bad that we can't even look at anyone from the other country without instant suspicion."

"That's very true, Your Majesty," said Ferberg. "But it's hard for anyone to change after such a long time."

Jack shrugged. "Perhaps it's time we did change. We can't constantly be at each other's throats. And maybe I have a unique perspective on this. Yes, I'm fully Galician but I wasn't raised with a history of hating Swabia like many on our side."

"That has made you a lot easier to work with," mumbled Ferberg.

"We need to come to some kind of understanding," said Jack. "Fighting between our two peoples is never going to end unless we put an end to it. We have to breach this division and find a way to live together."

"Well, I think a lot of that will be determined by this peace settlement that you're working on," said Ferberg. "I can tell you that there are many in Dagobern that are worried about what kind of provisions are going to be forced on us after you leave."

"Tell them not to worry then," replied Jack. "I think you'll find the provisions are very lenient in the grand scope of things. It all goes back to what I was just talking about. I don't want to earn further enmity for a bad peace. With any luck, the Fifth Swabian War will be the last war we ever have to deal with."

"If that turns out to be the case, I'd say you worked a miracle, Jack," said Bill. "Those roots go very deep."

"Deep but not unreachable," agreed Jack. "And it's going to take some help from the two of you."

"Me?" asked Ferberg. "What more help do you need from me?"

Jack gave him a wry smile. "There's going to be much on your plate in the coming days and weeks. That's all the details I'm willing to give you now. More will be revealed in time. But I need your help. I cannot leave Swabia in the same condition she is now. If I do, she'll just get another power-hungry emperor and we'll be back to square one."

Ferberg gave him a shocked look. "So what does that mean exactly? Are you saying there's not going to be another emperor?"

Jack grinned. "I'm not saying anything just yet. Let me figure out the details but don't be surprised if the Swabia you see on the other side isn't the same one you recognize now. That's part of the problem. I have to find a way to temper the aggression innate in the Swabian people. Not an easy task but I believe part of that reason is the way your government is structured."

"You don't exactly give me a lot of reason to be hopeful," mumbled Ferberg.

"Don't worry, it'll all make sense in time," said Jack. "For now though, I've decided that I'm going to leave Greg in charge of Swabia. Greg is best suited to keep up the occupation for now until the peace is finalized. Ambros, I'd actually like you to be the one to stay here with him and help him though."

"Me? Help him?"

Jack nodded. "Exactly. Greg is like me. He doesn't fully understand the intricacies of Swabian life. But the best thing he has going for him is that he's not unduly tainted by a hatred for all things Swabian, which is why I couldn't exactly leave one of my Galician generals. Greg will keep a middle ground between the two countries and he has my utmost confidence in that."

"But what about the intricacies of dealing with the Swabians, Jack?" asked Bill. "Shouldn't we keep someone with Greg who better knows the city?"

"Yes, and that's why I'm asking Ambros here to do that," said Jack before he turned to look at the Swabian general. "You alone are in the best position to help Greg keep your people happy. He's going to need advice in keeping the peace. That's where I'm expecting you to come in."

Ferberg looked stunned. "That's a lot of responsibility to put on my shoulders. Are you sure you want to do that? It wasn't that long ago that we were enemies."

Jack smiled. "And that's keeping with the spirit of what I'm trying to accomplish. We may have been enemies at one time but now we need to work together. You've shown me that you can work with me better than anyone else in your country. That's why I'm relying on you to get it done, Ambros."

Ferberg truly didn't know what to say. He almost appeared stunned at hearing the news. In that light, so too was Bill, who clearly didn't like having so much power in the hands of a former adversary.

"What do you say, Ambros?" asked Jack finally. "Are you up to the task?"

Ferberg slowly started to nod his head. "I'll do my best. You've given me no reason not to trust you yet, Your Majesty. And though I know that Swabia will be punished to some degree for her role in the war, I do believe that you have the best interests in mind for the country moving forward. I'm going to continue to trust you, Jack."

Ferberg reached out his hand toward Jack.

Jack gripped it firmly and shook. "Then it looks like we have a deal."

*****

"I know what the fuck I'm talking about, Clark! Are you too stupid to see what I'm telling you?"

For the second time that morning, Bancroft snapped at Clark, causing the other man to recoil backwards. For Bancroft, his frustration had finally reached a boiling point, and no matter what he seemed to say, Clark wasn't understanding it.

"My apologies, Your Imperial Majesty," replied Clark quietly as his tail went firmly between his legs.

Bancroft glared at Clark for another moment before averting his eyes. He hated to treat his loyal deputy in this matter, but he only had so much patience to give about this topic.

The discussion was about the news coming from both Occitania and Ruthenia. That news, which should have been about the inconsequential running of the two countries from the viceroys, was instead filled with reports of violent uprisings against the Javan forces there.

It appeared that neither country was willing to continue to accept Javan occupation and they were now striking out against their ancient foes.

"You can't be soft with these people," said Bancroft, continuing the line of thought that led to his earlier outburst. "You can't reason with them, Clark. You can't ask them nicely not to attack our garrisons and slaughter our soldiers. The only way you deal with force is by meeting it with greater force. It's the only thing these rebels will understand."

"I understand you completely," said Clark. "All I was trying to say is that they have a point. We've been occupying both countries for months now with no kind of peace settlement. There are rumors that Java is going to annex both countries instead of letting them continue to govern themselves and that's what's likely setting them off."

Bancroft scoffed. "Those aren't just rumors. They are completely true. I see no reason to have three governments here in the East when one will do. Why shouldn't Java rule over Occitania and Ruthenia in perpetuity?"

Clark could only blink as a response. "Don't you think this might be setting us up for failure? Or overstretching our forces beyond their capability?"

"Again, Clark, you aren't seeing the big picture," replied Bancroft as he shook his head. "I thought you were smarter than this."

Clark turned red in the face at the insult but didn't reply to it in any way. His silence was long enough for Bancroft to explain his reasoning.

"Both countries have nothing resembling armed forces anymore," explained Bancroft. "They are utterly defeated powers. Now, if there's resistance brewing, it could only be from the regular citizen body that's doing it. That will peter out once we start responding harshly to their attacks. We'll raze a few villages and maybe a city if we have to until they understand our message. But until that time, I want to bring the iron fist down on any potential troublemakers. I want no dissent in the latest additions to my empire!"

Bancroft raised his chin as he was finished speaking, marveling at the words that came out of his mouth. To him, it sounded strong--a heavy-handed appeal to the strength of their position.

Although Bancroft had no way of knowing it, Clark thought his statement was on the borderline of madness. His body language showed it by the way his eyes widened and his shortness of breath.

Bancroft would never notice it though before he was already speaking again.

"Deal with it as you see fit but stick to what I've just told you," said the Emperor as he waved his hand dismissively. "I want a full report on this in another week, and the last thing I want to hear is that it's gotten any worse. Give both viceroys the authority to single out ringleaders and remove their heads from the rest of their bodies. See to it, Clark, or I'll find someone else who will."

Clark opened his mouth to argue but he closed it just as quickly. He gave a curt nod of his head and vacated the room, leaving Bancroft alone with only a single servant.

Bancroft let out a sigh once Clark was gone. He snapped his fingers at the servant and handed him an empty mug. It was at that moment the servant realized that he was never supposed to allow the mug to become empty in the first place. He rushed about trying to fill it while Bancroft tapped his foot against his desk.

This new servant wasn't working out well. The man had no intuition for the job whatsoever, and it left Bancroft stewing over why he couldn't still have his old servant, Jade, by his side again.

Jade was a sore subject for him though. His mind kept going back to that night--the night when they shared passion together. Or at least, Bancroft sharedhis passion. Ever since that night, Jade had wanted nothing to do with him.

It was a remarkable change of heart for a woman who was content to flirt with him for the past several weeks but when push came to shove, it turned out she didn't really want his affections in the first place.

It left Bancroft feeling confused... and angry. He felt like he'd been played in some manner by the young woman, and her refusal to treat him with the respect due to his position rankled him to no end.

It was almost a relief when she stopped being scheduled for her usual shift. Bancroft was tiring of her sullen disposition and her newfound attitude about doing her job.

Alas, he quickly found that he missed the way she did the job. He missed the little things, like the way she never let his mug go empty, or the fact that she had usually been pleasant and easy to talk to. It also didn't hurt that Jade was gorgeous, and Bancroft just enjoyed looking at her, especially now with the knowledge that he'd been inside her.

It was for that reason that Bancroft ordered the shift manager to put Jade back on the schedule starting the following night. The pros outweighed the cons, and he wanted to see the gorgeous young woman once more.

The day passed by uneventfully until it was finally late evening, when Jade was due to start her shift. Like usual lately, she was late, not appearing until forty-five minutes after the shift was due to start.

Bancroft was still in his study when she appeared carrying a pitcher of tea. She looked completely ravishing in her uniform, and Bancroft couldn't help but feel a stirring in his loins at the thoughts of a second round with the young brunette.

Despite the loveliness of her body, the expression on her face was far from pleased. Jade wouldn't make eye contact with him no matter what he did, and he was just waiting for the attitude to start as soon as their interactions did.

He didn't have to wait long.

"Jade, you're late again this evening," he chastised as she neared. "You can't keep doing this."

She stiffened as she stopped near his desk. "Maybe I wouldn't be so late if I didn't dread my assignment here so much."

Bancroft let out a fatherly sigh. He had some patience for dealing with her attitude (more than he would afford to just about anyone else but even he had his limits).

"That doesn't change facts," he replied. "You have a job to do and you're paid to do it. No more excuses."

Jade's eyes actually settled on him. "You'll have to excuse me if I don't want to spend time near my rapist."

That definitely struck a chord, and Bancroft found his glare centering on Jade. He nearly pushed out from his desk.

"How dare you?" he retorted. "Rapist? What we did was consensual!"

Jade actually snorted. "There was nothing consensual about the way you forced yourself on me! I remember telling you no. I remember telling you to stop and you kept going anyway!"

"Why wouldn't I?" asked Bancroft. "You've been flirting with me for weeks. Why wouldn't I take what was offered to me?"