Fourth Vector Ch. 43

Vera managed to look shocked. She took his hand and shook it cautiously before shooting a glance at her brother. "You're right about him, Jack. He definitely doesn't seem fully Swabian at all."

Jack grinned but didn't answer the charge. He knew that Ambros was still particular about those that learned about his Apulian heritage. For that reason alone, he didn't enlighten his sister about the general's dissimilarities with his people.

"So you're Jack's sister?" asked Ambros after Vera introduced herself. "Does that mean that—"

"Vera!"

All three of them looked back to the ship as Greg raced down the gangplank. Vera met him halfway and the two collided into a passionate embrace. It became so much that both Jack and Ambros averted their eyes rather than continue to watch.

"I believe you were about to ask if that is Greg's Vera," said Jack with a noticeable chuckle. "And the answer would be yes."

Once the two lovers separated, Greg made his way toward Jack and Ambros. He embraced Jack fully and gave a subtle nod of approval to Ambros.

"How are you, my old friend?" asked Jack once they separated. "How's occupation been treating you?"

Greg puffed out his cheeks. "It's boring. It's incredibly boring. I think I've been spoiled with so much fighting. Now, I wake up every morning in an empty bed and listen to the sounds of birds chirping. It's hard for the psyche of a general."

"We can at least fix the empty bed part," said Vera quietly, and she quickly turned red when she realized she hadn't said that as silently as she thought.

"There's no hard going then in Swabia?" pressed Jack. "All is calm?"

"As calm as can be," said Greg as he looked at Ambros. "Thanks in part to him. I thought keeping a firm grasp on the Swabian lords would require more time and effort. Thankfully, Ambros here makes it easy to do. I left General Cartier in charge over there and I'm certain none of the lords will make a fuss for him."

"They're like tiny dogs or so I've always thought," added Ambros. "They like to bark a lot but the second you show any sort of aggression towards them, most will cower and piss themselves. Remarkably, we haven't had many issues in Swabia."

"And the city is rebuilding?" asked Jack. "Dagobern, I mean?"

"It looks like it did before you arrived, Jack," promised Ambros.

Jack grinned. "That's hardly a ringing endorsement, Ambros."

The Swabian general laughed. "No, it really isn't, is it? Either way, most of the wounds of war will heal over time. I look forward to seeing what's to come for my country."

"As do I," said Jack. "And I look forward to the partnership that we've established. It's because of that partnership that I wanted to ensure that you were here in Galicia for this council."

"Yeah, about that, Jack. Are you sure this was a good idea?" asked Greg as he gestured toward the Swabian general. "I think a lot of people here are going to have a fit if a Swabian enters their midst."

"Then they can have a fit then," replied Jack as he looked over at Ambros. "You've been a big help to me ever since fate brought you into my circle. It wasn't the best of circumstances that it happened but I think we've made the best of it. The challenge in front of us is something that will affect everyone here in the West. It's only right that the Swabians are brought into the discussions on how to deal with it."

"So quick on the heels of the other war though, Jack?" asked Greg. "I can see maybe a few years down the line but it's only been a few months since Dagobern fell. Tensions between both sides are still going to be hot. You're going to have an uphill battle in front of you."

Jack shrugged. "When do we not have an uphill battle? Just about everything we've faced since we came to the West has been a long shot. It's the only odds that we know how to deal with."

"Even still, it makes me uneasy," said Greg.

"I need you to put it aside then," asked Jack. "I'm going to be relying on you to make the case for your partnership with Ambros in Swabia. Our allies need to know that we can work with them, and you're going to help me paint that picture."

Greg let out a deep breath. "I'll do my best, Jack."

Jack put his hand on the other man's shoulder. "I know you will, my old friend. I'm glad to have you back. Why don't you give me some time to talk with Ambros here and then stop by my study an hour before noon?" Jack's eyes flickered to his sister and back to Greg. "That should give you some time for you two to get reacquainted."

Greg managed to turn red at the insinuation but Vera firmly took his hand and started to drag him away. "Thank you, Jack! We'll see you soon!"

Jack stood next to Ambros and watched as Vera and Greg left for the palace.

"That woman has some serious designs on your general, Jack," he noted.

Jack chuckled. "That she does. She might not look the part, but she usually gets what she wants. I guess that's the reason she's my sister."

"It appears that you get what you want most of the time as well," replied Ambros. "I never would have pictured the day that I would step foot in Galicia. It kind of makes my skin crawl a little."

Jack patted the other man's back. "Come on, let's get another first out of the way. First Swabian in the Galician Castle."

The two men climbed into a car that brought them to the summit of the city where the main entrance to the Castle was found. Jack brought Ambros inside and led him to his study. Along the way, just about every servant that they passed managed to stare at Ambros' distinctive Swabian features. A few of them even gawked. Jack saw it as a preview of what awaited him later that day when the council began.

When they arrived at Jack's main study, there was already someone there waiting for them. Santino was sitting opposite the main desk and looking out the window at the city. When he saw Jack arrive, he scurried to his feet.

"Jack, there you are," said Santino. "I was hoping to meet with you before the council."

Immediately, Santino's eyes fell on Ambros. His expression darkened.

"What is he doing here?" asked Santino with a hint of hostility. "Why are the Swabians in Kalmar?"

"He's here at my invitation," said Jack. "Ambros will be attending the council as my delegate from Swabia. The threat that we're facing should have a response from all the major powers in the West. I'd be remiss if we didn't include the Swabians in that council."

Santino sniffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "They are still our enemies, are they not? Any potential threat to the rest of us probably comes from Swabia to begin with."

"It does not, not this time," said Jack. "But more will be talked about at the council."

Santino's eyes burned. "I don't like this, Jack. I don't like this one bit."

"Perhaps I should go," said Ambros quietly. "I don't want to get started off on the wrong foot here."

Santino snorted. "It's a little late for that. I still have thousands of destroyed families in Apulia because of the Swabian invasion. I'd say we'll never have the chance to start off on the right foot at all."

"Peace, Santino," said Jack, raising his hands. "He's my guest here and I won't start off this council with hostility."

"Council for what? You still haven't given me any details about what this council is for," said a dismissive Santino. "Why are we even here, Jack? What insignificant little reason has caused you to gather us here against yet another threat?"

It was clear that the Apulian Director was losing his patience. So was Jack, who felt ready to unload on Santino for dismissing the very purpose of the council.

Thankfully, Ambros was the one to reply to that, and he did it much more tactfully than Jack had in mind.

"Jack's adoptive family was brutally murdered by a dictator across the ocean who's determined to conquer the West and subjugate it totally," said Ambros quietly. "If we don't band together, we'll never have a chance at defending ourselves."

Silence greeted the room. Santino didn't seem to know how to respond to that. The expressions on his face flickered from annoyance to interest to curiosity in a matter of seconds. Even Jack stood looking at Ambros, wondering how he knew the full story. Only a few had known the truth.

"Greg shared it with me," said Ambros, answering the mystery. "I hope you don't mind, but I think it's a sign of the partnership that I've developed with him."

"Well, it appears that you two are getting along rather well," noted Jack. He then turned to look at Santino. "Ambros has it correct. There is a grave threat to all of us and unless we work together, we'll never defeat it. That's the reason for the council. I hope that meets your criteria for what I consider to be urgent."

Santino didn't have the courage to speak. He nodded his head, no doubt feeling like a child that had just been scolded.

"Excellent," replied Jack dryly. "Before you leave, Santino, you should stick around for this next part. It'll be good for me to have a witness for what's about to come."

"Witness?" asked the Apulian Director. "Witness for what?"

"For what I'm about to do," said Jack as he turned to look at Ambros. "Something I've been meaning to do for a while after Ambros has proven himself to me."

"Proven myself?" asked Ambros. "In what regard?"

"In your ability to lead," replied Jack. "I know you can lead men on a battlefield. That point has already been made crystal clear to me. What I refer to now is how to lead men in the ultimate arena. I'm talking about the leadership of Swabia."

Ambros' eyes went wide. "Of Swabia? You want me?"

"You're a lord, aren't you?" asked Jack with a wry smile. "I know that Avila made you one at one point in time. Shouldn't a lord lead in Swabia?"

"But I'm a general, not a politician," he protested. "I don't know the first thing about ruling."

"You'll find that ruling is a lot like leading men in battle," replied Jack. "There's about the same margin for error and being able to delegate your tasks is half the battle. You're also well-respected within Swabia so it's my expectation that you will make a great king of Swabia."

"King, Jack?" asked Santino, confused. "There aren't any kings in Swabia. Just emperors."

"Not anymore," said Jack. "The Swabian Empire has been abolished, remember? There will be no more Swabian emperors per the terms of our peace treaty. From now on, I will only allow a king to rule over the new Swabian Kingdom. It's my hope that taking away the emperor will help to temper some of the more aggressive characteristics of the Swabians."

With those words, he motioned for Ambros to get on his knees. The man did so with only a tiny amount of confusion.

"As the King of Galicia and the Overlord of all the West, I place the office of King of Swabia on your shoulders, Ambros Ferberg," said Jack with a booming voice. "May the office stay within your family in perpetuity until the day comes that you or your heirs can no longer fulfill it."

Though it was a far cry from an official ceremony, the words were simple enough to convey the true power of Jack's position in the West. It was also his prerogative to name the next leader of Swabia, as evidenced by the peace treaty that had been signed to end the Fifth Swabian War.

Ferberg looked like something the birds had picked over. His face was a mixture of shock and apprehension. Even worse, Santino was openly gawking now, and Jack had a feeling he couldn't wait to share this with the other heads of state so that they could collectively come down on this.

"Rise to your feet, King Ambros of Swabia," beckoned Jack.

Ambros did so uneasily. "I don't know what to say, Jack. This is beyond anything that I ever could have imagined."

"You don't have to say anything right now," replied Jack. "Just take it all in. In time, it'll come to you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but at some moment, the weight of the office you now fill will fall on your shoulders. When that day comes, we should have a talk. But you are now the leader of Swabia. All the lords in Swabia are answerable to you, as if they weren't already."

"Jack, can we please talk about this?" asked a quiet Santino. "Before we get too far into this charade?"

Jack shook his head. "My mind is made up. This is no charade, Santino. Besides, I can't very well have a council here without all the heads of state of our alliance."

"So the Swabians are in our alliance now as well," spat Santino. "Where does it end, Jack? Are we to host Swabian garrisons now too?"

Jack let out a sigh. He would have to deal with Santino before this developed any further. He turned to look at Ambros. "Why don't you get some rest? The council will begin this afternoon. I'm sure you're hungry and in need of some rest before that happens. Speak to the servant outside my door once you leave. He'll take you to your official quarters and attend to anything you need. Your luggage has already been sent there."

"Thank you, Jack," replied a still shocked Ambros. "I don't know what to say."

"Just know that I still have my eye on you, Ambros," said Jack sternly. "You've done well to prove yourself to me, but I'm still going to be watching to make sure my faith in you isn't misplaced. Don't disappoint me."

Ambros nodded his head and left without any further words.

That gave Santino all the courage he needed to go off.

"Really, Jack, promoting him to the kingship? Of Swabia? Are you kidding me? What are you thinking? We just destroyed the Swabians and now you want to make them strong again?"

"The Swabians are going to be strong whether we like it or not," replied Jack calmly. "And they need new leadership and Ambros is the best candidate."

"How can we possibly hope to trust them again though?" asked Santino. "You know how they are. Aggressive, hopeless, unimaginative—those are all the qualities of your typical Swabian. They'll cause rifts in our alliance, Jack. I can't believe they can be trusted."

"I believe that Ambros can be trusted," said Jack. "And the respect that the other Swabians have for him is enough to keep them in line. As long as he's around, he'll keep the rest of them in line."

"What makes you believe that? Surely you don't trust him blindly."

Jack gave him a hollow look. "I trust no one blindly. He's shown me that he can be trusted though."

"But he's Swabian!"

"He's half Swabian," whispered Jack. "The other half is Apulian, ironically. His father from what I've learned."

Santino's mouth gaped open. "What?"

"It's true but keep that between ourselves," said Jack. "Ambros is only half Swabian which makes me more inclined to work with him. The aggressiveness of the Swabian people is tempered in him by the good-natured and hardy people of Apulia. That gives me reason to hope that he'll be different."

"But the lords. The lord won't like this!"

"Enough, Santino," said Jack firmly. "What's done is done. You need to trust my judgment about this and leave it alone. The threat that faces all of us is grave enough. We cannot hope to stand alone, even with just our alliance minus the Swabians. They are strong in their own right. It's only with their help can we hope to stand together.

"I still don't like it," replied Santino with firmly crossed arms.

"You don't have to like it for now," said Jack with a shrug. "And if I get proven wrong, you get to be the one that says I told you so."

Santino scoffed. "Let's just hope on that day that I'm still around to do it. With the Swabians, I'm not sure I'll get that chance."

Santino didn't stay long after that. In fact, he beat a hasty retreat to leave Jack's study immediately after. Jack figured that he was off to find the other heads of state, no doubt to tell them what Jack had done.

At this point, Jack hardly cared. He knew he already had an uphill battle. He supposed that the sooner that the rest of them found out about Ambros, the better off they all might be.

Jack wasn't by himself for much more than an hour when Greg reappeared at his door. The general looked remarkably bright-eyed and he couldn't stop grinning. It wasn't hard to guess why.

"I take it you and Vera had some time together?" asked Jack.

Greg turned a shade of red. "Yes, we did. Some really good time together."

Jack put his hands up. "Stop right there," he joked. "I don't need any more details. I'm sure she's glad to have you home."

"As I am to be home," replied Greg. "There might be peace in Swabia but the country is still not my cup of tea. It's just too . . . bland. Working with the Swabians all this time has gotten tiresome. You have to tell them something two or three times before they get it. It's not that they're being rebellious or anything like that. It just takes a long time for an original idea to penetrate their thick skulls."

Jack chuckled. "Hopefully it wasn't the same working with Ambros?"

Greg shook his head. "Not at all. He's a good man, that one. That he's not fully Swabian shows in his actions. He's been a good help to me during my time in the country. And I think he'll continue to be helpful."

"That's good, because I should tell you what I just did," said Jack as he sat down in his chair. "I just made Ambros the next ruler of Swabia."

Greg stuck out his bottom lip as he appraised the idea silently. Eventually, he started to nod. "I don't hate the idea."

"Truly? You would tell me if you did?"

"Of course. We've known each other long enough for total honesty, right?"

Jack smiled. "I hoped so which is why I wanted your opinion about it. Do you think it's a good move?"

"There's no one else that's better qualified to run Swabia than he is. Your only other options would be to either split the country up and make every lord his own head of state, but there would be no Swabia after that."

"A poor idea," interrupted Jack. "Especially if we are going to stand together against Bancroft."

"Or you could have promoted another lord to the kingship," said Greg. "But I find the other lords to not be possessing the right qualities of leadership. Their chances of doing something stupid are great, and they need a strong hand to keep them in line."

"Something that King Ambros can manage on his own," replied Jack.

"In that case, I'm in full agreement with you," said Greg. "Let's hope that this next head of state is a lot easier to work with than the old one."

Jack chuckled. "I doubt anyone will shed a tear for the memory of Avila. I'm looking forward to the day when the Swabians can be full partners of ours. Not just because it would represent a total reconciliation between Galicia and Swabia but because of the power that could be wielded if the two states banded together, joined by their allies of course."

Greg let out a sigh as he sat down opposite of Jack. "It's about the only way we stand a chance in this next fight. You and I know the threat that Bancroft poses. He has the world's most powerful navy and army at his disposal, and now he has the full resources of Occitania and Ruthenia to count on. He's not going to be easy to take down."

"No, no, he's not," agreed Jack. "But we have to do it anyway. He'll never leave us in peace if we don't."

"Peace," scoffed Greg. "What is it? I haven't seen it in so long that I don't even know what peace is. We had a little taste of it for about a month and then it was gone. It's almost like the universe doesn't want us to die as old men."

Jack gave him a sad look. "I fear that it was always going to be fated so, Greg."

Greg let out a sigh. "In any case, there's something I wanted to talk to you about. It's about Vera."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "You already had my permission to marry her. You're not backing out, are you? If so, I hate to break it to you but you're going to have to be the one to tell her. I'm not doing your dirty work for you."