Fourth Vector Ch. 44

"Tell me about it," said Kat. "John seems to be cut from the same cloth. He screams for me if I move out of his line of sight. It makes it extremely challenging to get anything done. I hope this stage passes soon."

"It will pass," assured Evelyn. "As they all do. There will come a time when he's a young man and he wants nothing more to do with his mother. He'll be interested in being with his friends or chasing after a young girl and he'll have no time left for you. That's why these days, although frustrating, are to be cherished. They don't last forever."

Kat started to feel bad as Evelyn kept talking. She shook her head as soon as the other woman finished speaking. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to imply that I don't love my time with him. It just gets exhausting."

Evelyn waved her hand. "You have nothing to apologize for, my dear. I know what you meant. Little boys can take everything that we have to give and then some. You're hardly the first mother to wish for a break, but I don't know of any who would willingly give up this time with their baby."

Kat shook her head. "I don't want to give up any time. He might be running now and he might be getting bigger by the day, but he's still my baby. I'll always remember the time that I held him against my chest shortly after he was born. Those were the best days."

Evelyn smiled fondly. "Yes, they were. And those days never truly leave you. I remember them like they were yesterday, even if they were decades ago in reality."

"I never want to sacrifice my time with him," said Kat as she wiped away an errant tear from her face. "But I do need to ask something of you. A big request, more than a favor, but I hate to even ask. I hate to impose on you, Evelyn."

Evelyn gave her a knowing look. "You wish for me to watch over John during this next campaign, don't you? You don't want him in harm's way again, and you want him to stay in Kalmar, correct?"

Kat's mouth fell open. "How do you know?"

Evelyn chuckled. "My dear, you forget that your husband comes to see me just as much as you do. Jack already made the request weeks ago."

"He did?" Kat asked. "He didn't say anything to me about it."

"He didn't want you to worry about it," replied Evelyn. "In any event, my answer is the same as last time. I'd love to watch over that little bundle of energy. John has become my little buddy, and I'd savor every opportunity to spend time with my great-grandson."

Despite the positive answer, Kat found herself breaking down. She started to cry, and she quickly reached for a tissue to wipe her tears.

"What's wrong, Kat?" asked a confused Evelyn. "I didn't expect that answer to make you unhappy."

"It doesn't," squeaked Kat as she continued to wipe her eyes. "I just hate to ask so much of you. I know that John is a handful and that it's not easy. It doesn't help that I don't know how long we'll be gone. It was hard enough to ask you during the Swabian campaign but at least I had the knowledge that Swabia was relatively close by. The worst case scenario was that I needed to come back to Kalmar, and it was just a short journey away. Now we're headed to Zarah and soon we'll be going across the great ocean. We'll be so much further away than we were before, and that just makes this so much harder. I'm going to miss my baby!"

Kat was soon embraced by Evelyn, who started to pat her back at the sudden display of emotion.

"It's quite all right, Kat, it's okay," said a soothing Evelyn. "Everything will be fine. John and I will have a wonderful time, I promise you that. And he's not too much to handle. You forget that I have a small army of helpers to give me a hand when I get tired."

"Still, I hate to ask this of you," said Kat, her voice muffled by Evelyn's chest.

"And yet, I would do it for you a hundred times over," said Evelyn with a grandmotherly smile. "I love you, Katherine. You and I have come a long way together, haven't we?"

Kat nodded her head. "That we had."

"You still remember that I wanted to kill you the first time we met?" teased Evelyn.

"I wouldn't have blamed you if you did," said Kat.

"And every day, I'm so glad that I didn't," said Evelyn. "You've become such a treasure in my life. You've not only married my grandson but you've given me great-grandchildren. Even before that, you were my companion in very dark days. I still remember the day you left with Jacob, when you were so sure that Jack was coming. I hoped and prayed that you were right, and look what happened? You couldn't have been more right in your instincts."

Kat smiled at the memory of her old servant, Jacob. He was one of the only people in the Galician Castle that remained loyal to her when her cousin deposed her as Regent. Jacob was her friendly companion for years until he was killed in Sorella, the day she met Jack. It was only Jack's timely intervention that ensured she wasn't killed as well.

Her life had never been the same since.

"The point that I'm getting at is that you've enriched my life more than I can possibly count," continued Evelyn. "I'd do all of this and more if you asked me to."

Kat found her tears drying up. She craned her neck to look at the older matriarch. "I love you too, Evelyn. I'm beyond grateful that you're in my life, and in the lives of the ones that I love. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Evelyn smiled. "Let's hope you don't have to find out any time soon."

Kat sighed and rested her face against Evelyn's chest again. "I'm so nervous about what's going to happen once this war really begins. Interpreting that new page of prophecy has filled me with such anxiety. I just feel for sure that this is the one, Evelyn. This is the one we've been waiting for. The Swabians were just a distraction from Jack's main enemy."

Evelyn nodded soberly. "We all knew this time would come. I think the Swabian war was necessary but it's easy to see why we thought it would be the one that involved Jack's prophecy. No one could have predicted this case. It's truly the first global war in history. East versus West. But do you want to know something?"

Kat nodded.

Evelyn smiled. "I believe in our cause. Jack is the head of a multi-nation alliance that is out to preserve our way of life. They are fighting to keep our independence from an empire across a vast ocean, an empire that would see us relegated to slaves and nothing more. I believe this is the fight we've been waiting for, and I have every confidence that our side will succeed. I believe we will win this fight, Kat."

Kat felt the lump in her throat grow greater. "I certainly hope so," she whispered. "And I hope that we can do it without... without, you know."

Indeed, Evelyn did. She even shed a tear herself as she forced Kat to look at her. "Now it's time that I made a request of you. I need to ask you for something important, Kat."

"What is it?"

Evelyn swallowed heavily. "I need you to bring my grandson back to Galicia alive. I know what the prophecy says but I need you to bring Jack back with you. Galicia just had her king returned to her. I just had him brought back to my life. I don't want to lose him again. After all this fighting, Jack deserves peace just as much as anyone, if not more so. Bring him back to me please? Bring him back for all of us?"

It was the one request that Kat couldn't guarantee. No one knew what the outcome of the next war would be. Although there were many who thought they would prevail over the Javans, there was still the biggest question of them all.

What would happen to Jack? Would he die to give them victory?

It was becoming increasingly apparent that Kat didn't have any answers. Despite relying on the prophecy to give her some semblance of a path, she now felt on her own. She felt truly adrift in a sea of possibilities, and half of them would seek to rob her of her husband and her chance at happiness.

If only it was that easy to guarantee she would bring him back. She would keep him sequestered in his quarters on theDestiny for the entire war if that was the case, but she knew that Jack would inevitably have to expose himself to danger.

How could she protect him then? How could she keep him safe?

How could she stop a prophecy from being fulfilled? Especially one that had been right at every turn?

Evelyn must have sensed her frustration. She started to pat Kat's back in a motherly fashion. "It's okay, my dear. I know, I know, I know. We can't worry about the future."

Evelyn's words were clear. She knew that Kat was ultimately helpless but that still didn't stop Kat from looking back at the older woman with a considerable amount of grit in her eyes.

"I'll bring him back," promised Kat as she sniffled. "Whatever it takes, I'll bring him back for all of us."

Kat just hoped it was one promise she could actually uphold.

*****

The next morning arrived just a bit too quickly for everyone.

It took Jack several minutes to get out of bed, mostly because his body was stiff and aching after so much running around the past week. As he got older, he noticed it took him longer to get out of bed in the morning, and that wasn't mentioning how often his bones and joints cracked as he took those first few steps to start the day.

Jack wasn't the only one that struggled to get out of bed. Abigail placed her pillow over her head rather than admit the night was over. And Kat seemed to be in a melancholy mood as she shifted to sit on the edge of the bed.

"It's finally time," Jack said to Kat as he patted her thigh. "Time for us to go."

Kat didn't reply with words. She simply nodded her head and began to get ready for the day. The sun hadn't yet risen, which was a good thing as far as Jack was concerned. The entire Galician task force would depart within a few hours, and Jack hoped they'd be able to make good pace today as they started their two week journey to Picardy.

But first, a few more goodbyes had to be said. All three parents had a tearful sendoff with Evelyn and John. The toddler clung to his mother for several moments until he allowed himself to be let down, and he was soon going back to play with the same toy he was playing with before.

"He'll be just fine," said Evelyn as she saw the look on Kat's face. "You better get going quickly. Before he realizes that you're really gone."

Of course, that didn't make it any easier. Jack embraced his young son and his grandmother one more time before departing, and he only hoped it wasn't the last time he would ever get to do so.

In the interim, the trio then met Greg and Vera before taking a car down to the harbor, where nearly all the ships of the Galician fleet (save for a few that would be left behind for basic defense) were waiting to take off. TheDestiny looked amongst the proudest of all the ships, and it was her refit months ago that repaired all the damage she'd suffered over the previous few years.

Jack was glad theDestiny was back in tip-top shape. Once more, she would be his flagship for the conflict to follow. He boarded the ship and took his familiar, cramped quarters with Kat and Abigail, preparing to make it his home away from home once more. Greg and Vera took their usual quarters as well, and room was set aside for Bill and Lisa Calland as well as Lindy too.

The last two members of the task force would take additional lodging on theCenturion. That would be Russ, in his capacity of commanding admiral, and Dustin, in his capacity as leading air commander. Like theDestiny, theCenturion also looked resplendent that morning, her new flight deck glittering as the first rays of the sun descended upon it.

It was a fleet that was bred for one purpose--to destroy Percival Bancroft.

Jack could only hope they would get to see their task completed before the end.

As he took his familiar position on the bridge of theDestiny, Jack watched as the cruiser became the first to symbolically leave the harbor. Behind them, every ship of the Galician fleet soon followed, putting to sea and leaving the Galician capital behind them.

It was a bitter moment for Jack. Everything he loved and cared about was either in Galicia or aboard this fleet. He didn't know what awaited him in Picardy, or on the other side of the vast ocean. He only knew that there was an evil waiting for him that needed vanquished. After all, was that not his task? The prophecy called upon him to cast away evil, and by deeds alone, Bancroft had proven himself to be that deadliest form of evil.

There was no way that Jack would allow that man to threaten his family, his people, or the countries of the West. Bancroft had already taken too much from him. It was time that justice was brought to Bancroft now.

For hopefully the last time, Jack was sailing out to meet his adversary. With the weight of the prophecy on his shoulders, he could only wonder one thing.

Are we ready for the task in front of us?

Galicia was as prepared as she could be, but Galicia's efforts alone wouldn't be enough. It would take a united response by the West to vanquish Bancroft, and that unification brought him new meaning this time around. It meant embracing an old enemy as a friend.

Jack's attention turned to the southeast temporarily. Would his new ally be up to the task?

Or was he making a grave mistake in asking for their trust?

Only time would tell.

*****

Ambros Ferberg couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes.

Not in a time like now, and certainly not in company like this.

The Swabian lord in front of him was one that was known to Ambros, going back to the days before Avila was emperor. Even back then, Ambros knew him to be a sycophant to whomever was in power.

He'd seen it with Aurelius.

He'd seen it with Avila.

And now that he was King of Swabia, he was getting a chance to experience it on his own.

Truthfully, it disgusted him. This very same man wouldn't give him so much as a second look when he was just the commanding general of the Swabian Army. Now that he was King though, the lord pretended like the sun rose and fell on his very whims.

It was all so tiring. In fact, holding the kingship was extremely tiring, and altogether it was little like being in the military, much to his disappointment.

In the army, Ambros could set his orders and expect for them to be carried out reasonably well. Reasonably was always the key word here because when it came to the Swabians, nothing was carried out exactly the way he'd ordered, but it was done in a manner that he could live with the vast majority of the time.

It wasn't the same with being King. He could make an order or a decree, and there would be mostly acceptance on the parts of the lords, however, there was so much more that went to it. He had to verify they did as commanded, because they would usually find ways to cut corners or flat out not do what he'd asked while still making it look like they did.

When you combined that facet with the extreme fakery and pompous, arrogant attitudes of the lords, Ambros had half a mind to quit the kingship and just rejoin the army. It all seemed much easier that way, and why continue to struggle in a position that he wasn't born for?

Alas, he knew the reason he persisted. It had been just more than six months now since he was promoted to his position by Jack Kincardine. Out of some strange sense of loyalty, Ambros continued to weather the storm because of that man.

It was the most peculiar change of events. By all accounts, he should despise the Galician King by the nature of his ancestry alone. Being Swabian (or even half-Swabian) came with a healthy disdain of everything Galician, and that went doubly for their people.

And yet, he couldn't bring himself to even dislike Jack mildly. He quite liked the young king, and Ambros would never forget that it was only Jack's influence that was the reason why Ambros was still alive today. Any other Galician would have executed Ambros for his leadership of the army during the war.

Instead of doing that, Jack had put him in charge of the country entirely, and Ambros felt a high degree of loyalty to the man who'd given him that second chance. It was almost like he felt the need to prove himself, which was ridiculous at face value to need to prove himself to anyone. He was the most successful Swabian general in centuries. His reputation was known all throughout the West.

So why then did he feel that urge, that need, to prove himself to Jack Kincardine?

If he was being honest with himself, Ambros knew the real reason.

It was a pride.

Pride tinged with honor.

He wanted to give back to Jack what Jack had already given to him--namely, a second chance at life and a new role in Swabia society. Those twin gifts were heavy enough to require a significant repayment, and Ambros' sense of honor meant that he couldn't rest until he felt he'd repaid those debts back to Jack.

He was also motivated by a desire to rehabilitate the Swabian reputation in the West, which had reached a crushing nadir amongst their neighbors. Not only had they lost the war, but they'd lost that fearsomeness that made them so formidable. Ambros was determined to see the Swabian reputation pulled out of the gutter, and being partners with the Galicians was the most natural way to do it.

"Your Majesty, your visitor has arrived."

Ambros was pulled out of his thoughts and nodded to the servant next to him. He'd been waiting for this visitor since yesterday, and he was eager to speak with him even more than this sycophantic lord in front of him. After dismissing the lord, he waited patiently on the Swabian throne for the visitor to enter the chambers.

When he did, Ambros found some semblance of recognition as the man approached the throne.

He knew the former servant, but only in passing. At one point in time, he'd been Avila's loyal deputy, but in the past six months, he'd been passed around from station to station in the imperial palace with no one finding a use for him.

Ambros suspected he knew why that was. The servant in front of him was rumored to have knocked out Avila with a fireplace poker during the last Battle of Dagobern, and that small stigma meant that no one wanted to work with him. Emperor's bodies were supposed to be sacrosanct (even a mad emperor), and the superstitious Swabian population were now punishing him for the act.

However, Ambros had always liked the man, and when he heard about his actions, he was determined to find a role on his staff for him. After all, he needed a loyal deputy to help him with the task in front of him, and Otto seemed like the best fit.

Otto bowed deeply when he reached the throne. "Your Imperial Majesty, you have summoned me."

"Otto, it's just Your Majesty now," corrected Ambros with a wry smile. "The empire is gone. I'm just a king."

Otto corrected himself but he appeared significantly uncomfortable, enough for Ambros to comment on.

"What's the problem, Otto? Do you not remember me from the days when Avila was in charge?"

Otto nodded his head timidly. "I'm fully aware of who you are, Your Majesty, and that's what makes this meeting so nerve-wracking. I'm not sure why I'm here, and that makes me incredibly anxious."

Ambros gave him an odd look. "Why do you think you're here?"

Otto gulped heavily. "To be punished, I'm guessing."

"Why would I punish you, Otto?" asked Ambros curiously.

"Everyone knows what I did," said Otto bravely. "And it's the reason why the past few months have been so hard for me to retain a job. No one wants to keep a servant who struck their master, especially not one who struck a sitting Swabian Emperor, no matter how warranted the strike. I know why I did what I did, and now I must live with the consequences. As the new power on the throne, I'm expecting that you're going to punish me for my actions against the previous occupant. If that's the case, I will meet my fate bravely but in any case, I'm tired of running from it."