Fourth Vector Ch. 45

"Aedan," warned Kat. "You're going to get us all killed if you don't stop this foolishness!"

Jack had about enough at that point. He thrust his finger against Aedan's chest. "So help me, if you don't call on those batteries to stand down right now, the rest of the alliance will throw Picardy out and leave you to your own fate. I'll make you stand alone against the Javan threat."

Aedan gawked at him. "You wouldn't dare do that to us!"

"Try me!" warned Jack before shoving Aedan's own radio against his chest. "Give the order. Now!"

Seconds ticked by as Aedan tried to decide what to do. In the meantime, Abigail broke through with one more message.

"Jack, Ambros is giving the order to stop battle-stations," she said. "But the Picards need to stand down right now for this to work!"

"Last chance, Aedan," threatened Jack. "Do it or face this next war on your own."

Finally, Aedan raised his stiff chin. He looked at his radio disdainfully while he brought it to his lips. "Stand down now. All batteries do not fire. I repeat, do not fire."

Jack didn't take a breath until he heard the batteries repeat the order through the radio. A minute later, the sirens in Zarah stopped, bringing everything back to a quiet morning calm.

At that moment, Jack could only shake his head at Aedan. "You and I are going to have further words about this later."

The Picard King looked undaunted as he stood there with his raised chin and unreadable eyes.

Jack brought his radio back to his lips. "Abigail, tell Ambros to come ashore. The moment has passed and his men will be under no harm."

As Abigail gave the confirmation, Aedan crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You can't really expect us to have a Swabian force on my soil again."

"Oh, I do expect that of you, Aedan. And I expect you to follow my orders to the letter. This was a matter that was voted on by all of us. If our alliance is to have any future, we need to make sure that all members are treated equally."

Anger flashed in Aedan's eyes, followed by a facial tick that caused his eyes to narrow. "Very well then. The least I can do is welcome our new guest to Picardy, no? Or in their case, welcome them back, since many will no doubt be delighted at a second chance to loot my country."

Jack opened his mouth to unload on him but it was only Kat's subtle pressure against his arm that stopped him in his tracks. She muttered something quietly for only him to hear.

"Not now," she whispered. "You've made your point. He'll do what you say but don't add insult to injury."

Jack took a deep breath and nodded. Kat knew Aedan a lot longer than he did, and he trusted that her advice was accurate. With a heavy sigh, he gestured for all of them to go to the harbor.

That walk was filled with tension as the three of them soon emerged on the main city docks. Off in the distance, Jack could see several proud silhouettes of Swabian ships on the horizon, not far from his own ships at their berths. Just a short time ago, those ships had been locked together in conflict, desperately trying to destroy each other.

And now they were unwilling allies against a power that threatened them all. How the times had changed.

In the middle of the harbor, Jack soon spotted two launch boats on their way toward the docks. They were both fully loaded down with soldiers, and Jack suspected no more than forty men between the two boats. He could see Ambros near the front of the lead boat, something that put his mind at ease, but it was Aedan who saw only invaders as he gave an order for the harbor garrison to surround their position.

"He brings too many soldiers to this simple welcome meeting," said Aedan defensively. "I'm not going to put any of my people at risk needlessly."

"If one of your men so much as makes a threatening move, I'll not hesitate to uphold my promise, Aedan," warned Jack. "Not. One. Single. Move."

The two men glared at each other while the lead Swabian launch boat nudged into the sands of Picardy. The first off the boat was King Ambros Ferberg, who had exchanged his general's uniform for a simple robe of black and gray colors--the official color palette of Swabia. It was a good look for Ambros, and it was also the first time Jack had seen him this way. He seemed to embrace his new role, which came at a relief for Jack since the man was so reluctant to take the position in the first place.

However, any hopes for a warm greeting quickly went out the window. Ambros gestured for his men to remain in their boats as he stormed up the beach, only stopping a few feet from Aedan.

"What is the meaning of this?" raged Ambros. "We gave plenty of warning for our arrival and why is it that we are targeted like enemies as soon as we neared the harbor! Is that how you treat your allies?"

Jack put his hands up to intervene, but Aedan was already committed to answering that charge with a rage of his own.

"How could we not treat you like you meant harm?" said the Picard King with a disdainful snort. "The last time you and your men were on Picardy, you treated us like a subjugated slave race! My people have long memories, Swabian!"

"Your people would be good to remember that the last war is over," yelled Ambros. "We are allies now, or don't you remember the agreement we all made back in Galicia?"

"I remember my role just fine," retorted Aedan. "It was Picardy that stood beside Galicia for centuries. I know who my friends are. Do you? This alliance has lasted all of six months. Picardy and Galicia have been tied together for two millennia!"

"You don't need to remind me of what the Galician/Picard alliance is capable of," shot Ambros. "And the last time your army was together, it was Swabia that was getting raped, not Picardy!"

Aedan crossed his arms in front of his chest. "It sounds like justice was done then. Eye for an eye, I'll say."

Ambros growled and pulled his arm back, looking like he was ready to strike. In the interim, most of the harbor garrison raised their rifles, leveling their sights against the Swabian King's chest. Of course, that caused the Swabians in the launch boats to raise their own rifles, many of them aimed at the harbor garrison.

"Enough!" yelled Jack as he physically put himself between the two kings. "You two are allies now! Enough with this pointless bickering! This is exactly the kind of thing that would delight our enemies--to see us at each other's throats." Jack snapped his fingers at the harbor garrison. "Put all your rifles down this instant. As the Overlord of the West, you will obey my command!"

Jack wasn't sure if they would follow his demand, seeing as many of them would no doubt look to Aedan first before moving, but to his surprise, they lowered their rifles as if his command had come from their drill sergeant himself.

In doing so, Jack also looked over at the Swabians in the boats. "And you, now lower your weapons. There will be no fighting here. We're allies now!"

Predictably, they didn't jump to follow his orders, many of them associated the figure of the Galician King with bedtime tales their mothers told them to scare them. It was only as Ambros gave the nod to lower their rifles that most of them listened, creating a shaky peace on the docks of Zarah.

"I need to speak with both of you privately," said Jack, looking at the two kings once more. "For now, I want Ambros to bring his men ashore. How many regiments have you brought with you, Ambros?"

Ambros looked from Aedan back over to Jack. "Fifteen regiments. Fifteen thousand Swabian soldiers are here to fight for our new alliance."

Those numbers were music to Jack's ears. Fifteen thousand men would go a long way in this next fight.

Unfortunately, Aedan had the opposite reaction.

"Fifteen regiments," he sputtered before turning to Jack. "You want to put fifteen regiments on Picard soil? Has the world gone mad?" he muttered.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do," said Jack before looking back at Ambros. "Direct your men to unload. We'll find a spot for them to camp while they're here. Permit me one moment to speak with Aedan and then I'll join you myself for the unloading."

That seemed to satisfy Ambros and he soon started to give his own orders to his men to come ashore. For a brief moment, Jack was left alone with Aedan, who was still trying to come to grips with the fact that a significant Swabian force was now inbound to his shores.

"This is madness, Jack. Absolute madness," whispered the Picard King. "How do you think this is a good idea? I'm going to have to station my troops around them just to make sure they don't revert to old ways."

"You can do whatever you like, Aedan," said Jack coolly. "But Ambros will keep his men under control. Of that, I have the utmost faith in him."

"Even still, I don't want them in the main camp," said Aedan while stamping his foot. "They must remain outside the camp in their own accommodations."

That statement certainly pissed Jack off. So far, a large camp had been made just outside of Zarah on the east side that contained the entire army, with all the contributions from the member states. While there was nothing state of the art about the camp, the construction of it sent a simple message--that all allies were to be treated equally, sharing the same accommodations.

For Aedan to dictate that the Swabians must remain outside their camp was a breach of that trust, and would more than likely create further tension between himself and Ambros (and Jack as well).

"You are only putting more salt in the wound, Aedan," warned Jack. "Not treating the Swabians like the allies they now are will not make this any easier for anyone. It will only make the task in front of us harder."

Aedan scoffed. "I'll be more than willing to let them share the camp with us when they prove their worth. Until that time, they remain untrustworthy troops in my eyes, and untrustworthy troops are not going to share the main camp with the rest of us. There's some open fields next to the airstrip. It's not great land but at least it's relatively flat. They should be thankful for that at least."

Jack could only shake his head. At this point in the conversation, he was completely done with the Picard King. "I'm disappointed in you, Aedan. Very disappointed."

He didn't let Aedan say another word. With his last statement, Jack turned quickly on his heels and moved closer to the beach, where Ambros was now coordinating several launch boats toward the shore. Nearly a hundred Swabian soldiers were drawn up on the beach, most of them looking just as uneasy about being there as the Picards felt about having them.

Ambros saw Jack and Kat approaching and closed the distance between them. Jack extended his arm, which Ambros gripped fully, something that no doubt shocked the Swabian soldiers behind them.

"I owe you an apology, Jack," said Ambros quietly. "I shouldn't have lost my temper back there."

"Ambros, I nearly lost my own temper," admitted Jack. "I don't blame you for doing so in the slightest. The only thing I want to make sure we do today is not let our alliance fall apart. So far, that has tested the limits of my patience."

Ambros jerked his head in Aedan's direction. "Is he always like that? So animated?"

Jack nodded. "Most of the time, it's a rather endearing trait. The other ten percent of the time, you just want to strangle him."

Thankfully, Ambros cracked a smile. "Strangle? Yes, that's a good way of putting it."

"Aedan means well but quite often he can't see the forest for the trees. I'm not saying that he's entirely wrong--he has a right to be suspicious, but he needs to learn to trust me a little more than what he's shown so far."

Ambros grunted. "Even without Aedan, it still appears that it will take some time for our people to learn to work together. Take a look at that over there."

Jack looked over to where Ambros was gesturing. A squad of Galician soldiers was taking the time to train by running laps around the harbor. Ordinarily, it wouldn't have commanded any notice but this particular squad veered too close to the Swabian troops lining up on the beach.

Jack wasn't sure what was said but two of the Galicians and about eight of the Swabians were suddenly in each other's faces. The situation looked like it could degrade at any second but cooler heads prevailed, and the comrades of the men on each side pulled them away, de-escalating the conflict.

It was a perfect example of the centuries of enmity that had to be put aside in order for both countries to work together.

"It appears there is still much our people need to learn about the other," noted Ambros.

Jack could nod in agreement. "We have no other option. We either learn to work together or we die." He turned to look at Ambros. "I know which option I'm going to pick."

The two men supervised the unloading of more Swabian troops for the next half hour until two full regiments were lined up on the docks, making the Picard harbor quite crowded. In the process, Jack couldn't help but notice that many of the Swabians gawked at seeing him standing with their king so casually, chatting away like they were old friends. Most of them had a hard time comprehending a partnership between the two of them, even to the point that it was Jack's friendship with Ambros that paved the way for their alliance to exist in the first place.

"So where are we going to be camping?" asked Ambros once the last launch boat went back out to see. "By the sounds of things, it doesn't sound like Aedan is inclined to give us anything comfortable."

Jack winced and started to nod. "There's a space for your men by the airfield. Unfortunately, you appear to be right. Your men will be on your own and separated from the other national contingents."

The news didn't affect Ambros as badly as Jack thought it would. "I figured as much. I expected that we would be treated like lepers until we proved our worth."

"You've more than proved your worth to me," said Jack quietly. "It's just to the other members of my alliance that are less trusting."

Ambros gave him a serious look. "Then I suppose I'll have to give them a reason to appreciate us. One way or another."

By the time they managed to get to the fields near the airport that was designated as the Swabian camp, Ambros' anger had largely melted away. It was a quality that Jack appreciated greatly in the man, and the Swabian King never seemed to be one to let one wrong turn ruin his day. One of Ambros' greatest qualities was his adaptability, and the two men were joking around like old friends by the time they arrived.

"Well, you wouldn't believe the look on his face when I told him to stop his blathering for two moments so the rest of us could think," said Ambros, elbowing Jack in the ribs. "You've never seen a more shocked look on the pudgy face of a Swabian lord. This was someone who thought he was so special and that his appearance in my court would lead me to fall over and celebrate his every word. Let's just say he was put straight right from the start!"

Jack chuckled as he heard the story. "It sounds like you have the lords right where you want them. That was one of my biggest worries about the peace in Swabia. The lords are a fractious bunch, and soon enough, another Avila might just show up."

"I can assure you that the man I'm talking about is no Avila," said Ambros with a cutting grin. "But to your point, the lords are a docile bunch. It's interesting what a few threats can do, especially when you start your reign by sacking two lords that were effeminate troublemakers."

"In that respect, it looks like I picked the right man for the job. I'm glad to have you here, Ambros. And frankly, I'm entirely glad to see your soldiers. All the manpower you've brought with you will be sorely needed in the days ahead."

A look of apprehension appeared on the Swabian King's face. "About that, Jack, we should talk about these men, because there's a distinction that you need to be made aware of. Of the fifteen regiments that I brought with me, five of them are what I'd consider well-trained. Many of them were veterans of the last war. A good many of them fought in the Swabian campaign and were captured with me after Castus. They are good soldiers, and they'll do well on the battlefield."

"I feel like there's a but coming soon," joked Jack. "What do you have to say about the other ten regiments?"

Ambros winced. "Please understand that Swabia is still in the process of rebuilding. There simply wasn't enough time to whip up an entire army from scratch, outfit them all, and train them. Those five regiments are veterans and they'll be just fine, but the other ten are largely untrained. A small percentage of them were in Dagobern when it surrendered."

"No women or old men though, right?" asked Jack.

Ambros shook his head. "Right, men only. The rest of them were new volunteers. Some of them volunteered to fight with the army during the Swabian campaign but they weren't soldiers before then. They have a basic level of training but those are what I'd consider to be the best. The rest of them are new recruits--men who've recently turned eighteen and are eligible for service. They'll be the ones that will test us the most."

As soon as Ambros finished speaking, his point was further illustrated by a Swabian platoon that went marching by in front of them. It was obvious that this platoon was made up of newcomers. Many of them couldn't march in neat lines or with any sense of timing. Jack noted that most of them he considered merely boys in the loosest sense of the word. At least all of them had rifles.

"One thing I don't have to worry about is a shortage of equipment," noted Ambros. "There were enough leftover rifles and ammunition from the last war to supply us for the next ten years. They may be green but they'll have all the firepower they need."

"That's a state of affairs I can definitely live with," replied Jack. "We can train the men to be good soldiers, but equipment shortages are something more serious that we can't abide by. Time will make them soldiers, Ambros. We'll take the next two weeks to drill them with the rest of the army. By the time we leave Zarah, they'll be ready to fight."

Ambros puffed out his cheeks. "I certainly hope so."

*****

The world had turned upside down.

Try as he might, Admiral Walt McKenzie just couldn't come up with any other motifs for the novel in front of him. It wasn't hard to understand why.

McKenzie's own world had been thoroughly uprooted and shaken, giving him his current conditions.

Once, he was one of the foremost admirals in Java, second only to Bancroft himself. He'd commanded Javan fleets fordecades, accruing more experience than most naval officers would ever see on their own. After the Battle of Aberdeen, when the Javans had ended the Occitanian blockade of the city, McKenzie's star had never been higher. The citizens of Belfort cheered his name in the victory parade, and the one thing he could count on was being able to retire at the height of his career.

How quickly things had changed.

His current position was decidedly less glamorous. McKenzie needed no more reminder of that than to look outside and see the lazy, pudgy Javan guard that stood watch outside his door all hours of the day. Though McKenzie was able to live in his own house, he was nothing more than a prisoner, under house arrest for daring to plan outside the strict orders of Bancroft himself.

McKenzie nearly snorted at the thought of the man whom he once considered his friend. It was Bancroft that was responsible for his current fortune. The Javan admiral-turned-emperor had no room in his empire for anyone who would defy his commands. For that reason, McKenzie was promptly sacked from his job as the commander of the fleet that patrolled Occitanian waters after refusing the position of viceroy, which was little more than chief plunderer of the Occitanian state these days. McKenzie had more dignity than that, and he refused to play that role for Bancroft, thinking that he would retain his position with the navy.