Fourth Vector Ch. 46

Even this morning, Jack had been silently pleased as he watched a mixed group of Swabians and Carinthians on their morning run as they made their way through the city of Zarah.

What had seemed unthinkable even a year ago was now possible.

The army had shown that they could truly unite and fight as one force.

At the present time, there were no army units visible even from Jack's vantage point in the city. The remaining soldiers were all loading onto their transports as Jack's armed forces prepared to leave Picardy and start their trek across the great ocean.

Perhaps it was fortunate that it was the moment that Jack received a long-awaited reply from an old friend. He was in the middle of packing his things when Twitch burst into the room looking like he'd just won a small fortune.

"We have word from Commodore Lucas!" said Twitch, barely able to get the words out since he was so out of breath. "He's inviting you to Quiller's Cove!"

"He is?" asked Jack as he extended his hand. "Let me see that."

Twitch handed over the dispatch so that Jack could read.

ATTN: JACK EASTERBROOK

YOU AND YOU ALONE KNOW HOW MUCH TROUBLE THIS DISPATCH COULD LAND ME IN. COME TO QUILLER'S COVE WITH YOUR FORCES. WE HAVE MUCH TO DISCUSS. MAKE ALL POSSIBLE HASTE, YOUR ENEMY IS A MONTH OUT.

COMMODORE STANHOPE LUCAS

COMMANDING OFFICER, QUILLER'S COVE NAVAL STATION

"By the gods, he's going to do it," muttered Jack under his breath. "We have a real shot of turning Lucas against Bancroft."

"I would hope so," said Twitch with a snort. "There's no love lost between those two men."

"True, but I thought it would be a harder sell to get Lucas on our side. It's not the easiest task to act against your own people."

Twitch shook his head. "Are they really doing that, Jack? Or are they acting against Bancroft? If you ask me, it's the same situation as the Javans that fight with us now. They aren't fighting against their homeland. They're fighting against the tyrant."

Truer words had never been said, and at that moment, Jack rewarded his loyal deputy with a comforting pat on the back.

"This is why I've kept you all this time, Twitch. You have this canny ability to get to the heart of just about every matter."

Twitch looked immensely pleased with himself. "It's what you pay me for, Jack."

"Can I pay you to take my things back to theDestiny?" came a voice from across the room.

Both men turned to find Abigail struggling with a large trunk of her belongings. She let it fall to her feet as she blew a strand of hair out of her face.

Twitch rushed to grab it at once. "Of course, Commodore, I'll take care of it."

Abigail beamed at him. "I'm just joking with you, Twitch. I can manage, but I'd almost prefer to have my husband do it. It seems only appropriate since he's the one that put me in this delicate position in the first place."

Jack couldn't help but laugh at that notion. Abigail being in a "delicate position" was of course a reference to her pregnancy but she couldn't have been much further along than two months. She hadn't started to show and needed none of the help that women much further into their pregnancies traditionally needed.

In effect, she was milking the attention that came with her newfound status, which caused amusement on Jack's side.

"You're going to milk this for a long time, aren't you?" said Jack as she burrowed her way into his arms.

"You better believe it, mister," she replied. Abigail held onto him tightly as she looked out on Zarah. "I do hope these next seven months or so pass by quickly though."

Jack felt an immediate tension between them. "We could very well still be in Java in seven months. In fact, I'm almost betting on it. Are you sure you want to go with us? It's not going to be safe for you in a war zone."

He received the answer he expected. Abigail shook her head firmly.

"I won't be parted from you, Jack. Not now, not ever. I don't care if we have to go into the belly of the beast himself, I'm going with you to Java. We're going to end this war together."

Jack could only smile as he kissed her forehead. "It's hard to believe that we're going back, especially in this way. I always pictured going back to Java after the mission was over and maybe retiring to take a comfortable position manning a naval garrison or something like that. Three years ago, I never would have pictured this would be my life."

Abigail craned her head to look at him. "Any regrets, Jack? Do you regret any of your choices?"

Just like she did a moment earlier, Jack shook his head firmly. "None. Let's go do what needs to be done. Let's go give Bancroft the reckoning he's long overdue for."

Abigail smiled. "I'd love nothing more."

After the rest of their belongings were taken to theDestiny, they met up with Kat who had already boarded just ahead of them. Together, the three of them looked out the porthole to Zarah as the great armada pulled away from the city and turned south toward Quiller's Cove.

"Back to Quiller's Cove," muttered Jack under his breath. "Back to where it all began."

What a homecoming it was going to be.