Fourth Vector Ch. 48

Jack took his first look at the crater left by the shell and felt his stomach drop.

The forward turret was completely destroyed. A third of their firepower was gone in an instant.

Before anything else could happen, Abigail grabbed her radio. "Get me a damage report right away!"

While the lower-ranking officers scrambled to see just how badly things were on theDestiny, more news came in.

"Jack, I just heard from Admiral Sevolz on theWarkiz," said Russ. "They've taken some damage but another Swabian battleship,Veralt, took a direct hit as well. The ship is starting to flood and they're implementing control measures now."

"Let's make the best use of other turrets now," said Jack. "And let's hope they don't get any more lucky shots in."

*****

From the bridge of theWarkiz, King Ambros of Swabia watched as his seaman sent off more punishing ordnance toward the Javans. Using his binoculars, he could see Jack's flagship,Destiny, smoking a short distance away.

"Come on, Admiral, we need to answer back in kind," said Ambros to Admiral Sevolz, only a few feet from him. "Especially before the Javans put all their firepower on us!"

"Here comes our next salvo," said Sevolz a moment later. "In three, two, one."

The ship rocked as its guns sent off a shot that arced high into the air before coming crashing down on the Javans. From this distance, Ambros couldn't see the enemy ships just yet, but he could see the seaplanes that had been launched and were now searching out the enemy. Hopefully, they would be just as deadly from the air as the ships were from sea.

They had to do something. The Javan gunners were remarkably accurate so far that morning when another shot struck theVeralt, crippling the already heavily-damaged battleship.

"Sir, the captain on theVeralt is reporting a total loss of power," advised Sevolz after a new radio transmission. "The ship is starting to sink now by the stern. He's giving the order to abandon ship."

With nothing else to be done, Ambros nodded and turned his attention back to the rest of his fleet. He knew this gamble had been dangerous, putting most of the Swabian battle force at the forefront of the fleet, but if anyone could handle it, it was the hardy sailors of Swabia.

"Let's hope we don't take the full brunt of their power next," muttered Ambros.

*****

On the Javan side, Admiral Nick Reynolds was trying to keep cool. What should have been an easy fight--battleships jumping on defenseless transports--had turned into a full-fledged battle out of nowhere. He had several ships reporting hits but so far theRevenge was proving herself in the battle, all but taking out one of the Fourthie battleships.

Nick hoped that Easterbrook was on it, but he knew better. He wasn't going to get that lucky from the first kill.

Though they were winning the fight on sheer firepower, a new and more alarming threat soon materialized that struck fear in the heart of the Javan commanders. It came first with the Fourthie seaplanes that soon appeared overhead, dropping small bombs on the fleet that weren't that effective but it was the secondary ordnance that they carried that was a lot more potent.

Nick had the perfect vantage point to watch as one of his cruisers, an older vessel namedSupreme took a direct hit from the seaplane and was soon engulfed in an inextinguishable flame.

"Admiral Strange, we're having no luck putting the fire out!" advised the captain about twenty minutes after the hit. "Anyone who gets close to the flames ends up on fire themselves! I'm seeing men jump into the water and they're still burning once they're done there!"

Strange gave Nick a helpless look. "What in the world are they dropping on us? And why can't we extinguish it?"

It was a question largely without an answer. Nick even got the chance to watch with his own eyes as a missed bomb from one of the seaplanes landed on the water, sparking a flame that burned on top of the waves seemingly without end. It caused theRevenge to have to quickly change course lest it run into the wall of flames, but such was the scene all around the Javan fleet, making visibility an issue.

They lost theSupreme a short while later. The ship was burning uncontrollably, cooking the men inside the hull and making further operations useless. She wasn't the last to go, as another battleship started to burn and one destroyer was taken out by enemy fire.

What should have been a free-for-all had quickly turned deadly.

In the meantime, Nick had the gunners of theRevenge take aim once more at the Fourthie fleet. If they were going to pull these kinds of casualties from him, he was going to make sure he sunk as many of their ships as possible before the battle ended.

*****

TheDestiny buckled one more time as it was struck again with ordnance from the Javan fleet. This time, there was no major damage like what happened to the forward turret, which was a good thing because the fires set off by that blast were still burning within the ship.

The firefighting crews were starting to get the blaze under control but all reports that were coming from the damage assessment stated that the turret would be inoperable until theDestiny could make it back to a friendly port.

Hearing such news was a terrible blow to morale on the ship, especially amongst those who believed the mighty cruiser was almost untouchable.

As bad as things were on theDestiny, it seemed to be much worse with the Swabians. Jack heard the reports from Ambros about the total destruction of one of their battleships. It seemed another one was now under attack, while several other ships had damage dealt to them as well. The Swabians were paying a heavy price for their courage but their actions seemed to be having an effect.

Across the ocean to the east, great walls of flame and smoke were now visible upon the horizon. The returning seaplane pilots reported great success with their drops of Sorellan fire and now the Javan fleet was seeing how devastating that inferno could be up close. It was starting to affect their gunners as well as accuracy took a nosedive due to the flame and smoke.

It couldn't have come at a better time.

"Jack, we're giving the order for another battleship to be abandoned," came the radio call from Ambros, his voice sounding thick and sullen. "She's burning uncontrollably and her superstructure has been blown to bits. Nothing else we can do."

The loss of two battleships in a morning's fighting was a terrible toll, and so far the Javans showed no signs of stopping despite their reduced accuracy. As the entire fleet pivoted to the north to go around the Javan position, they kept up their firing, peppering the enemy's location and hoping to drive them off before it was too late.

One more close shot at theDestiny was enough to remind Jack that it could only take another good hit to put the ship under. However, if the sacrifice of the ship was necessary to protect the transports, he would do everything in his power to guarantee their safety.

Jack just hoped that didn't include losing theDestiny for good.

*****

Across the waves, Admiral Nick Reynolds was absolutely fuming.

He'd just gotten a report about losing another cruiser to enemy fire. Worse still, his throat was beginning to burn with the heavy smoke that was in the air, evidence of the fires that had been set off by Easterbrook's forces. With his gunners' vision obstructed by the smoke, their accuracy was starting to fall.

Where had it all gone wrong? This wasn't the outcome that Reynolds had bargained for. He wanted to find a defenseless transport fleet that he could pulverize.

Instead, he found himself in a real battle with real losses. Hardly the sort of thing anyone expected. Even more so, the Fourthies ships could fight and take out his own, and he saw no signs of them backing down.

Nick had to admit that his gambit had failed. His plan to destroy the transports had gone wrong somewhere and he couldn't justify taking any further losses over this or risking his fleet.

Jack Easterbrook had outfoxed him. And that simple fact alone was enough to make him fuming mad.

"Admiral Reynolds, sir."

Nick snapped to attention to see that Admiral Strange was trying to get his attention.

"What, Strange? What do you want now?"

"Sir, I'm requesting permission to withdraw the fleet to the south," said Strange, his apprehension already showing on his face. "This Fourthie fire is making our position untenable. We can't fire accurately and we can't turn into the Fourthie fleet because of the wall of flames. We need to change course to the south."

Changing course meant admitting defeat, a hard pill to swallow for any admiral. It was especially hard for Nick to admit that Easterbrook had gotten the best of him.

Of course, a defeat would mean facing the wrath of Bancroft as well. That alone would have most men cowering at their fate but not Nick. After all, he was in tight with Bancroft, so he had nothing to fear right?

Besides, there would always be another day to fight. Even if that meant throwing the towel on this day.

"Permission granted to withdraw," muttered Nick as he let out a deep sigh. He looked across the waves in the direction of the Fourthie fleet. "I'll get you another day, you bastard."

*****

"Jack, the Javans are moving south! They're withdrawing from the battle!"

As soon as Jack heard Russ speak the words, he jumped over some shattered glass in the bridge to look at their radar screen. Sure enough, the Javans were now moving away from the battlefield. By that point, just about all firing ceased as his enemy's range became too great.

The battle was finally over.

And what carnage it had been.

Nearly an hour after the fight was over, Jack got the final butcher's bill for the engagement and it wasn't pretty.

Thirty-four men on theDestiny were dead or likely to be dead by the end of the day. Fourteen others were wounded and were likely to survive. Those that were still alive were moved to the infirmary where Doctor Kendall had his hands full trying to bandage them up.

Even with the casualties, things were much worse on the Swabian side. Two battleships were completely gone, and rescue efforts were underway now to get those men that were still floating in the wreckage. There was little physical evidence of those battleships left, as both had slipped below the waves in the course of the battle. All that remained were the items that could float--personal effects as well as some timbers from the deck.

Two other Swabian cruisers had been heavily damaged. Ambros even reported that theWarkiz, his flagship, had taken some light damage as well.

It was a heavy toll for the damage they caused to the Javans. So far, their reports were of two Javan cruisers sunk as well as two destroyers.

In tactical terms, it was most definitely a Western defeat with the number of ships lost.

However, in strategic terms, it was a resounding victory. Jack had kept his transport ships safe and the fleet lived to fight another day. They were closer to Java than ever before, and judging by Reynolds' retreat, they would be able to land in Lockhaven without contest.

The relatively light amount of casualties they endured would make the risk worth the result.

As the men came off battle-stations, there was one more thing that Jack had to attend to, and that was getting medical attention for Kat. She was the one that had fallen the hardest during the explosion that took out the forward turret. Her hands and forearms had been scraped by glass, leaving cuts that were best sutured up and bandaged.

It was a hassle to make her go though, especially considering the circumstances.

"Jack, I can wait," she protested, holding up her hands that were covered with blood-stained cloth. "There are other men in more desperate need of medical attention than me. I can wait until they're seen first."

Even though he hated to admit it, Kat had a point. It was close to midnight by the time Doctor Kendall could spare time to stitch up her hands and bandage those cuts that weren't as serious. She would require some extra attention for the next couple weeks while they healed but Kat was the first to protest that she wouldn't need any special help.

While Kat was getting bandaged up, Abigail gave Jack an updated report on the damaged turret.

"Jack, I don't think we're going to be able to do anything with that turret anytime soon," she warned. "That explosion not only took out the turret, it fried up everything that was connected to it. We're looking at an entire replacement of the gun encasement once we get back to Galicia. The engineers are even reporting that the damage could affect the secondary forward turret just because it taps into the same wiring on many levels."

"The secondary forward turret was just fine during the battle," replied Jack. "So you're saying that we could wake up tomorrow and find it nonfunctional just because it shared much of the same wiring?"

Abigail nodded. "If that's the case, Jack, we could be left with only one functioning turret. We could lose two-thirds of our total firepower."

It was quite the wake-up call to the costs of battle. TheDestiny had escaped so many dicey situations in the past that it was only a matter of time before her number came up.

Jack just hoped they could make do with what remained of her guns before the campaign was over.

After Kat was done being stitched, Jack and his wives returned to their personal quarters to find that he had company. It was still very late in the night, but Ambros, Admiral Sevolz, Russ, and surprisingly, Aedan, were waiting for him when they arrived.

Jack looked at the time. "All of you are aware it's after midnight, right?"

He'd barely gotten the words out before Aedan came in close and crushed Jack with a tight embrace.

"I was wrong, Jack," said Aedan into his ear. The Picard King pulled back and looked Jack in the eyes. "I was very wrong about the Swabians."

Jack looked at him and chuckled. "Are you sure it's not Ambros that you should be telling instead of me? I'm sure it would mean more if you told him directly."

"Oh, don't worry about that," replied Ambros, wearing a smirk. "I already got the same treatment before you got here."

"All of us owe King Ambros and his men here a debt of gratitude," continued Aedan. "They likely saved our army today. No, theydid save our army."

"For now at least," said Jack. "But it came at great cost. TheDestiny alone will need significant repairs, and I'm told the same is the case for several Swabian ships as well."

"Speaking of that, Jack," chimed Russ. "Why don't you transfer your flag to theVisby? She's the best battleship we have and she has more than adequate quarters for all of us. You don't need to stay aboard this cruiser, especially now that she's seriously damaged."

Jack closed his eyes and shook his head. "I can remember a time when it was just theDestiny and two other smaller ships. She's served me faithfully all these years, especially when I needed her the most. I won't abandon the ship now, not when she's taken a few beatings. We will stay put on theDestiny."

"Perhaps then we can see some of the damage?" asked Aedan. "I wouldn't mind being able to see the price that was needed to secure our army today."

With those words, Jack took the four other men down several decks to the ruined portion of the forward turret. The rest of the men didn't stay long, but it was well into the night before Jack was able to retire to bed.

In the morning, there was no radar signature for any Javan vessels whatsoever. TheCenturion (which never did catch up to the main fleet the day before) sent waves of planes out to locate the Javans and found them still sailing due east now, resuming their previous position from the weeks before.

For now, it appeared that Jack just might be able to land in Java with his transport fleet in one piece. The continent was closer than ever before, and very soon, he would pay a visit to Bancroft that the emperor wouldn't ever forget.

*****

If Nina Powers could pick one word to describe herself, that word would have been distraught.

Especially today, which for some reason, was more painful than the day before. She'd long ceased to have the pains in her body caused by the poison and the accompanying miscarriage but that didn't mean she still didn't feel the heartache of the loss of her child.

A child that she hadn't even known to have existed before it didn't.

The whole ordeal had turned her world upside down, giving it more gravity than it had before. That was a hard thing to do in the middle of a war, but somehow the loss of a child compounded her misery to a level she never thought possible.

She'd all but stopped eating. What was the point? Food couldn't cure her pain so why continue to do it?

Sleep was a struggle on its own. Closing her eyes meant confronting invisible demons and for that reason alone, she found herself staying up at night to avoid the pain.

The worst part about all of it was Trevor. Not that he wasn't trying to help in his own way but just the sight of him made it worse.

It was because of the internal knowledge that she'd losthis child that made it so hard to deal with. She saw Trevor's face and it was a reminder that part of him had been lost. Even though it was irrational, Nina couldn't help the way that she felt. She couldn't even bear to face him knowing that she'd failed, that she'd lost something so precious that had been created by the two of them.

She'd started to pull back. Nina knew it was the wrong thing to do but it was the safe thing to do, a way to avoid the pain as long as she could while preserving what little was left of her self-worth. The breaking point came when she couldn't even sleep next to him at night anymore. Too many times, she'd found herself on the verge of tears because of it, so much that she had to put some space between them.

In doing so, she felt like she was chipping away at the foundation of their relationship. It propelled her deeper into her misery, and even as the army continued its march toward Belfort, she could only drown in her own despair.

That particular afternoon, Nina was doing what she did best now. She was laying on her cot in the tent she shared with Trevor. His cot was a few feet away and had been empty since that morning. She was hugging her knees to her chest and staring at the wall of the tent when she heard the sound of voices outside.

Nina turned to see two people near the entrance to the tent. Trevor was one of them but it was the woman next to him that made her gasp in recognition.

She would have been able to pick out Martha Radley anywhere. The woman was one of the few people in the army still left from her hometown of Bushing. Before the war kicked off, Martha was a homemaker who lived three streets over from Nina. Her husband, Arthur, had been killed relatively early in the war, causing her to join Nina's group. The woman had three children who to Nina's knowledge were with their grandparents during the fighting.

If there was anyone that symbolized Bushing to Nina, it was Martha.

"Martha, is that you?" asked Nina as she sat up.

Martha gave Trevor a sympathetic nod and entered the tent. Trevor didn't follow her, leaving on his own accord so the two women could have their privacy.

"So good to see you again, Nina," said Martha as she took the other woman's hands. "And I'm so sorry to hear about your loss."

For a brief moment, Nina was able to forget about the pain and concentrate on the woman in front of her.