Fourth Vector Ch. 49

First things first though. Today, they had to attack and win.

Menard had just finished briefing his officers for the plan of attack for the day when Bancroft stopped by his tent. The Emperor looked to once more be in good spirits this morning, which was saying something after the events of the previous evening, when he nearly killed his deputy, Admiral Clark, for bringing him the news of Zander's defeat.

Menard had never seen Bancroft physically assault one of his own men before but he watched silently as Bancroft's anger forced him to beat a cane over Clark's back until it broke, shattering the material as well as Clark's sense of dignity.

"Goddamnit, Clark!" swore Bancroft once the cane had broken and he took a minute to catch his breath. "You tell Zander to get me the remnants of that army at once! If he doesn't reach us before the week is out, I will crucify not only him but every single man in that army!"

Clark winced in pain as he struggled to stand up straight. The man's eyes looked weary, like he'd lived too long and only wanted to accept the peace of death.

"I will do so right away, Sire," replied Clark, his voice somewhat muted with pain.

Bancroft continued to sulk around that evening, which was why Menard was so surprised to see him in a good mood this morning.

"Are you ready to achieve final victory today, General?" asked Bancroft as he came to a stop only feet away from Menard. Behind him, Clark trailed along like a disobedient puppy.

"Ready when you are, Sire," replied Menard, careful not to glance at Clark lest he face the wrath of Bancroft himself. "I've just finished issuing orders and our men will be attacking within the hour."

Bancroft took a deep breath of air and exhaled loudly. "Wonderful. I'm looking forward to watching our men crush Easterbrook's center and destroy what's left of his army. Just give me a victory today, Menard. That's all I'm asking."

Menard gulped before he replied. He knew what would happen with the price of defeat. He imagined Bancroft breaking a cane over his back like he just did to Clark the night before, or worse.

"Don't worry, Sire. We'll give it everything we've got."

*****

"Would you look at that? The gods aren't pissing on us for once!"

Brian gazed at the cloudless sky, amazed that it had shed all those dark clouds that seemed to be never-ending in the preceding days. There was the hope that things might start to get better, and that the terrible mud would finally have a chance to go away.

For now though, his entire regiment was on watch. Ever since the battle a few days ago, the 16th Galician Regiment had been nearly destroyed in the course of the fighting, suffering forty-nine percent casualties. They, along with a handful of other regiments, bore the brunt of the fighting on the flank. It was a day when every remaining man had lost friends in the course of the fighting, and those that were still alive had been hardened by the experience.

As a result of so much loss, it was determined that those regiments that suffered the most, like the 16th, would be paired with other regiments in order to bring them back up the strength.

As fate would have it, the 16th Regiment was paired with the Swabian 3rd Regiment, which just so happened to be Arnold's unit.

Brian didn't think this was a coincidence. The two regiments had been paired together back in Picardy, which caused their friendship to develop in the first place. The 3rd had also taken heavy casualties in the center, and it was only natural to place them together, believing that the friendships formed would make them fight that much harder.

It was for that reason that Brian was hunkered down in a foxhole only about thirty yards from Arnold. Much of this next fight would see the two men within visual distance from each other, and Brian found something comforting about having a friend nearby.

For now though, the men were still awaiting signs of an attack, and Brian was cleaning the dirt out of his rifle when Arnold crouched by his foxhole.

The big Swabian wasn't one to mince words. Everyone knew that the fighting would resume today so he wasted no time on small talk or platitudes.

"Take care of yourself today," said Arnold, his Swabian accent punctuating every sound. "Keep your head down and kill some of those Javans, all right?"

Brian grinned and then chuckled. "Bet you I can kill more than you can today."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Keep dreaming, my friend. You'll never catch up to my number."

Before Brian could respond, he heard some gunfire in the distance. Every man in his foxhole as well as Arnold noticed the same, which was all the signal they needed to know that the battle was about to kick off.

"All right, get back to your hole," said Brian to Arnold. "And don't do anything stupid! Don't charge the Javans or anything like that!"

Arnold grinned. "That almost takes the fun out of fighting."

The big Swabian started to shuffle away at that point, leaving Brian with the impression that he might actually do it.

"I mean it! Stay in your hole!" he hissed.

Arnold waved at him and continued moving to his hole. In the distance, the sound of mortars landing began in earnest.

That battle had begun. Brian just hoped this one would be a little easier than the first.

*****

Back at sea, Jack watched as theDestiny came within range of the Occitanian force under Jasper Strong. The bridge was alive with activity as Kyle gave the orders to pivot the guns to lock on their first target--a smaller cruiser closest to their current position.

"Jack, we'll be ready to fire in thirty seconds," called out Kyle. "Give the order when you want us to kick this off!"

Jack nodded and relayed the message over to Russ, who was in command on theVisby. His gunners also had another ship in their sights--a battleship by the size of it--and were ready to fire. Over on theValiant, Luke also gave the ready signal and everything seemed determined to go off according to plan.

"Jack, wait! Come look at this!"

Jack's head snapped around, finding Cory gesturing frantically to get his attention. Jack hopped out of his chair and walked the short distance to the man, finding him in a near delirious state.

It only took one look at the radar screen to see why.

"Jack, we've got multiple enemy warships directly to our west and south!" said Cory, pointing out at least ten warships that had now entered radar range on each side. Judging by their cross-sections, they were incredibly large ships--battleships by all accounts.

And that many battleships could only mean one thing--Reynolds.

"How is that possible?" asked Jack, his mouth agape as more vessels continued to appear on the radar. "I thought Reynolds was still a full day to the south!"

"So did we," replied Cory as he rushed to write down the numbers of new enemies. "But it looks like he's here! And they have us surrounded on two sides."

"Where the hell did he come from?" muttered Jack.

Cory turned to look at Jack. "You don't think this was a trap, do you? Do you think Strong's force was bait?"

Jack didn't know what to believe at that point. If using Strong as bait was their plan all along, it was a remarkable plan that hedged on Jack taking the bait in the first place. It also meant that Reynolds had to greatly increase his speed to cover the distance, and do so without being discovered by theCenturion's planes.

Jack's stomach sank as he realized the awful truth in that moment.

"The airplanes haven't been out since early yesterday afternoon," he said. "The weather was bad enough that they didn't run any missions. If Reynolds pivoted his force and increased their speed, they absolutely could have made up the ground in that time."

Now everyone on the bridge looked panicked as they gathered around the radar screen. Even Kyle, the cool operator that he usually was, looked uncertain about what was in front of them.

"Jack, what do you want to do?" asked Abigail with a certain edge in her voice. "Do we fight or retreat?"

Jack never had the chance to give his answer before they heard the first salvo from the enemy.

*****

"I've got the bastard now!"

Nick Reynolds was almost giddy with excitement. From the bridge of theRevenge, he watched as the main Fourthie fleet appeared on radar and continued to inch closer to his forces. Jasper Strong's force was still caught in the middle, and Jasper had already signaled his intent to start firing now that he was in range.

In just about an hour, his forces would be within range as well, and now they approached the Fourthie fleet from the west and south, trapping the bulk of it in the middle while they chased after Strong, heading in a southwest direction.

It was a near perfect execution of the plan, and it would give Nick and his men the best chance at destroying the enemy fleet and putting Easterbrook in the grave once and for all.

Even Admiral Strange looked pleased at seeing the plan come together as described.

"Sir, I've given the order for the guns to be made ready," said Strange. "We should be within range in approximately forty-eight minutes."

"Excellent work, Admiral," replied Nick. "The Fourthies are going to be trapped, and we're going to show them the true extent of Javan firepower. There will be no escape for them today."

Those next forty-eight minutes passed by laboriously slow. Finally, once the gunners signaled that they were ready to begin firing, Nick gave the order he'd been waiting on for a long time.

"Fire when ready," he said, a cruel smile on his face. "This war ends today."

*****

Just about everyone on the bridge was looking at Jack with a mixture of fear and anxiety as the first salvo from the enemy fleet fell well short of theDestiny, sending up a plume of water as it landed. For nearly everyone in the Western fleet, this would be the pivotal moment of the war.

Though the circumstances had changed against them, would they now flee or face their enemy with a brave face?

For Jack, the answer to that question was clear.

"We stay and fight," said Jack, looking around at the faces on the bridge. "This may not have been the battle that we wanted, but it's the battle that we received. I'll be damned if we retreat with our tails between our legs. If Reynolds wants a fight, then I'll give him one!"

A measure of relief flooded into some faces while others assumed a look of bravery that was either genuine or phony. No matter what they were thinking, everyone knew they had a job to do.

The officers on the bridge sprung back into action with Jack's words. Kyle got word to the gunnery officers to prepare to fire while Cory issued instructions to update the ship's course. Jack had a message to get out of his own, and he soon grabbed the radio to talk with Russ on theVisby.

"We're picking up a lot of radar signatures out there," replied Russ into the radio. "I think the fight we've been looking for is here."

"Right you are, Russ. Let's give them a fight to remember," said Jack. "Get instructions out to every ship. This is where we fight. We will continue to engage the enemy until they retreat or we die but those are the only outcomes I'm willing to accept. Got it?"

"Aye, Jack, I got it," replied Russ. "We'll give them hell, I promise you that."

"I know you will, Russ. I'm counting on you."

Jack listened to the rest of the radio chatter as Russ got the word out. All the commanding officers of every warship in his fleet vowed to fight it out to the end if need be. It was a heartening response to a disheartening situation, and Jack found himself grateful to lead such an incredible force.

Before he knew it, theDestiny rocked as its guns exploded, firing off two deadly salvos at the Javan warships in the distance. All around him, the Western ships did the same, showing off their intentions to challenge Javan supremacy of the sea.

There was one last order that had to be given before the battle could move forward. Jack reached out to Captain Jonas Roegart of theCenturion next, to make sure they used every advantage they could during this fight.

"Jonas, I need every plane you have in the air right now," said Jack. "Every bomb that you can spare I need loaded up with them and dumped on the Javan fleet."

"You got it, Jack," replied Jonas a moment later. "I still have a little Sorellan fire left as well. I'll load up the planes that I can with it, and we'll give the Javans a reminder of just how fiery things can get."

Jack found himself grinning. "Leave nothing behind. Send up everything you have. Let's give them an inferno."

With theCenturion setting up to launch planes, Jack could now turn his attention back to the developing battle. In the interim, Kyle and the gunners had taken aim at a Javan cruiser within range of their current position, and the second wave of ordnance was launched off a moment later.

It only did minor damage to the Javan cruiser but at least they had their target locked on. Meanwhile, radio chatter was heating up as the other ships in the task force started their first salvos.

"I got that one, direct hit!"

"Turning to the right. Rear turret, prepare to fire."

"We're locked on that enemy battleship. Give them hell!"

All around the ship, Jack heard the sounds of guns as they fired or as ordnance exploded close to their targets. Another shot from theDestiny caught the Javan cruiser directly amidship, causing an explosion in the cruiser's superstructure that was noticeable to the naked eye.

"Direct hit, we just need one more good one!" yelled Kyle.

Meanwhile, theDestiny was now starting to pivot. No longer needing to follow after the bait from Jasper Strong's force, Jack directed that two groups form. His group on the left followed after the Javan southern force while Russ' group to the right went after the western force. Both Jack and Russ were near the front of each of their respective groups, which put them in a very exposed position.

It also meant they had their choice of targets.

Russ was the first one to directly engage a battleship and cause immense damage to the Javan vessel. TheVisby put a tremendous amount of pressure on the Javan warship, making strikes against the bow, stern, and superstructure.

Finally, the words that everyone wanted to hear were reported over the radio.

"Javan battleship destroyed! It's going down by the head!" reported Russ.

First blood went to the Western force, and it would soon be followed by another casualty caused by theDestiny.

"One more good shot and we can sink that cruiser," muttered Kyle under his breath. "Come on, men. Blast her!"

He got his wish a minute later when theDestiny's six main guns exploded with a punishing shot that spelled the doom of the Javan cruiser. Several explosions racked the ship, tearing her apart damn near the middle of the vessel. She didn't stand a chance after that and her guns fell silent, only to slip below the waves a mere fifteen minutes later.

"Javan cruiser now destroyed and sinking," reported Jack, earning praise from the other commanders. Before the praise could end, Kyle had already redirected theDestiny's guns on a new target, another cruiser, and were readying to fire.

So far, the Javans hadn't managed to connect with any of their shots, but Jack suspected their misfortune wouldn't last for much longer. He also suspected that when they finally buttoned down their targets, his warships would receive the exact same punishment they'd just dolled out.

It would become a race to see which side could finish off the other first.

*****

Over on theValiant, which was about half a mile behind theDestiny, Luke was concentrating on destroying an enemy warship as well. They were locked on an enemy destroyer that was moving quickly through the water, no doubt hoping to close the distance so they could launch torpedoes. The problem with hitting destroyers was that you had to anticipate their movements before they acted, which was always difficult with the speed of those vessels.

"Come on, Reeves," said Luke as he watched the destroyer change course once again. "We need to take them out before they launch torpedoes!"

TheValiant's weapons division officer, Lt. Wayne Reeves, spoke to the gunners before checking back with Luke. "Ready to fire in ten seconds, Luke!"

TheValiant's small guns opened up a moment later, scoring a direct hit on the destroyer and stopping all power to her engines. She became dead in the water, a sitting duck for anyone to finish off.

"Will send another salvo shortly to kill her," promised Reeves but Luke had other ideas.

"Don't bother with them for right now, they're dead," said Luke as he pointed to another destroyer moving just behind the doomed one. "Let's concentrate on that one! Quickly before they get too close!"

It took a minute for them to realign the guns, all the while the destroyer moved ever closer.

"Luke, we need to fire now if we're going to stop them!" yelled Kim. "They're too close!"

Sure enough, the small-caliber guns on the destroyer opened up next, causing light damage on theValiant but they weren't powerful enough for a killing blow. However, the destroyer was now lining itself up with the ship, a sure signal that torpedoes were coming.

Reeves came through just when he was needed most.

"Firing in three... two... one," announced the weapons officer before theValiant rocked with the force of the guns.

Their luck held. The main guns made a direct strike against the destroyer causing two visible explosions on the forward part of the superstructure. Something must have affected the ship's controls, as she soon viewed into a hard right turn that never ended, going around in a circle once until theValiant was able to put her out of her misery with the next shot. The destroyer's hull compromised, she didn't last very long before slipping under the waves a few moments later.

"Now that's damn good shooting," said Luke, slapping Reeves on the back excitedly. "Now let's find us another good target!"

Reeves soon gestured to the sky around theValiant. "Let's hope the airplanes save us a few targets before this is all said and done! They're about to launch bombs and Sorellan fire!"

Sure enough, Luke watched as two squadrons of planes flew directly overhead and closed the gap between them and the Javan fleet. He only saw several small explosions from the bombs, but everyone saw the Sorellan fire going off, creating a large fireball directly over one cruiser.

"Let's hope that was Reynolds' flagship," muttered Luke as he watched it consume the wooden decks of the ship. "This fight will be over real quick!"

*****

"Goddamnit, get the firefighting teams engaged now!" yelled Reynolds into his radio as he watched the flames consume theKildaire, a Javan light cruiser. Though the flames weren't strong enough to harm the ship's metal hull, it could still cook the sailors inside and render the ship entirely useless, which seemed to be exactly what was happening now.

Reynolds watched as several of the Fourthie planes went overhead, striking the fleet with their bombs and fire while remaining untouchable in the skies. TheRevenge even took two bombs, causing light damage to her decks and killing several sailors.

In the end though, the planes were nothing more than a distraction for Reynolds. His gunners had a Fourthie battleship in their sights, and soon a punishing shot caught the enemy vessel with a direct hit.

"I need another hit just like that," said an excited Reynolds to Admiral Strange. "One more hit will sink that fucking Fourthie battleship!"