Chapter 21: Homeward Bound

The following morning after Jack received Admiral Bancroft’s latest message, he called together his own war council to decide the best course of action for a return to Java. Apart from Kat, Abigail, and Greg, the rest of the commanders had only heard the basic premise, not knowing the full details of what Bancroft was asking them to do. Today they would send their response, leave date, and coordinate all the details.

If Jack was being fully honest with himself, he was apprehensive at best about the thought of going home. The timing was entirely off, and despite being the conquerors of Daban, there were still Swabians in Picardy, and the war was still bound to escalate. Their position wasn’t yet secure enough to contemplate leaving the country, and he was sure a counterattack was at least being thought about, if not completely planned out.

There were too many variables, and he wanted his forces on the same page before they thought about approaching Aedan or Reina with the news. For that reason, Jack convened the meeting in his quarters on the Destiny, and he waited patiently for the rest of the officers to show up.

The first to arrive was no surprise as they had the shortest distance to travel. Kat and Abigail entered, slipped into his arms for a long kiss, and soon took their seats near the front. Greg and Dustin were next, the former looking a lot better than he had in recent memory. The two men had been nearly inseparable since last night, as Dustin updated Greg on the battle, casualties, and positions of the men in order to give command back over.

Next, the various ship commanders began to arrive. First to arrive was Pete Dawson of the Horton, his tall frame ensuring he had to duck to get past the doorway. After him was Mike Cutter of the Stardust and as well as Luke from the Valiant.

“We’re really going home then?” asked Luke after greeting him. “I thought they might keep us out here forever.”

Jack chuckled. “I guess someone needs to break that blockade. It might as well be us.”

After those two men took their seats, the rest of the commanders filtered in from there. His destroyer commanders, Vicky Carter of the Tiger, Laura Pollard of the Maddox, and lastly Alex McGrath of the Wickes were the last to arrive, greeting Jack in turn before taking their seats.

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” said Jack as he scanned the room. “I’m not going to beat around the bush this morning, and you all know why we’re here.” Jack waved the copy of his order in his hand. “We’re going home.”

A few of them began to chatter amongst themselves, often turning to the officer next to them as they digested the news. For many of them, being in the Vector for over nine months was the longest mission they’d ever seen. Of all the naval forces in Java, they were the ones furthest and longest away from home. There was definitely some disbelief on the faces of those that had been with him from the very beginning.

“It seems to have come at a rather bad time,” offered up Abigail, the first to speak. “We only just took back the capital city. I’m not sure it’s the best idea to be leaving just yet.”

Jack nodded. “I fully agree with you. It’s not a great time to leave, but Bancroft’s orders are clear. He’s marshaling all the naval forces in the empire to finally break the stranglehold the Occie’s have over Aberdeen. Even doing so, we’ll still be outnumbered, but it’s the best chance we have of allowing our comrades to break out of port.”

“What are we to do about our presence here?” asked Mike Cutter. “Are we supposed to leave the Picards and the Carinthians to their own defenses?”

“Our allies here aren’t without their own forces,” said Jack. “Admiral Romero’s force is potent with two battleships, and the majority of Aedan’s navy is moving up from the south. Their combined armies more than outnumber us, so I’m sure they could handle anything the Swabians can throw at them in the interim.”

“Aren’t the Swabians in the south though?” asked Laura Pollard. “It doesn’t seem right to have King Aedan’s forces move north when the action is all in the south.”

“Most of those landings have already occurred,” said Jack. “There’s not much to combat now beside their resupply, but with their decreasing naval presence in the south, it appears their soldiers are going to live off the land while they try to consolidate their hold. For that reason, there’s not many ships to fight down there, although Aedan has left a force on the southern coast to attack any supply ships or basic enemy warships. The rest of the force is coming up to Daban to combine into one striking fleet with ourselves and the Carinthians.”

“Just minus us now, right?” asked Luke. “Is that force enough to handle anything the Swabians might throw at it?”

Jack looked at Kat, who would best know the answer. She stood up and walked to the front near him. “The Swabian navy is one of the strongest in the West. Even if the Picards combined their full navy with that of Carinthia, they would still fall short if the Swabians moved out in force.”

Many of the faces in the room soon soured. “So if we leave, we’re potentially surrendering Daban and the whole of Picardy just to do so?” asked Vicky. “That doesn’t bode well for all the marines that died fighting to retake the city.”

Jack nodded as Kat resumed her seat. “I know it’s not an ideal situation. I’ll be the first to admit that. But our first duty is to our country.” Jack hazarded a look at Kat. While many of the officers were shaking their head in agreement, she gave him a look he couldn’t quite digest. It didn’t take him long to figure out why.

“Where are we headed once we get to Java?” asked Pete Dawson. “Lockhaven? Belfort? Or are we going straight to Aberdeen?”

“Lockhaven,” answered Jack. “Once we’re there, we’ll rendezvous with the rest of Task Force 78 before getting new orders.”

“Task Force 78?” asked Mike with a raised eyebrow. “Wasn’t that Henrik’s command?”

Jack made a sour face, as did many of the others. By now, word of Henrik’s betrayal had reached all of them. “It is. Although, it’s under a new commander now. I just don’t know who. I’m told Admiral Bancroft will also be there to welcome us home.”

“Sounds like we’re getting the red carpet treatment,” said Luke with a grin. “Not bad for the conquering heroes returning home.”

Jack was inclined to smile. “It will be good to be back home, but remember, we’re going back to fight. This isn’t a social call or a chance to relax. We’ll need to be on our guard.”

Almost everyone in the room nodded to that statement, seeming to understand that point instinctively. Seeing no more questions, Jack moved on to the next piece of discussion.

“That brings me to the second point of the message,” he started. “Bancroft has asked that I bring back a show of forces from the alliances we’ve created since we’ve been out here.”

“What does that mean?” asked Pete.

“He’s looking to see the kind of military forces that our new allies are capable of,” added Abigail. “I imagine he’s talking about military equipment, or more importantly, ships.”

“Abigail’s right,” said Jack. “Our leadership has spent a lot of money and time investing in this mission, and I’m sure they’d like to see the return on that investment. They want us to bring back several ships from the Vector as well as a head of state from one of our allies.”

There was some grumbling in the room. “How are we going to convince Aedan or Reina of doing that when there’s a war brewing?” asked Alex McGrath of the Wickes.

Jack broke out in a small smile as he looked at Kat. “It might actually be a lot easier than that. Kat, would you come up here please?”

Once more, she resumed her spot by his side. “Most of you know Kat as our guide here in the Vector. She’s been my closest confidant since we arrived, and a good portion of our knowledge of these lands starts with her.” Jack took a deep breath. “Kat is also the official head of state for one of the countries here.”

There were many shocked faces. “Which one?” asked Laura.

“Galicia,” said Jack. “She’s the rightful Galician Regent.”

The only ones in the room who didn’t look shocked were Abigail, Greg, and Dustin, to whom this was already common knowledge.

“No disrespect to Kat, but if she’s the proper regent, why is she here with us?” asked Mike before he looked at her. “Shouldn’t she be with her home country?”

Jack looked over to Kat before he turned his attention back to the officers. He took a deep breath before he started. “Kat is the rightful regent, but she’s been deposed back in her home country by her cousin, who seized the regency over three years ago. Since she’s been with us, she’s been our guide.” Jack left out several of the more crucial details, figuring that the rest of them weren’t yet ready for the extended answer behind why she was there.

Jack expected more of a fight on this one, but surprising Luke was the next one to speak up. “All this time and we have a regent here in our midst,” he said with a small smile. “I hope I didn’t miss calling you by a title or something.”

Kat chuckled. “I don’t need any titles, so don’t worry about that. But Jack is right. I don’t have a place back in my country so right now my place is with all of you. And if you’ll have me, I’ll go back to Java with you.” She then turned to look at Jack, with seemingly more to say still on her tongue.

He imagined she’d tell him later. “That makes this particular requirement easy to hit, but I’ll have to talk with Aedan and Reina about some ships. I think that will be harder to do, but we don’t have much time.”

“How soon are we needed back in Java?” asked Vicky. “Do we have a deadline, and how soon do we need to leave?”

Jack shook his head. “Admiral Bancroft just asks that we leave immediately and let him know once we’re on our way. Instead of heading due east from here, we’ll swing to the south to stop at Quiller’s Cove before continuing on to Java. Once we get to Quiller’s, I will give him an estimated arrival time.”

Mike was the first to close the notebook in front of him. “It sounds like our task is ironed out for us. Leave right away, get to Quiller’s, and then go home. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.”

Jack nodded. “The hardest piece will be seeing who we can convince to come with us from the allies. But after that’s done, we can take off.”

“I’ll be glad to see home again though,” said Luke. “Like you said before, Jack, it’s been about nine months. That’s too long to be away from home.”

“Maybe once this is all over with, and once we lift the blockade, we’ll be permitted some R&R time,” said Jack. “This mission has asked a lot from all of us. I’d be remiss if we didn’t get the chance to see our families. Especially because I imagine we’ll be coming back to the Vector when it’s all over.”

“Are you sure about that, Jack?” asked Vicky. “Are we for sure coming back?”

Jack nodded. “I don’t see why not. If we can remove the Occitanians as a threat, there’s no reason for us to not come back and continue to build on what we’ve done.” And hopefully, I can continue to unravel the mystery that is Galicia, he thought to himself. And what I’m supposed to be doing in all of this. “But that’s for after we get back. Unless any of you have any questions, that’s the long and short of it.”

Nobody seemed to have any remaining questions, which led him to speak up one final time. “Well, get back to your ships, and wait for my word. Start preparing to leave. Once I find out who’ll be coming with us, I’ll set a date for our departure. Thank you all for coming here.”

With that, all the officers stood, and after several minutes of chatter with their colleagues, they soon exited the room with nods and salutes back to Jack. Soon enough, the first people to have arrived in his quarters were once again the last people to leave, and Jack found himself looking back at Kat and Abigail only.

“How are you feeling about all of this, Jack?” asked Abigail once his door was shut. “I know you’re not one to mince words when giving orders, but I had a hard time figuring out your thoughts on this one.”

Jack took a deep breath and then sighed. “I’m on the fence. Probably more so than most of them, for obvious reasons. I hate the idea of leaving when it still feels like we’re in the middle of a war here. Vicky said it all too succinctly. I don’t want to waste the sacrifices of all those men who died taking this city just to surrender it without a fight.”

“True, Jack, but I would say the balance of this conflict has swung against the Swabians,” said Abigail. “Surely you don’t think they would attack Daban again, do you?”

“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “We don’t know how many men they have in the south of the country, but I don’t expect them to surrender Daban willingly without a backup plan.”

“Knowing them, they won’t bring a token force to something so important,” said Kat. “I expect there to be a real fight to kick them firmly out of Picardy. Unfortunately, I think Daban was the easy part.”

“Could we leave men here? Marines and/or ships?” asked Abigail. “Anything to aid their effort?”

“It’s something I’ve been wondering on my own,” said Jack. “I don’t think we’d be able to get away with leaving any ships, but possibly marines. I’ll have to talk with Greg about it. Many of those men have been out here just as long as we have, and as such, they deserve to go home too. It’s just a little too open right now, especially until I meet with Aedan and Reina.”

Abigail stood up and approached him, quickly pressing in with a warm embrace. “Anything that needs to happen, we’ll make sure it does. I know these orders aren’t ideal, but if we need to get home, kick some Occie ass, and then come back, then that’s what we’ll do.”

Jack wrapped his arms around her. “I guess timing has never been our strong point, especially since we’ve been here. We’re always drifting from one conflict to the next, sometimes before the other gets wrapped up. Just once, I was hoping that we might be able to get settled first before we leave again.”

Kat was soon pressing into his other open side. “For what it’s worth, I’m looking forward to seeing your home, Jack. Didn’t you say your sister was still in Lockhaven?”

He nodded. “Jocelyn still is. Or at least she was when we left. Although I do know her husband spends a lot of time in Belfort.”

“It might be nice to see her again,” said Abigail. “I’m sure it’s been some time since you last saw your sister.”

Even though I know she’s not really my sister? Even though my world was turned upside down a month ago? He hadn’t long to think about what this meant for his relationship with Jocelyn. He was sure she didn’t know the truth, but what would she do when she found out?

Would she stop being his sister? Would the bond between them dissolve?

“Jack? Are you still there?”

He shook his head as he forced himself to go back to the present. “Sorry. Just too into my thoughts ever since I found out we were going back.”

“You of all people have a right to be hesitant about what that means,” said Kat. “It’s all right to question it.”

“It’s not that I question it,” he said finally. “It’s just that the last time I was in Java, it was my only home. Not that Galicia is my home, per se, but it just muddies the waters slightly. I don’t know how I’m going to feel once I step back onto home soil. It’s just a new factor I need to prepare myself for.”

“Take all the time you need, Jack,” said Abigail as she rubbed his back. “Thankfully, we have a long journey in front of us. It should make it easier to clear your head before we even get close to Java.”

Jack chuckled. “Or it might make me feel worse the closer we get.” Jack shook his head. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to bring you two into all my internal problems here.”

Kat shook her head as well. “Jack, if we didn’t care, we wouldn’t be here. We love you.”

“Don’t forget that you belong to us,” said Abigail playfully. “What goes on in here is our business too.” She tapped the side of his head lightly.

Jack laughed. “At least I have the both of you to help me through it.”

“Besides,” said Kat. “A long time at sea can get a little boring at times. I wonder what we’ll get up to in order to pass the time?” Her eyes already twinkled with mischief.

Abigail grinned wickedly. “We’re already turning her,” she said to Jack, elbowing him in the stomach. “Can you believe she was just a virgin not so long ago? And now we’re having all these threesomes!”

“I know, you’ve been a bad influence on her,” he teased.

“Oh, she’s bad, all right,” said Abigail with pride. “And I really enjoy it!”

The three of them started to laugh together, and all too soon, Jack found himself being dragged back to bed by both women.

Later on that afternoon, Kat and Jack made their exit from the Destiny on their way back to the Picard imperial palace. It was a hot late summer day, and only minutes away from the warship, Jack could feel part of his uniform sticking to his sweaty back as they made their way through the city. Kat, of course, never seemed to break a sweat, and her long luxurious blonde hair hung in wavy curls to the middle of her back while her blue regency dress caught the eye of every single (and some not so single) man on the way to the palace.

“I can see why you don’t wear that dress more than you do,” he said with a smile, as they neared the center of the city.

She arched an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?”

Jack spread his hands out. “Look at how all these men are looking at you. If I were a jealous man, I’d have a good reason to be mad half the time you wore this.”

Kat let out a rich laugh. “Good thing that you’re not a jealous man then. And it’s also a good thing that I only have eyes for you.” She then leaned in a little closer. “It’s also very good that I still have your cum dripping down my thigh.”

Jack gave a dramatic sigh. “I suppose that’s a few good things.”

“You suppose?” she elbowed him in the ribs.

“It’s because their eyes aren’t the only ones glued to you when you wear that,” he said hungrily.

“Lucky for you then, you get to help me take it off later,” she said with a hint of mischief.

For some reason, Jack found his walking pace picked up ever so slightly after that statement.

Even just a week out from battle, most of the city still bore the scars of the conflict. Everywhere Jack looked, there were houses that were missing doors, broken windows aplenty, and in some, still no sign of the previous inhabitants. Trash littered the streets, either from the occupation, or because there was no one to remove it. Every so often, Jack would find a spent bullet casing, a remnant of the hard fought battle that proceeded house to house, neighborhood to neighborhood.

The signs of devastation though couldn’t compete with the signs of life, and it was one thing that made him hopeful as they turned down the street the palace was on. The common citizens of Daban could be found cleaning up their streets, replacing those broken windows as well as hanging new doors. There was a feeling of renewal in the air, a promise that the city could never be too broken not to fix. It was a reminder of the national spirit of Picardy, and a promise of the resilience of those that made their homes here.

“It’s heartening to watch the city put itself back together,” said Jack finally, giving voice to his thoughts after he led them down several streets that weren’t on the way to the palace. “Almost everywhere you look, you can see Picards rebuilding their shattered city.”

“They have a lot of work to do too,” said Kat. “Even for their short stay, the Swabians made quite a mess of the place.”

“Not at all helped by our army though,” said Jack. “But if there was ever a place to fight the Swabians, Picardy wasn’t a bad choice.”

Kat smiled. “Of all the places in the world, and outside of Galicia, Picardy has always been one that warmed my heart. I’ve always liked their people—friendly, loyal, and industrious to a fault. When you combine that with the honorable and intelligent Carinthians, you’ve made quite the allies.”

“We’ve made quite the allies,” said Jack as they presented themselves to the guards of the palace. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

Kat kissed him briefly. “Nor I without you, my king.”

Together, the couple was shown into a palace that also still bore the scars of conflict. One whole wing was still in the prospect of cleanup after being demolished by the setting off of a Swabian ammunition dump. Workers could be seen trying to remove every destroyed piece of the residential wing, with some pieces needing ten men to lift while others were no larger than dust. It would take some weeks until they could even think about rebuilding, and it was that reason why Aedan and his family had been moved to some older staterooms in an unused portion of the palace.

It was there that Kat and Jack found Aedan and Ciara, sitting together in their study. Noticeably, the newborn crown prince could not be seen right away, but it was his feint hiccup that finally drew their attention. The baby was already in the lap of Reina, who was enjoying herself greatly by rocking him in her arms.

“There they are,” said Aedan finally as he moved to stand. “We were beginning to think you might ditch us for dinner.” He moved to greet them as they all embraced in welcome.

“Not at all,” said Kat as she pulled away from his hug. “It’s just this one here wanted to take a detour through the city.”

“Just monitoring the rebuilding process is all,” said Jack. “I have to hand it to your people, Aedan. They’ve wasted no time in putting things back together.”

Aedan chuckled. “I think you’ll find that Picards don’t like chaos or disorder. We’re a very organized people. It’s just not in the soul of your common Picard to not put himself back together after calamity.”

“I can definitely see that,” said Jack with a laugh, as he then greeted Reina. “Reina, that baby looks very natural in your arms.”

The Carinthian Queen laughed. “He should be. I’ve had my share of babies over the years. Husbands too. Sometimes the best way to treat both is by rocking them against my bosom. Isn’t that right, little Davin?”

The crown prince blinked several times, and Jack could only imagine it was in affirmation of her words.

The five of them were served dinner a short while later as conversation stayed on lighter topics. It was only well after the last plate was taken away that a natural silence developed, allowing Jack the window he needed.

“As always the food was excellent. Many thanks to the both of you,” he said, gesturing to Aedan and Ciara. “But there is one thing we must discuss tonight. Something of rather large importance that we cannot avoid.”

Aedan’s face turned more serious. “What is it, Jack?”

Jack took a deep breath. “As you know, I’m not just the heir to the Galician throne. My entire reason for coming to the West was on behalf of my adoptive country of Java. The place where I grew up, and the place that entrusted me with my naval command. In that way, I’m still answerable to my superiors in the navy, as well as our emperor.”

“It seems a bit odd to still look upon that as a duty now, Jack,” said Reina quietly. “Especially with what you’ve found out about your heritage.”

He nodded. “I know what you mean. Part of me is torn in half between two loyalties. One to a bloodline that holds so much promise, but also one that I know next to nothing about. The other is my adoptive home, where I’ve always been taught to be a loyal son of Java. I haven’t been able to remedy the two although I know that someday I will have to choose.”

Jack cleared his throat. “Either way, that is neither here nor there. I’ve been commanded by my superiors to bring my force home to lift a naval blockade of our homeland.”

Aedan’s mouth fell open. “You’re leaving?”

“Right now, Jack?” added Reina. “Is that really wise?”

Jack held up his hands. “I know, I know. It’s not great timing, but I can’t disobey a direct order.”

“I didn’t realize anybody was in the position to give the Galician King orders,” said Reina with a disappointed look.

Before Jack could speak, Kat came to his defense. “I understand a lot of the conflict Jack has right now. Everything that we know about Galicia, and the Galician King in general, tends to supersede everything else. We know of the awesome power and command that the king is supposed to wield and what his power represents, but Jack only found out about this a little more than a month ago. This strikes at the very root of his identity.” She slipped her hand in his, a comforting touch for the turn in conversation.

“I would think you’d have to figure out which way you’re going to lean and soon, Jack,” said Aedan firmly. “I can’t ally with someone who doesn’t even know who he’s loyal to, no offense. And that leaves open the bigger question of the war in Picardy. We still need your forces to help us win this conflict.”

“No offense taken,” replied Jack quickly. “And that’s a larger portion of what I wish to talk about tonight. It’s not my intent to take all of my forces home and leave Picardy without her allies. We would like to leave a good portion of our army here, to be attached to yours, Aedan.”

“That would surely help us,” replied the Picard King. “But I’d much rather have you here at the command of it, Jack. Are you sure you have to leave?”

Jack nodded reluctantly. “My hope is that we can get going quickly, smash the Occitanian threat to Java, and then be back to finish off the Swabians. I will need to take all my ships with me, but if I leave a portion of my men, their experience will only help us.”

“That’s not to mention that I have two more regiments coming from Carinthia as we speak,” added Reina as she turned her attention to Aedan. “Enough to bolster our forces for the intended push south.”

Aedan nodded. “I have also commanded what’s left of my forces to concentrate outside of Daban. In the south of the country, it’s a mess as far as the army is concerned. With the Swabians occupying the cities, I have entire regiments far behind enemy lines. I’m moving to coordinate them all together up here near Daban so we can make one large push south, but it will take weeks for them to make that journey.”

“Why have the furthest ones come all the way up at all, Aedan?” asked Jack. “Why not leave them in the south as a guerrilla force? One that can raid the Swabians from behind their lines and make quick but devastating strikes on their supply lines.”

Aedan mulled the idea over in his mind for a moment before nodding his head enthusiastically. “That’s not a bad idea, Jack. It would surely buy us some time, especially if the enemy has to worry about what’s behind them and not just in front. I like that idea!”

“Do we have any idea of the strength of the Swabian position in the south?” asked Kat. “What are we even facing down there?”

Aedan was the first to stand. “Come with me. I’ll take you to the war room where I’ll let you know the current situation. We might even find some visitors there at this hour.”

They all followed him out of the room, going several hundred feet down the wing before moving into another long corridor. Finally, Aedan opened a set of large wooden doors to find a smaller study dominated by one large round table and a map of Picardy on the opposite walls. They weren’t alone in entering the room, and three men stood observing the map on the wall.

“Jack and Kat, I believe you already know Admiral Carlos Romero of Carinthia,” said Aedan, gesturing to the hefty admiral on the right hand side of the map. Carlos turned and nodded quickly to the newcomers, before bowing deeply to his queen.

“And these other men are the commanders of all my forces in Daban,” said Aedan, gesturing to the one man, who had wild red hair and freckles to match. “This one has also been newly-promoted. Please meet General Neil Fagan of the army.”

Neil reached out his hand to all of them, and Jack recognized the man from the day of the battle. “Congratulations on your promotion, General,” said Jack. “How’s the wound?”

Neil placed a hand over his torso, where he’d been shot in the battle. “Healing nicely, thank the gods. I thought I was a goner for a moment.”

“As did I,” said Jack with a chuckle. “Glad to see you’re on your feet again.”

The last man in the room Jack also recognized.

“Jack, I believe you have also met my naval commander, Rear Admiral Sean McNally,” said Aedan, offering his hand to the last man in the room. Jack recognized him instantly as the one that ordered him to leave Daban the first time around.

“Under better circumstances than the last time, that’s for sure,” said Jack as he greeted the admiral. “Good to see you again, Admiral.”

“And you as well, Your Majesty,” said Sean. “Our king has briefed us on your pedigree. My apologies about our first interaction.”