Chapter 6: Reunion

*****

Jack awoke two mornings later in a considerable amount of pain. The first thing he did upon stirring from the infirmary bed was clutch at the bandage across his chest, where a throbbing pain made him grimace in agony. The deep wound left by Daimanos would need time to heal even though Jack wished that he could soon be out of the infirmary and back in his own quarters.

Sitting upright in bed, Jack grabbed the top of the bandage and gently pulled it from his skin. The angry, red gash waited just underneath, crusted in blood and needing another dressing.

“Kendall,” Jack muttered while trying to get the attention of the ship’s doctor.

In a few moments, the middle-aged doctor came gliding over to his bedside.

“Good morning, Commander,” said Kendall cheerily. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Not much better,” said Jack while gesturing to his chest. “I’m bleeding through the bandage again.”

Kendall nodded. “With how deep that cut is, it's not really surprising. Let me take a look.”

Kendall reached around Jack's chest and undid the bandage, pulling it away at once and tossing the crumbled remains into the trash. Fully exposed to the air, the wound looked a lot worse compared to the small peek he had seen from under the bandage. Damn near crossing his entire chest, Jack still marveled at the fact he was alive from such a blow.

“That’s going to leave one hell of a scar,” said Kendall with a grin. “You’ll have to fight the women off of you when we get back home.”

Jack chuckled, immediately remembering the two women on board that he had recently been intimate with. If anything, he could do with less drama concerning women. “Is there anything you can do to make them less willing to fight about me?” he asked. “I’ve had enough of that for a while.”

“Oh, we have means to do that too,” said Kendall with a ready smirk. “Just a certain snip-snip and all your female attention evaporates.” Kendall made the snipping motion with his fingers.

Jack instinctively grabbed his manhood and shook his head. “I’ll pass on that. I’ll just continue to suffer in private.”

Kendall laughed heartily. “I thought you’d see it my way. Anyway, as nasty as your wound looks, it's healing. There was much less bleeding last night as compared to the first. The wound looks clean and doesn’t show any signs of being infected. I’d say you’re on the right track.”

“How much longer am I going to be constrained in this bed? My crew needs me back on the bridge,” said Jack.

Kendall pursed his lips while his eyes rolled up in thought. “Soon enough, Jack. You can’t rush these things. Your body needs time to heal. If I let you go up now, you’re far more likely to bleed through your uniform and then pass out just from being on your feet too long. And that wouldn’t be a good sight for the crew, would it?”

“I could always remain seated on the bridge. They do have a chair for me up there,” said Jack under his breath.

“What the crew wants more than anything is for their commander to make a healthy recovery. And that means staying in bed until I tell you that you can go,” said Kendall in a firmer tone.

“All right, all right, you win,” said Jack while throwing up his hands. “Will you at least let me conduct some meetings down here? I can still give orders even though I’m bedside.”

Kendall nodded reluctantly. “I suppose that’ll be okay. You really don’t take any time off, do you? You almost died and you’re itching to get back to work?”

Jack thought about the question for a moment before responding. While his mind agreed with the doctor’s statement, his body sang a different tune and begged for rest.

He knew that he needed the time to recover, but Jack was also very aware of the fact that the world wouldn’t wait for him to be fully healed. Every moment that he spent on his back was another that gave the edge to the Occitanians. His enemies weren’t going to take a break just because he wasn’t at full capacity, and that ever present reminder steeled his resolve and made sure he kept pushing forward to leave the infirmary.

When Kendall noticed he hadn't replied, the doctor began to chuckle lightly. “You don’t have to respond, you know. I understand what it’s like to be in a leadership position and feeling like you must lead by example. I can’t keep you down here against your will, but I beg of you to take it easy until you are feeling better.

Jack let out a relieved smile. “I promise I won’t do anything stupid, and I won’t leave just yet if you don’t think it’s a good idea. But I will get out of this bed at my first opportunity.”

“I figured as much,” said Kendall with a laugh. “Here, take this for the pain.” The doctor handed over a few pills and a glass of water. Jack took them eagerly and downed them in one swoop. “That should help you for the next few hours. You’ll be due for another dose by noon.”

“Thanks, doc,” said Jack gratefully as he handed over the now empty glass of water.

Kendall grinned and then nodded to the door. “It looks like you already have your first visitor.”

Jack craned his neck toward the door and saw Anna waiting near the door. She carried with her a small tray of food, no doubt brought from one of the mess kitchens. Jack perked up instantly at seeing her face, but the look on hers was still one of reserve as she approached his bedside.

“Good morning,” Jack called out to her, waiting to see that innocent smile that she was so famous for. He was let down when she only gave him a small one before her lips returned to their normal positions. She set the food down by his bedside and straightened up.

“I figured you might be hungry,” said Anna while avoiding his eyes.

“Famished,” said Jack. “And it looks like you brought me the best our kitchens have to offer.” He meant his words seriously. While the fare had never been that great for a warship, the offering of oatmeal and fresh fruit on his plate was a considerable upgrade than what he normally expected.”

“The fruit came from Heron. It was brought in all the way from West Sorella last night. I guess fresh fruit is valued rather highly right now with most of their lands being so devastated,” said Anna. “He figured you might enjoy something different for a change.”

“I’m really liking our new allies already,” said Jack with a chuckle. He grabbed the fruit, a banana, and began to peel it. Ripping off a piece from the top, he popped it into his mouth. “Now that’s really good. Here, try a piece.” He split off a piece and handed it to her.

Anna looked down at the banana and quickly shook her head. “No, that’s okay. I should get back to the bridge.”

The smile slipped from Jack's face. "Already? You only just arrived."

She nodded slowly. "I have a ton of work to do. There's plenty to keep my attention." With that, she turned to leave.

Jack reached out and grabbed her hand. "Surely they won't miss you for a few minutes at least? Stay here with me. Talk to me."

Anna flinched at his touch, and her eyes locked on his for the first time that morning. Whereas there had normally been a warmth to her gaze before, Jack was surprised by the distant glare he received instead.

"What's wrong?" he asked as his expression turned to concern.

Anna shook her head lightly. "Nothing at all. I need to get going now, Jack."

"Would you actually tell me if something was wrong? You don't seem like yourself this morning," said Jack in a quieter tone. Anna wasn't one to wear her emotions on her sleeve, but he had spent enough time with her to know when something was wrong. It was equally suspicious to see her not in a flirtatious mood for once.

She pulled away from his grasp and walked toward the door. Before she left, she turned to face him and crossed her arms in front of her jacket. "I'm fine, Jack. But I need to get back to the bridge."

Jack's face filled with more confusion at her tone and the finality of the moment. Even though Anna wouldn't admit to something bothering her, Jack wasn't so easily fooled. Yet, the woman clearly didn't want to talk about it, or perhaps talk about it with him, so he would have to leave it where it was.

"Well, thank you for breakfast at least," said Jack. "I appreciate you coming down here and thinking of me." Jack put on a hopeful smile as if seeing him wearing one might bring one to her own face.

It backfired tremendously. Anna put her hand to her mouth and looked to be on the verge of tears. "Bye, Jack," she squeaked as her voice cracked. She turned and fled shortly after.

"Anna, wait!" Jack leaned up in bed but quickly laid back down as a shot of pain ripped through his entire torso. He grimaced and grit his teeth at the sensation and cursed his stupidity for engaging in melee combat over some simple taunting. Worst of all, he hated to see Anna in this position, so clearly upset at something involving him.

At that moment, Kendall came back over and noticed the new tray of food. "She brought you breakfast, I see. That one seems like a keeper." The doctor winked at him and continued on with his work.

If only I could figure out what's bothering her, thought Jack.

He spent the next few minutes eating in silence and enjoying his breakfast. The fresh fruit really was incredible, and he savored the banana for as long as he could before moving on to the oatmeal. Jack had just about finished the bowl when another visitor arrived at the infirmary.

"Ah, good, you're awake," said his longtime lieutenant, "Twitch" Buckner.

"Morning, Twitch," called out Jack before his eyes flickered to his watch. "Right on schedule."

Twitch reached the bed and handed him a copy of the morning report. He had worked out a plan with the lieutenant that copies of the normal report would be brought to him each morning for review. Although still technically in charge of the task force, Abigail was functioning as his second-in-command while he was confined to the infirmary. He hated to give up the reins of control so easily though and thankfully, she was eager to have him still in de facto control.

"Quiet night it seems," said Twitch while leaning against the bed. "Even the patrols reported no activity out there."

"That does seem quiet," said Jack. "Perhaps what's left of Daimanos' forces have slowly melted away."

"Heron is still getting reports of brigands but nothing major," said Twitch. "The road actually seems clear all the way to East Sorella."

"We should get going there soon enough," said Jack. "There's a power vacuum right now with the death of Daimanos. If Heron doesn't move quickly, another usurping king just might arrive to take his place."

"Do you really think it would come to that?"

Jack shrugged, albeit painfully. "Who knows? I wouldn't think so with the civil war this island just faced but people are people. If someone sees an opening for power, they'll usually take it."

Twitch began to chuckle. "You're sounding like quite the politician now."

Jack smiled. "Maybe I've just been commanding people for too long."

Twitch's eyes rolled up in amusement. "No comment on that."

"You'd better not have a comment on that, or you can find yourself a new officer," said Jack with some humor in his voice.

"You know I can only make you mad during times like these? When you can't do much about it," said Twitch while pointing to the hospital bed.

"Better enjoy it while it lasts," mumbled Jack.

"Oh, I intend to!"

"Any issues I need to know about? Is all well with the rest of the ships?" asked Jack, bringing the topic back around.

"From what I can see. All three ships still need repairs but I'm not sure when we'll be back in West Sorella to make use of the dry docks, or if they'll even have what we need to do the repairs."

Jack nodded. "That reminds me. Will you get a message out to Commodore Lucas? I want him to send a supply ship to meet us back in West Sorella as well as send any engineers that he can spare. If we have the raw materials and the know-how, then we can do a lot of the repair work ourselves with extra help from their engineers. Their technology isn't so far behind our own that we can't make use of it."

Twitch gave him a funny look. "What about the damaged turret on the Valiant? Those guns were completely destroyed."

"If we can get the barrels from Quiller's Cove, then we can fit them ourselves. It's a big if whether they'll have them, but it'll save us having to go back to Java for a refit," said Jack.

Twitch nodded eagerly. "Good idea. I'll get a message out this morning. Anything else you want to tell the Commodore?"

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, if he wants to send us any more ships, I'd appreciate it," he added dryly.

"I'll be sure to put that in there," said Twitch with a chuckle. "I take it we'll wait the next several weeks in West Sorella then? Or are we going to explore another island?"

"I haven't decided yet but I'm leaning toward staying around West Sorella. Especially with all the ships being damaged and the war looming," said Jack. "I don't really want to go looking for trouble until the ships are patched up again."

"I'll let the Commodore know," said Twitch before turning to leave. "Will you be back on the bridge any time soon?"

Jack thumbed his finger over to the doctor. "As soon as this one lets me leave."

"Good luck," said Twitch with a chuckle and soon he slipped past the door frame.

*****

Jack spent most of that day resting in the infirmary but felt fidgety the entire time. Too many days had passed since the battle, and he was tired of being locked away from the rest of his crew. It was for that reason that after dinner, he managed to talk a very hesitant Dr. Kendall into allowing him to get out of bed and pay a visit to the West Sorellan king.

Jack grinned as his mind lingered on the word hesitant since he practically had to pull rank on the doctor to allow him to leave his bed but it needed to be done. As soon as he'd stepped out of the infirmary, it was like getting a burst of new energy. His wounds had never stopped healing, but it felt promising to resume some normality after so many days without.

Soon enough, Jack found himself outside the king's quarters while the sun was just starting to set. Giving the door a firm rap, he awaited Heron's response.

The door flung open immediately. "Jack! What are you doing out of bed?"

Jack chuckled. "I wanted to come chat with you. I was hoping you wouldn't be too busy. Are you in the middle of anything?"

Heron shook his head and moved away from the door. "Not at all. Come in and have a seat!"

Jack sat down in a spare chair in front of the king's desk. Jack was familiar with these quarters as it was just a spare officers' room that they had allocated to the king of West Sorella. Only large enough for a single bed, desk, pair of chairs, and a dresser, it was quite a tight fit for anyone bearing the title of king, but if Heron had any complaints about it, he kept them to himself.

The king sat down at his desk across from Jack. "How are you feeling today? Any better?"

"Better than yesterday, I suppose," answered Jack. "Although I don't think that's much of an improvement."

"Assuming that you heal, remind me to set you up with someone who can teach you how to handle a sword when we get back to my city," said the king with a chuckle. "That is, if you plan to get into any more hand-to-hand fights moving forward."

"I think I'll pass on that," said Jack with a laugh. "This one experience was enough to last a lifetime."

Heron nodded while a solemn look filled his face. "You know, it's funny. I should be happy that Daimanos is dead. He's caused so much trouble to our homeland, killed so many people, including my own family members, and nearly caused our total destruction, but part of me regrets that he had to die. It might be the loss of someone who was blood, but I don't know for certain. Sometimes I wonder if he could've been saved."

"I doubt a man like Daimanos could've been saved," said Jack. "He was full of pride, arrogance, and hostility. I've never really seen anyone with that combination have a natural death."

"They do say pride cometh before the fall," said Heron with a weary smile. "There's a reason why that saying has stayed around for so many years. Daimanos was a perfect example of it."

"That he was," agreed Jack.

"Still though. He was my brother. He was still the son of a king of Sorella. I can't find much happiness in his death."

"That's understandable, Heron. Perhaps another way to look at it is to fill that with satisfaction that so many more people will now get to live because he's gone. Not to mention, you're helping the memory of those that have died at his hand. How many deaths was Daimanos responsible for? Thousands?"

Heron shivered. "Easily. It reminds me that I need to do a census now that the war is over. We need to see how many of us are left. I almost dread finding out the actual numbers."

"Maybe it's a chance for rebirth though," said Jack. "Maybe with him gone, you can create a new Sorella. A better Sorella."

"If we are working toward creating a new Sorella, I'd first like to drop this old West/East garbage," said Heron with a rueful look. "When I was growing up, there was only Sorella. It should be like that once more."

Jack chuckled. "We're already making changes. From now on, it'll just be Sorella. The island is yours once more."

"And not a moment too soon at that. Although there is still much to be done," added Heron. "We sit as victors on the battlefield but now I must shift from general back to king. Sometimes I think I've had to wear the general cap too long that I'll forget what it means to be king."

"The people will remind you what they need," said Jack. "And the people of Sorella need their king more than ever right now. You're going to be the one to pick up the pieces and put this island back together. They'll look to you to lead by example."

Heron leaned back in his chair. "Might I ask you, Jack—what would you do if you were in my shoes? What would be your first action as king?"

Jack sat back and thought about his answer for a moment. It wasn't something that he could respond to easily, and the look on Heron's face told him that the king was genuinely looking for answers instead of making idle conversation.

"I know what I'd do first," said Jack finally before leaning forward. "I'd go over to Daimanos' capitol and show them the war is over. Letting them see you in person and learning the truth of their former king's death will help them process the war being over."

"And show them there is still a king in Sorella. Even if it is their former king from before Daimanos took over," said Heron.

Jack nodded. "More importantly, you'll have to show that the time for reprisals and revenge is over. The civil war is finished. Sure, there may be some forces to mop up. I'm sure we haven't totally destroyed Daimanos' army, and there's going to be some cleanup actions before the island is totally secure. But the people will want to know that the killing is done with. That you're there to rebuild what's been shattered."

"In so doing that, regain their trust and have a chance to earn their respect," interrupted Heron while rubbing at his chin.

"Exactly," said Jack. "Besides, from what I saw of East Sorella, those people are in worse shape than your own."

Heron's face filled with confusion. "What do you mean? How is that possible?"

"I think Daimanos hoarded all the money and the food, especially when both became scarce during the war. You'll understand what I mean when we get there and see the palace that he'd built for himself."

"Nikias told me all about that already," said Heron with a look of disgust. "I didn't know that the food situation was that bad over there."

"Wait until you see the common people," warned Jack. "Most of them would fall over if the breeze was strong enough."

"We'll need to get those people fed and cared for immediately," said Heron. "While we have little in stocks of food, I can disband a good portion of the army now that the fighting is over. That should help with the problem of feeding all those soldiers and allow those men to get back to their fields."

"It's probably going to be lean for a while until you can get a harvest in," said Jack. "But you should eventually be able to catch up. If you like, I can see if we have any extra grain at our base in Quiller's Cove and send it with my supply ships."

Heron smiled eagerly. "If you can, that would be terrific. I'll take any aid we can get until we can get our feet back firmly on the ground."

"Consider it done," said Jack with a nod. "It'll take a few weeks for them to get out here but it'll definitely help."

"I appreciate that, ally," said Heron with an amused grin. "It looks like Nikias was right in his initial assessment of you. You have really returned balance to our homeland."

"You mean, he didn't scare the shit out of you when he told you I signed an alliance with Daimanos?" asked Jack with a laugh.

Heron chuckled as well. "I'll admit, I was initially a little hesitant but the thing with Daimanos is that he is usually his own worst enemy. You've seen enough of his personality—he's abrasive, abusive, and downright cruel. You don't attract good people to that kind of leader."

"There were some warning signs from the start," said Jack, remembering the first night and the banquet. "He seemed to have an answer for everything. He seemed to be trying a bit too hard to portray a polished exterior. I'm ashamed to say I was blinded by his single-mindedness."

"That was one thing our father always tried to get out of him. That kind of ostentatiousness isn't good for a general, much less a king. He always tried to do it through humility as if learning that he wasn't all-powerful would eventually let him become a more normal person," said Heron. "It never worked. If anything, I think it worsened the situation. Towards the end of our father's life, there was an intense hatred on the part of Daimanos toward our father. I feel like that hatred is what caused this whole mess"

"Thankfully for everyone, Daimanos is dead now," said Jack. "All that suffering is over."

"Almost over," said Heron with a shiver. "Except for those poor souls still recovering from that terrible fire."

"About that, I've been meaning to ask you more about that fire. You seemed well-familiar with it when we talked earlier, but I've never seen anything like it in my past experiences or through studies. What was it exactly?" asked Jack, remembering the explosion that launched the globs of fire all over the fort.

"That is a particularly nasty weapon that I'm surprised he resorted to," said Heron. "Father always said to only use it as a last resort to stave off ultimate defeat. Although, I shouldn't be surprised that Daimanos acted on his own accord with it."

"Nasty is quite right," said Jack. "It stuck to everything it landed on. And it couldn't be extinguished. I saw one man run out into the ocean and he still couldn't get it out."

"That's part of the recipe for it. When I was a boy, Sorella was fighting a war against a much greater opponent, an empire who was determined to conquer the island. They had great, wooden ships more advanced than ours and quickly swept our navy from the seas," said Heron. "Being that they were wooden, we tried to shoot some incendiary projectiles at them to light their ships on fire, but it was rather ineffective. For one, it burned too weakly and was easily put out. Half the time, it wouldn't even cause a spark."

"The other issue was that with so much water, it was easily extinguished. The enemy ships would keep enough water on the decks to easily counter the weapon so it was rather ineffective for our part. For a while, it looked like Sorella might be conquered."

"So what changed? How did you make it more effective?"

"One of our engineers figured out that if he added a local component called naphtha to the fire, it burned much hotter, longer, and proved all but impossible to extinguish. Naphtha is in plentiful supply on the island so we modified our projectiles to include an extra chamber for naphtha, and then we tested it on the enemy ships. The results exceeded our expectations quite handily."

"That good, huh? I saw what quick work it made of Daimanos' fort," said Jack.

"You should see it launched against wooden ships," said Heron with a solemn look. "You've never seen such an inferno in your entire life. Once it lands, it'll burn continuously, even directly on the water. We launched it against the entire enemy fleet of over fifty ships. Those that were struck immediately burned rapidly until the entire crews were killed and the ship sunk. Those that weren't hit right away suffered a worse fate. They had to wait until their oxygen was sucked off from all the fire. It turned the entire area into total carnage. I still remember the sounds of their screams."

"I imagine they were the same screams we heard just a few days ago," added Jack. "I can't think of a worse way to die."

"Despite the method, it did work. The empire retreated, and we were never attacked again," said Heron. "Father commanded that we keep stores of this weapon, which we now called Sorellan fire. It was to be our ultimate deterrent weapon, and it has largely worked. Sorella hasn't been attacked by an outside power since that last event."

"Is it easy to make?" asked Jack. "You mentioned that this naphtha is in good supply on your island. What about the rest of the recipe?"

"It's not hard at all," said Heron with a quick head shake. "All you need is naphtha and oil. You need to make your projectile with two separate compartments for them both and let the force of the explosion merge them together. As a precaution we light a fuse to them before we fire them. Once it's launched, the fire will catch up to the oil and set the whole thing aflame. Then when it hits, the entire mixture will combine to catch fire."

"That's a surprisingly easy recipe for such a powerful weapon."

Heron nodded. "The naphtha is the key. Without it, the whole thing falls apart."

"Do you keep stores of the weapon?"

"I have enough storage of it in our armory back in my capitol," said Heron. "It would've stayed there in the event of my death as well. Despite several of my generals wanting to use it against Daimanos, I could never have authorized that against my own people. There's no power on earth that's worth the mark that would leave on your soul."

"These people are lucky to have you as their king, Heron," said Jack. "You're a wise man, and you care for them deeply. It is to their great fortune that they don't have to suffer Daimanos as their king any longer."

Heron smiled weakly. "I've made my share of mistakes. Too many mistakes. I just hope that we're able to start over. You've given this island a second chance, and I intend to take full advantage of it." Heron pulled out two cups and filled them with water, passing one over to Jack.

Jack drank eagerly and then set his cup back down. "One thing still bothers me. Something that I can't quite figure out."

"Well tell it to me and let's see if we can solve the mystery," said Heron with a light chuckle.

"Daimanos was so intent on seeing our technology. It was all that he talked about during our initial meeting and at our later banquet. What I don't understand is why he attacked us. He opened fire on the Valiant and tried to board her to capture the vessel. He hoped to have us wipe out your men before falling on us to wipe the rest out. If he wanted our technology so much, then why did he betray us?"

Heron took another drink before answering the question. "I'm not sure I have the full answer for you, Jack. There aren't many men who understood how my brother's mind worked. But if I had to take a guess, he felt threatened by the technology. He knew you had the ability to destroy him, so he wanted to destroy you before you could turn on him."

"Yet it was his eagerness to betray us that turned our hand. If he hadn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now," said Jack with a smile.

Heron rubbed his chin. "How much did he pester you about seeing some of your technology in action?"

"It was damn near every other sentence," answered Jack. "I told him to wait until the battle was over and then we could talk about it."

Heron snapped his fingers. "Your usefulness to Daimanos evaporated at that moment. The second you denied him, even if it was just temporary, was the second he set his sights against you. He was one of the most insecure men I've ever known. I think it's a large reason why he was never able to marry. He would go into a rage if any woman he was courting so much as looked at another man. Once that happened, he would discard her quickly. In his mind, you had already betrayed him."

"So you're saying because I didn't immediately give in, he took that as a violation of our alliance?" asked Jack.

"No one can say for certain now, but that would be my guess," said Heron. "My brother's behavior was predictable. Erratic, yes, but predictable. It was probably for that reason that he decided to separate you from your ships and then put a good portion of your people on shore. Divide and conquer."

"I can't say it's not a good plan," said Jack. "It nearly worked. It's hard to imagine someone so deranged that they could contemplate betraying a brand-new alliance."

Heron shrugged. "Deranged was a good word to describe him overall. I have to wonder if he damaged any of the relationships with our neighbors nearby. I haven't seen any trading ships in months. Visitors to Sorella have been few and far between. When Daimanos gained the upper hand in the conflict, most of my embassies were sent home and then he sent his own. Now that the war is over, we'll have to try to reestablish diplomatic relations."

Jack perked up. "Speaking of diplomatic relations, I'm hoping to ask for your help in that regard."

"You want to set up your own embassy?" asked Heron with an amused look.

Jack chuckled. "Not yet, but I think this request will be simpler to fulfill. Most of this part of the world hasn't been explored by our peoples. For that reason, we don't have much knowledge of the lands or the peoples contained within. When I started this mission, I had an extremely crude map that has already proven to be outdated. I received another map from Lishkerra when I stopped there."

Heron sat up straight and interrupted him. "You were at Lishkerra? And you're still alive to talk about it?"

Jack smiled. "Yeah, that's right. We're considered friends of the Lishkerrans now, although that is the best we could do. We were looking for an alliance."

Heron kept staring at him with a blank look. "You do realize the Lishkerrans kill all humans who land on their island, right?"

Jack started to chuckle before he could reply. "We realized it after they attacked us, but we were able to get to their elder council and turn things around. Long story short, I can count on a warm reception at Lishkerra moving forward."

"Hmm, well one day you'll have to tell me more about this long story," said Heron with a confused look.

Jack grinned and then took another sip of water. The full details of that story would wait for another time as they were still cause for some embarrassment. Especially as he remembered the sight of the maiden girls with their already pregnant stomachs.

"One day I will," confirmed Jack. "Anyway, the map we received in Lishkerra just had your island on it, as well as two to the east of here. I know one has some great fire-breathing beasts on it—"

"Yes, those are dragons," interrupted Heron. "You must avoid that island at all costs."

"I also heard the other island is full of slavers. Not great people either," said Jack.

Heron nodded. "That would be the Andalucians. You're right about them not being great people. They are particularly clannish in their behavior. They usually don't have one overarching leader, but they have several clan chiefs who are almost always at war with each other. Each clan has their own warriors and their own slaves. The slaves man the fields and the mines and keep their society going."

"Where do they get the slaves? Are they homegrown or do they take them from other peoples?" asked Jack.

"A mix of both. The majority of them are homegrown, a subclass of peoples who have always been slaves there and will always be. Their look is quite different from that of the Andalucian clans and that reinforces the slavery aspect for them. There's also another factor where any unscrupulous merchant can sell people as slaves to the Andalucians. They don't care where the slaves come from as there is always a high need for them. Working those mines in particular is practically a death sentence."

"So we'll want to make sure we stay away from both of those lands," said Jack with a nod. "But that's about all of my knowledge of the Vector. What other lands are nearby? Are there many? Is this area still rather remote?"

"Not quite," said Heron while rummaging through his desk. "I do have a map but it's back in my city or else I'd show you. Here, let me sketch what I know."

Heron grabbed a piece of paper from the desk as well as a pen. He began by sketching three islands and pointed to the westernmost island. "This is Sorella, of course. This next island in the middle is Andalucia. Lastly, this easternmost island is the land of the dragons."

Heron then drew two smaller islands right above Andalucia. "There are good peoples that live on both of these islands. One is mostly traders while the other is filled with mostly farmers. Either way, safe to land for the most part."

Next, Heron sketched out two much larger islands, dwarfing everything else that Jack had seen in the Vector so far. These islands were just off to the northwest of Sorella across a narrow channel of water. "Now, do you remember my story of when we were attacked by an empire when I was a boy and we dispersed them with the Sorellan fire? This is that empire. This is Swabia. They are a rising power in the Vector and have been for the last several hundred years. I'd advise you not to go there, personally."

"Why is that?" asked Jack.

"If you thought my brother was bad, you've seen nothing compared to the Swabians," warned Heron. "They have a nasty reputation throughout this portion of the world. They are aggressive, perfidious, and cruel people overall. They have been expanding their empire ruthlessly at the expense of all of their neighbors. I'm also sure they won't take kindly to you seeing as you are now allied to us. The Swabian Emperor has a long memory and I'm sure he hasn't forgotten the bloody nose we gave him decades ago."

"That almost reminds me of my own home country," said Jack with a grim smile. "You almost described the Javan Empire."

Heron sat back further in his chair. "Now that I just can't see. I can tell you're a good man, Jack. You don't give me the impression of being cut from the same stalk as these Swabians."

"Perhaps it's a good thing you haven't met our emperor yet," said Jack with a knowing look. "He can be just as bloodthirsty as how you described the Swabians."

"Well then, perhaps it's a good thing that you're on our side," said Heron with a chuckle. "Swabia has swallowed up a good portion of the Vector. There are a lot of peoples to the north of here that remain free, small islands like Sorella. The Apulians are perfectly content to stay isolated. The Carinthians do nothing but squabble amongst themselves and the Nax have only recently been conquered. Of course, the Picards still fight them when they can and the Galicians have been in decline for years so they haven't been much help."

Jack sat up straighter upon hearing the word Galicians. His memory flashed back to their time in Lishkerra when both Numa and Vigo thought he was one of them instead of Javan. A question began to form in his mind, one that he needed an answer for.

Jack leaned forward. "Who are these Galicians, Heron? Tell me about them?"

Heron's eyes rolled up in thought. "That's quite the heartbreaking story, unfortunately. A real tragedy concerning those people and their recent history. Are you sure you want the whole story?" Jack nodded eagerly in response.

"Very well then," said Heron with a sigh. "The Kingdom of Galicia goes back over two thousand years. It all started on the island of Galicia, one of the western islands of what you easterners call the Fourth Vector. The country started small but expanded quickly through a series of dynastic marriages until they occupied a large footprint of islands in their sector of the world."

"Conquest by marriage then?" asked Jack. "Not by sword?"

Heron nodded. "For the most part. Not that the Galicians were pacifists. They were some of the fiercest warriors in this part of the world by far, but they expanded peacefully and generally didn't cause the same issues of destruction like the Swabians, or my brother for that matter."

"So what happened from there? Where does the story turn?"

Heron pursed his lips. "To answer that question, we need to look at the Galician royal family. Or rather, look through the history books because they no longer exist. A real shame about that as well for the Galician king was generally a force of reason and good in the world. He long kept the Swabians in check and provided overlordship of the entire Vector. To this day, they remain the best sailors anywhere in the world."

"What happened to him? Did he die in battle?"

Heron shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. Most say it was poison while there are some out there that say it was just pure bad luck, but the line just happened to die out. It all started with the last true king, Robert III. Galician power was at its maximum at that point but a series of unfortunate events to that family brought it down as low as it could go."

"You see, Robert's wife, Elizabeth, was pregnant at the time. Up until that point, she had been relatively healthy but for no reason, her health started to decline. She became sickly, weak, and frail. It wasn't hard to see that her body would never last through the rigors of childbirth and that's precisely what happened. Both her and the child, a boy, were lost during the birth."

"Was he the only heir?" asked Jack.

"No, that's part of the oddity surrounding the event. The king had an elder son already, Richard, another seemingly healthy lad. He started to come down with the same symptoms of his mother, the queen. It wasn't much more than a few months later that he died as well, after just having a mere cold."

Jack nodded. "So the king lost both of his heirs and his queen in short succession. That must have been horrible."

"Normally, they would've looked for another wife for the king—as a way to keep the royal bloodline going. Alas, time was working against him. Not long after his son died, they found Robert III dead in his own bed. A healthy man of only forty years and dead for no reason."

"I see why they suspect poison. Or foul play," said Jack. "Did anyone stand to gain from killing them?"

Heron shrugged. "Maybe the Swabians, who always were at odds with the Galicians. But the Galicians were generally a good people. Fair traders, brave soldiers, good folk at heart. Beautiful people as well. Known for their blonde hair and blue eyes, they're still to this day some of the fairest people in the entire world."

Heron leaned closer and gestured to Jack's hair. "In fact, it rather looks like you might be of some Galician ancestry yourself. You don't see blonde hair too often in the world and more often than not, it points to some Galician heritage."

"You're now the third person to tell me this since I arrived," said Jack while running his fingers through his hair. "But I'm afraid you're wrong on that. My ancestry is deeply Javan and goes back centuries and that's just what we know of."

Heron shrugged. "If you ever see them, you'll understand why I brought it up. The resemblance is fairly strong. Anyway, no one ever figured out why the royal family was killed off but once the king was gone, that was it. That same family had ruled Galicia for two millennia, and there was no one to replace them."

"Surely they could have just picked another house to rule, right?" asked Jack. "There had to have been other nobles or an aristocracy to choose from?"

"Normally that would be the case," said Heron. "But the Galicians are an odd bunch. Their royal family had traditions going back to their founding with tales and stories about their royals being descended from their gods. In any event, Galicia would have no king if it wasn't from that particular family."

"Is that when they started to go downhill?"

"Exactly. It's almost like the whole people just kind of gave up. I may be exaggerating but that's how it's always looked to an outsider. It's always been said that the Galician people had an extraordinary bond with their king and most people would dismiss that as being fantastical. Yet, it's like the entire moral spirit went out of those people. Their traders started to melt away. They lost their status as overlord of the Vector and began to pull back. Or turn inwards to themselves. They began to fight each other in civil wars. All the while, large chunks of their territory were swallowed up by the reinvigorated Swabians."

"Is it still like that to this day? Still fighting each other?" asked Jack.

Heron spread his hands. "I'm not sure to be honest. We don't get very many Galicians in Sorella anymore, especially since the war. They have somewhat stabilized with the regent however."

Jack's brow furrowed. "Who is the regent?"

"At first, he was an elected leader to run the country in the absence of the king," said Heron. "Over time, it has cemented itself into one dynastic family who passed the leadership of the country from father to son. Well, all except the last regent who tried to give the title off to his daughter. She was quickly deposed and replaced by her cousin. Anyway, the regent rules Galicia now. Some say they just watch over the throne until the true king returns but that's just wishful thinking," said Heron before taking a swig of water. "That line has been destroyed. They'd almost be better off just to choose a new king."

"They sound like interesting people, despite their story," said Jack.

"That they are. I haven't met many Galicians that I didn't like. They're just levelheaded and sensible people all around. The family that holds the regency is just all right though. I met the previous one, but only briefly years ago. A tad bit uninspiring I would say, but you could fairly apply that term to the whole people now," said Heron.

"I would like to meet them eventually," said Jack. "Even if their story is filled with recent tragedy, perhaps there's a lot that we can exchange culturally."

"I'm sure you'll have the chance, no doubt. Especially with word getting around about you and your ships making their way through the Vector," added Heron.

Jack squinted and looked at the king. "You reminded me of something by saying that. When we first met with Daimanos, he mentioned that he had advanced warning of our coming. Well, rather his minister Barak did. Either way, they said a pair of drifters alerted them to our presence, but I never got the chance to ask him further details."

Heron nodded quickly. "Yes, Nikias passed part of that message over as well. I still remember the day I received the message as it's not often we have someone from outside the Vector come to our island. The drifters he spoke of were an older man and young woman but that's about all we know. I know the description is not much, but does that give you any clue of someone you might have run into before?"

Jack sat back in his chair and searched his mind. An older man and a young woman? But from where? There were no other humans in Lishkerra, and that's the only other land they stopped in before arriving in Sorella. There were no outbound ships from Quiller's Cove going to the Vector so who would have known about their arrival early enough to give them advance warning?

"I'm just as baffled by it as anyone else," said Jack finally. "We've met no such people in our travels."

"That is a bit perplexing," said Heron while rubbing his chin. "Perhaps you'll learn more when we get to East Sorella? If the minister Barak is still alive, he might be able to give you some more information. Especially if this duo is up to anything nefarious."

"What could be the point of alerting people to our arrival?" asked Jack out loud. "Especially someone we don't know?"

"That's why I think we should be careful about this, Jack. You never know just what these drifters may be up to," warned Heron.

It gave Jack plenty to think about. Largely the mystery of how they knew about him but for what purpose? He had to wonder just how long they were going to stay one step in front of him. He didn't have long to ponder the question when there was a knock on Heron's door.

"Come in," answered the king.

Lt. Brittany Noble stuck her head in. "There you are, sir," she said while addressing Jack. "Good evening, Your Majesty."

Heron smiled kindly. "Evening, Lieutenant."

"I take it Abigail is looking for me?" asked Jack.

"Yes, sir. Seeing as you made it out of the infirmary, she asked that you stop at her quarters when you have a moment," said Brittany.

"Doesn't she know that I'm still wounded?" asked Jack with a cheeky smile. "And she's asking me to come to her?"

Brittany raised an eyebrow. "With all due respect, sir, she only gave me that order when she personally went to the infirmary and found your bed empty."

"Busted," said a clearly amused Heron.

"It would appear that way," said Jack while trying not to chuckle. "Do you mind if I cut our meeting short?"

"Not at all," said Heron while shaking his head. "It is getting rather late, and you've been here for several hours. A king needs his rest after all."

Jack looked down at his watch to see he'd been in the king's quarters for close to three hours. "How did it get so late already! My apologies for taking up so much of your time, Heron."

"None required—I enjoy your company, Jack," said the king with a warm smile. "Give my best to Abigail as well when you see her."

"Will do. Goodnight, Heron," said Jack as he followed Brittany out the door.

Jack was content to stay a pace or two behind Brittany as he walked the passageway toward Abigail's headquarters. If he expected the entire journey to remain quiet, he was soon surprised when she turned to look at him.

"Well, I for one am happy to see you out of bed and mobile again, sir."

"That makes two of us," added Jack. "I take it Abigail wasn't so pleased to see my bed empty?"

Brittany shook her head firmly. "She had several choice words to say about it."

"Were any of those kind words?" Jack asked while squinting at the lieutenant.

"Not at all, sir."

"We better go see what she needs then," said Jack with a degree of finality.

"Oh no, sir. Not we. You. I'm off duty as soon as I bring you back to her quarters," said Brittany with an amused expression.

"You're just going to ditch me in her quarters? Leave me all alone just like that?" asked Jack playfully.

"You're a grown man. I think you can take it," she said with a wink.

They finally arrived outside Abigail's quarters. Brittany snuck her head in and announced his presence. "I have the Commander for you, ma'am."

"Send him in," came the voice from the other side of the door.

"Good luck," whispered Brittany as she opened the door.

Abigail was waiting for him as soon as he stepped inside. She was leaning against her desk with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Her expression wasn't one of amusement or happiness to see him. Quite the opposite.

"What are you doing out of bed?" she asked as soon as the door was shut behind him.

"Good evening to you too," said Jack as he sat down.

"You didn't answer my question," she said with a stern look.

"For the record, I like you like this. With this edge to your voice and the stern demeanor. It's rather hot," said Jack with a chuckle.

Abigail's arms fell to her sides as her eyes rolled. "Jack, be serious. You know you shouldn't be out of bed, so why did I find yours empty just a little bit ago? You should be resting."

Jack finally decided to be serious. "I know, I know. I was just getting tired of being stuck in there. Besides, I just went to see Heron. I've spent the last few hours picking his brain about the Vector and the peoples within."

Abigail raised an eyebrow. "Did you get some good information?"

"Some of the best," confirmed Jack. "He even drew a map of a good portion of the Vector. From the sounds of it, much more detailed than what the Lishkerrans had. He kept naming different peoples that populate this portion of the world."

Jack watched as her eyes rolled up in thought. Finally, she said, "Well, I'm glad the time was at least productive. That does sound like good knowledge to have."

"So does that mean you won't scold me nearly as hard?"

She hit his arm lightly. "Not in the slightest! Especially not with all of your cheek tonight."

"It's fun to tease you though," said Jack with a chuckle. "That really doesn't get old."

"What does get old really quickly is expecting to find your commanding officer in his bed but finding it empty," she added with a stern look. "You outrank everyone on this ship with the exception of Heron. You could have just sent for them to visit you."

"But if I did that, then I wouldn't be having this lovely conversation with you just now," said Jack while struggling to keep a straight face.

Abigail bit her lip and then swatted at his arm again. "What am I going to do with you, Jack? Just promise me you'll take it easy until you've healed further? And no smartass Jack right now. Be sincere with me."

Jack took a deep breath and looked up at her. "Okay, I promise. Honestly, I just needed a change in scenery. I was going stir-crazy."

She leaned down to look at him more closely. "This crew almost lost their commander once. I almost lost you, Jack. I can't have that happening again, okay?"

He opened his mouth to say something but closed it just as quickly. It was a rare moment of true honesty from her, and he could tell there was something deeper conveyed behind her eyes, something more tender that she would never admit out loud. He could tell his brush with death had deeply affected her and his laissez-faire attitude about healing wasn't doing her any favors.

He reached out to grab her hand and gently squeezed it. "You won't lose me. I promise."

She held his gaze for a second too long before lowering her head to look at the floor. "Thank you, Jack," she said finally.

He smiled at her. "I figured you didn't call for me just to scold me for being out of bed though, right?"

A worried look filled her face. "You're right. Something is bothering me, and I wanted to talk about it with you."

"Something with the ship? Or is this something else?"

Abigail bit her lip. "Something else."

"What is it?"

"It's Anna."

Jack's gaze fixed on her. "I had a feeling you were going to say that."

Abigail took a deep breath. "She knows. About us."

Jack's brow wrinkled. "How did she find out?"

"I'm not sure if she truly has or if she just figured it out on her own based upon her suspicions, but she confronted me about it the other night."

"What did you say?"

"Honestly, Jack, I was caught completely off guard. I couldn't even respond to her or think of an excuse or anything," said Abigail before retreating back behind her desk. "She took my silence as my admission of guilt."

"Well, she's not exactly wrong either," added Jack.

Abigail folded her arms back in front of her chest. "So what do we do now?"

"That's a great question," muttered Jack before running his fingers through his hair. "I knew something was up with her earlier."

"What do you mean?" asked Abigail. "What happened?"

"She brought me breakfast this morning, but she was a little distant. I could tell something was bothering her but she wouldn't admit to anything. It was a little off-putting. As soon as I so much as questioned her about it, she fled the room."

"That sounds like the Anna I know," said Abigail. "She's not much for confrontation."

"She still managed to confront you about it," said Jack.

"That would have been easier for her given that we're family."

Jack shrugged. "I had my own reservations about it as well though. Something that she said to me back when we first arrived in Sorella."

Abigail raised an eyebrow. "What was that, Jack?"

Jack took a deep breath. "We were . . . in bed one morning. And she asked that the next time we go home that I come to meet your parents."

Abigail let out a low whistle. "She's got it for you bad."

"I realize that," said Jack with a sheepish look. "Although, I didn't know she viewed it like this."

"Viewed it like what?"

"I mean, I thought we were just sleeping together," admitted Jack.

Abigail smiled. "Like you and I?"

"Exactly!" Jack leaned forward in his seat. "She never really said anything to make me think otherwise, and she dropped that on me rather suddenly. I was confused."

"You didn't tell her no, did you?" asked Abigail.

Jack shook his head. "Not at all. I just told her we'd see how we felt about it the next time we sailed into our home port."

"Sensible. That's a good answer," said Abigail with a nod.

"It buys me some time, but I don't know if I'll ever get to the same place that she is already," muttered Jack. "I don't know if I feel that strongly about her."

She watched him while he spoke, keeping her eyes trained on him. Jack expected to see anger behind them but there was another emotion. Something different that he couldn't quite make out.

"If you don't feel that strongly about her, then you can't go see our parents," said Abigail finally.

"I know that. It's just how to break that news to Anna," said Jack.

Abigail shrugged. "You're going to have to figure that one out sooner or later. Especially before her feelings get any stronger."

Jack grunted. "I feel like what just happened did some serious damage to that."

"Probably," said Abigail. "I'll have a talk with her eventually. She can't stay cold with us forever."

"And if she does?"

Abigail thought about it for a moment before responding. Finally, she shook her head. "I know my sister. She'll be upset for a while before she finds someone else's bed to slip into. Once that happens, she'll be fine."

"Funny, that's exactly how all this started," said Jack with a chuckle.

Abigail started to laugh. "Somehow I'm not surprised. That seems to be her signature move."

Once he was done laughing, Jack took on a more serious look. "I do want what's best for her. She's a great girl even though I know something deeper isn't in the cards for us."

Abigail smiled. "For what it's worth, I'll be glad when it's over between you two as well."

"Oh? So you can have me back to yourself again?"

Abigail crumpled up a piece of paper and threw it at him.

"I guess that's my answer," said Jack with a chuckle.

"I just think things were always going to be awkward between all of us if it continued, you know? I don't want to walk on eggshells around her. As inconvenient as it was to have her confront me, I'm glad it happened. It was going to come out sooner or later."

Jack nodded slowly. "Maybe now things can go back to normal."

Abigail smiled. "Hopefully."

"Thank you, by the way."

"For what?"

"For not kicking my ass for that conversation. Most siblings wouldn't have taken that conversation so well."

Abigail giggled. "What, about wanting to break up with her? Who says I'm not secretly thrilled?"

Jack arched an eyebrow. "Oh, are you?"

"That's the thing about the word secretly, Jack. It means you'll never know," said Abigail with a wink.

"I'm glad I'm not on your bad side at least. I think you would make it a lot harder on me."

Abigail started to laugh. "And don't you forget it!"

Jack turned to leave and moved closer to the door. Before he left, he turned toward her one more time. "Do you ever regret what happened between us? That first night in Quiller's Cove?"

Her gaze rose to meet his, locking in place. "Not at all, Jack. I enjoyed our night together thoroughly."

Jack grinned. "Me too."

"I just hope that for Anna's sake we can navigate through this little bump in the road without anyone getting hurt too bad. She's still my sister, and I hate to see her hurting."

"I'm sure there are some officers we could introduce her to after this all blows over," added Jack. "To help her forget about me."

Abigail started to laugh once more. "You really think that will help? You're going to have hard shoes to fill. Our dashing and brave commander who just so happens to be so attentive in bed. She's not liable to forget that anytime soon."

"Attentive, huh? Glad I could satisfy," said Jack with a chuckle.

Abigail rolled her eyes and then looked back to him. "Jack?"

"Yes?"

"Goodnight!" Abigail pointed to the door before she had to contain her laughter. Jack grinned sheepishly and then slipped out of her quarters, feeling better about the situation with Anna. Just knowing that Abigail wouldn't hate him was a big start. He surprised himself that the first thought of breaking up with Anna had been to question what her sister might think of him. Shouldn't he have been more concerned about Anna? As he slipped back into his hospital bed and rubbed his eyes, Jack wondered if it meant anything might change about their relationship.

Once Anna had moved on, would Abigail be open to rekindling their night of pleasure?