The Adventurous Ero Path of a Sailor

"Why would the Occitanians be this far west? They have no bases out here, and we are over three weeks out from the mainland," said Jack.

Luke stepped closer and whispered, "I think they're looking for a fight, Jack."

Jack pursed his lips and turned his attention back to the horizon. Occitanian warships in the vicinity would be enough to make any commander jumpy. The best thing about the Occitanian Confederacy was their formidable navy. An island empire, they had the best warships in the world.

"How long have they been there?"

"The lookouts spotted them about forty minutes ago. By the time that word got back to the bridge, we spotted Occitanian markings on the hull. It's a stretch at this distance but we're positive it's them," said Lt. Cross.

"Do we know what type of ship it is? Any chance it's something small like a squadron of destroyers or something?"

Luke shook his head. "They look like cruisers sir. Heavies."

Jack paled quickly. An Occitanian heavy cruiser would be able to make short work of the Valiant, a much lighter cruiser. Even the second ship in their squadron, the destroyer Tiger, was much smaller than the Valiant and wouldn't stand a chance.

"Have we established their course and speed?" Jack asked.

It was Lt. Star's turn to speak up. "Negative on the speed sir. Their course seems to be west northwest though."

Just like ours, thought Jack. If they were truly following him, it wouldn't be much of a stretch for them to open fire. With the state of the current tensions between the Occitanians and his home country of the Javan Empire, war was certainly on the horizon. Any spark, like a skirmish on the high seas, could start a war in earnest.

"Why don't we fire a few warning salvos, sir? Show them that we aren't to be trifled with." Luke took his hand and smacked into the other one.

Jack quickly shook his head. "No. If they truly are heavy cruisers, we wouldn't stand a chance. Plus, we don't have much in the way of ammunition for the main guns. How many rounds do we have for each gun currently, Lt. Norman?"

Norman answered quickly. "Only about five rounds per gun currently, sir."

Jack continued. "If this turned hot, we'd only have enough rounds to get their location pegged, and then we'd be out. We'd be sitting ducks at that point. If my memory serves, their heavy cruisers have a gun size of eight inches. Our six inch guns would be quickly overwhelmed."

"I think their range is greater than ours as well, sir. They'd blow us out of the water before we even got close," said Norman.

"Let's keep our distance then. Can we outrun them?" Jack asked.

"We can fire up the extra boilers and make a few more knots but if they want to catch us they can," answered Lt. Star.

"Fire the boilers. By my mark, we're only two days out from our naval base at Quiller's Cove. The Occitanians wouldn't dare follow us into our own base. I want you to radio word over to the Tiger as well to increase speed. Tell them to increase the distance between the ships. If they do fire on us, I don't want them getting any lucky shots that hit both ships. We just need to make it into the harbor at Quiller's Cove."

"I'd like to see them try to enter the harbor just to get blown to shit by land artillery," said Luke with a smirk.

Jack let out a small chuckle. "I wouldn't mind seeing that as well. As long as it's not us getting blown to shit."

Jack turned back to the horizon. They'd only have the two days to keep the distance between them. Could they outrun their predators for that long? Would the Occitanians try anything if they closed the distance?

"In the meantime, keep a lookout on the horizon," said Jack. "I want hourly notifications of their position and speed once it's known."

"Absolutely, sir," answered Luke.

In the next moment, he issued several more commands to his division heads and shortly after the three lieutenants went scurrying back to their original positions, leaving the two men alone on the bridge.

"I don't like this one bit, Jack," said Luke, disposing of their formality. Jack didn't mind as long as it wasn't done in front of the crew. They went too far back to be using their formal ranks in private.

"I know, Luke. What are the chances they find us in all of this open ocean? Three weeks from home at a fast, westerly course and they stumble upon us? It's too coincidental."

"What if it's not a coincidence? What if they're looking for trouble?"

"It's definitely a possibility. Admiral Bancroft thinks war is coming. And if the chief of the whole damn Javan navy thinks war is coming, I'm not one to doubt him," said Jack.

"Of course you won't," said Luke with a chuckle. "You're his shining star pupil. He's been watching you since the day you entered the academy. It must be real nice to have the head of the navy guiding your career."

"It's been a good thing for me," said Jack. "It's an old family connection to Bancroft that caused me to show up on his radar. He's been a great mentor for me. Besides, how many thirty-five-year-old commanders do you know?"

Luke held up his hands. "I didn't say it was bad. I graduated before you and here you are the commander of the squadron while I just have this old ship. I was just saying the truth. You can't deny that Bancroft favors you."

Jack nodded. "Say what you want, but Bancroft is the chief for a reason. His gut instinct is usually right. Don't forget, he has the ear of the emperor as well. Being on Bancroft's good side is the only place to be."

"Jack, there's something about this mission that still doesn't make a lot of sense to me. What the hell are we to do when we reach Quiller's Cove anyway? It's the most remote naval base in the entire world and practically right next door to the bloody Fourth Vector. What the hell could possibly be our mission all the way out here? Surely if war was about to break out, shouldn't we be at home ready to defend the coasts against those Occitanian bastards?"

Jack looked back out to sea, watching the bow of the Valiant slice through another wave. Luke asked a good question and it was one that he'd often found himself pondering at night before bed.

Jack patted the pocket of his uniform absentmindedly—the resting place of his written orders from Admiral Bancroft the day he left port. His instructions were completely brief and very vague.