"My squadron will do its duty, sir. We'll fight down to the last breath and bullet."
Lucas smiled but then began to shake his head. "I'm afraid not, Jack. You were destined for a different mission. As much the navy would love to have you back east for the fight against the Occitanians, you've been hand selected for this mission."
Jack gulped and watched as Lucas began to fish around his desk. After a few moments, he found what he was looking for and pulled out a very crude map, spreading it across his desk. Most of the map itself looked to be open ocean, except for a giant black-filled hole in the middle. There was some coast line before it turned into the hole, but for the most part, the map showed an uncharted territory.
All the way in the southeastern corner stood the naval base of Quiller's Cove. Jack wiped away the sweat on his brow at seeing the map, one he'd seen so long ago at the academy.
"Do you know what this is a map of, Jack?"
He nodded. "That's the Fourth Vector, sir."
"Right you are. Do you know why I'm offering you this map today?"
Jack looked up and met the commodore's gaze. He whispered, "you're sending me in?"
"Yes, we are, Jack. You are to go where no Javan has ever explored before. We need you on this mission to explore the Fourth Vector."
Jack took a deep breath as his last meal threatened to come up. In that instant, all the crazy stories he'd ever heard about the vector came rushing back.
From the childhood stories about Fourthies stealing kids who didn't go to sleep on time, or to that one time when another Javan ship claimed to have captured a Fourthie and brought it back to Java. Jack could still remember the sight of the blonde-haired and light-skinned woman as she caught his gaze in the final moments before her death.
In that moment, he could only ask the one question that filled his mind. "Why, sir? What possible reason could they have for sending me there?"
"I'll be frank with you, Jack, since I know you're not one that has time for bullshit. We need allies. This conflict with the Occitanians is about the begin and you know the Ruthenians will pounce as soon as our back is turned to deal with them. We'll be fighting a war on two fronts. You and I both know that the Javan navy is not what it used to be. Most of our ships have seen better days and there's not much money floating around to bring on new ones. We are going to need all the help we can get."
"But this is the Fourth Vector we're talking about, sir! There's nothing but savages in there. Even if we could get them to fight, and that's a big if, how would they help us? They have no ships that we're aware of. They don't even appear to have much in the way of technology. They'd be a hindrance more than anything."
Lucas listened to him and began to nod. "Aye, Jack. You and I think much the same way about them. I ain't never heard of a Fourthie being worth a damn but this order comes all the way from the top. The emperor himself is the one who sanctioned this mission, and it was the emperor who called for you to lead it."
Jack's jaw dropped. "The emperor asked for me personally?"
"That's right. No doubt that Bancroft is behind this and you know how I feel about that."
Jack shook his head. "This entire mission is predicated on the fact that the Fourthies would even want to join us. From what I've heard about them, they'd sooner eat us instead of fight with us."
Lucas nodded. "Jack, I don't blame you for being upset. I sympathize with, I do. I think the coming war is going to require all of our best men and that means you. I can't say I see the point of sending you this deep into uncharted territory but that is the order that's been given to you. You know what happens to those who disobey the emperor."