It was just after dawn the next morning as Jack found himself walking along the ship's railing on his usual routine to the bridge. Having taken in the sunrise for the morning, it was time to check in with the officers before retiring back to his chambers to put the finishing touches on a speech to the crew.

He had promised Vicky last night that he would say something to the crew of the Tiger, as well as the Destiny and Valiant, knowing full well how restless they had been with the journey so far. Jack had stayed up half the night getting the first part of it together and making sure it sounded just right before surrendering to sleep. This morning, he wanted to polish it up and hopefully allay the fears of the men on board.

There weren't many men out at this time of day and only Twitch clicked along behind him, their boots making an audible sound on their way to the ship's bridge. As they climbed up into the bridge, Jack was amazed to see the Lt. Commander already running over the morning report.

"It's about time you showed up for work," said Abigail with a smirking grin.

Jack chuckled to himself. "I didn't know anyone was waiting on me!"

"Is that how our relationship is going to be, Jack? Always waiting on you?" She winked and turned her attention back to the report in front of her.

He sat down in the seat beside her. "No rest for the weary, I see. Well, good morning to you too, Abigail."

She giggled and leaned into him. "Good morning. I always enjoy seeing you so riled up. It's so easy to do and yet so fun."

Jack pursed his lips. "Glad I can be your source of entertainment. Do you have anything I need to know about or should I just do my dancing monkey act now?"

Abigail's mouth opened in surprise. "You have a dancing monkey act?"

They both began to laugh. "You're in some mood this morning," said Jack.

She looked back in his direction. "You're right about that. I'm probably just horny."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Is that right?"

She shrugged in response.

"You picked the wrong time to be horny at the very start of the day."

"What, Jack? You don't like a vigorous romp right as the sun comes up?" Her dark eyes sparkled with mischief.

"You're starting to remind of yo—"

Jack stopped short, realizing he was about to say your sister. Abigail looked at him with anticipating eyes, her mouth open in a half smirk.

"—of someone I used to date," he ended without too much awkwardness.

Abigail giggled and then fixed him with a knowing look. "Oh, I bet I do!"

As he felt the heat begin to rush into his cheeks, he was saved by the appearance of two more officers on the bridge. Abigail straightening up at their appearance and her smile noticeably dipped.

"Morning, Stephanie. Morning, Kyle," said Jack cheerfully, glad to be out of that conversation and forced to turn more towards business.

"Good morning, sir. Ma'am," said Kyle, nodding to them both. Without any more words, he sat down at his station and began to work.

"Morning to you both, too," said Stephanie. "What's this I hear about vigorous romps?"

Abigail nearly broke down in laughter as Jack tried to avert his gaze. "God help me," he muttered under his breath.

"Well, I was just asking our commander here if he was a fan of getting busy as soon as he wakes up," said Abigail with absolutely no shame.

"Is that right?" said Stephanie. "Now I'm kind of mad I didn't come up here a little earlier to get the beginning of this conversation."

"Beginning of what conversation?" came another feminine voice from the door. Jack looked up to see Anna making her way into the bridge. Things were just going from bad to worse.

"The conversation about whether Jack likes the ol' morning glory or not," said Stephanie.

Anna grinned wickedly. "You mean the other kind of breakfast sausage, hmm?"

"Or perhaps breakfast tacos in his case," said Stephanie.

"Maybe a breakfast burrito."

"Okay, enough," said Jack with a heavy laugh. "I don't know how we all got off on this tangent, but let's remember where we are."

The three women looked at each other and then began to giggle further. Jack looked over to Kyle to see even he wore an innocent smirk at the conversation. There seemed to be no escaping this one and for a moment, Jack considered taking his headquarters back to the Valiant.

"All right, let's start with the morning briefing," said Jack, looking over to Kyle first. "Weapons division up first. Anything to report?"

"It was quiet last night. No infractions and everyone showed up for their station on time. Clean report," said Kyle.

"Excellent," replied Jack. "How about engineering?"

Anna smiled at Jack before responding. "Quiet as well, sir. We're still having problems with the separator drum of boiler three, but it's been largely under control. Something we can have fixed next time we're at port."

Jack nodded. "Great job, thank you, Anna. Which now brings us to operations division."

"I had two sailors released from our brig this morning. You may recognize the names of Walker and Pollock? They were the two mess cooks who got in a fight several days ago. They're back on the roster," said Stephanie. "No other disturbances."

"Sounds like it was a quiet night. Have we gotten the reports from the Valiant and the Tiger yet this morning?" asked Jack.

Stephanie hopped up and checked another section of the ship that contained a row of folders. "Hmm, I have the report from the Valiant here. According to Lt. Commander Ravencross, nothing to report aside from a small leak on deck four but he has it under control. No infractions over the night. Clear."

"And the Tiger? What's the report from Lt. Commander Carter?" asked Jack.

Stephanie shuffled around the several assembled folders for a moment until a confused look appeared on her face. "I don't see it, sir. That's really strange. She's usually really prompt with her morning report."

Jack furrowed his brow. "Maybe she's running behind this morning. No matter. Give me the radio and I'll ask her for a live report right now."

Abigail grabbed the command radio and passed it over to Jack. Clearing his throat, he spoke into the device. "Come in, Vicky. It's Jack."

He waited several moments for her to respond. The rest of the crew seemed to watch him as it became clear that she wasn't going to respond. After about a minute, Jack tried again. "Vicky, are you there? Come in please, Vicky."

Nothing but silence came from the radio. Jack stood up from his command chair and grabbed a pair of binoculars. Something about this didn't feel right. Vicky was never late and usually kept her radio on her at all times. Standing against the starboard window on the bridge, he gazed out to look at the Tiger cruising a few hundred yards away. Jack scanned the entire deck of the ship, his eyes noticing something peculiar right away.

"There's nobody on the deck. I can't see a single sailor," said Jack. "It's like the entire ship is still below deck."

Abigail got up and slipped by his side. "That's so strange. You'd think someone would be out right now." She scanned the ship as well and saw nothing.

Jack tried one more time into the radio only to hear the sounds of white noise in return. "Something is wrong. Lt. Buckner, I need you to go get Major Vaughn right away."

"Aye, sir!" said Twitch as he quickly disappeared out of the bridge.

"I'm going to switch the frequency to the one for the officers," said Jack. "We'll cast a wider net that way." He flipped the toggle on the radio and then brought it back to his lips. "This is Commander Jack Easterbrook of Task Force 21. Come in, destroyer Tiger. I'm requesting an officer to respond back immediately."

Abigail looked at him with questioning eyes as they waited for a response. Several moments passed by as the line remained dead.

"What could possible have happened, Jack?" Abigail whispered to him.

"I don't know. But we need to get someone over to that ship right now."

Twitch burst through the door of the bridge a moment later with Major Vaughn following to his rear. Greg offered a crisp salute to Jack before noting the look of distress in all of their faces.

"What seems to be going on?"

"There's no communication with the Tiger right now. Our attempts to reach the officers of the ship have come up with nothing. We can't see anybody on the deck," said Jack. "I need you to send a team of men over there and find out what's going on. You can use one of our boats to get over. Just have them bring their rifles. Something just doesn't feel right about this."

"We're on it right now, Jack," answered Greg. Greg reached for the radio at his own waist and began to issue orders. "Send a fire team from B Company. Have them meet us at the starboard stern in five minutes."

"Come on, let's meet them at the boats," said Jack as he, Abigail, and Greg moved out of the bridge and descended to the deck. They reached the stern of the ship a minute later, and Jack looked back out to the Tiger again. There was still nobody in sight. In fact, it appeared to have lost some speed. The destroyer was now falling back from the task force.

In what felt like an excruciating long time, the fire team from B Company arrived at their location and a boat was lowered into the water after the four members slipped inside. The Marines fired up the motor and soon the small craft was bopping its way over to the Tiger.

Jack watched their progress with hopeful eyes as they made their way over to the lagging destroyer. It took them several minutes just to get about halfway to the ship when all of a sudden, Jack heard the most spine-tingling sound coming from the command radio. Someone was laughing on the frequency.

"Who is this. Identify yourself," ordered Jack into the radio.

"'Ello, Commander Easterbrook," said a heavily-accented voice.

Jack's heart nearly seized up and he watched Abigail go pale in the face. "Who is this?"

The voice chuckled. "Who I am iz an excellent question. Until about a week ago, I used to serve on the pride of the Occitanian navy. The heavy cruiser, Témérité, was my home. These days, I'm more of a drifter than anything, picking my ships as I go."

Before Jack could respond, he looked over at Greg. "Turn those men around. Turn them around right now!"

Greg began to issue orders to the men while the voice over the radio continued. "I greatly appreciate you letting me have command of one of zee ships. What a pity about that little boat of Marines you have coming my way though."

Greg roared into the radio. "Double time, get back to the ship!"

The so far quiet morning was then disturbed by the sounds of rapid gunfire. Jack quickly scanned the ship to find the destroyer's port side machine guns blasting and he followed their firing to see them lighting up the small boat of Marines. One of them was hit instantly as the rest of them ducked for cover. Soon the small craft was littered with holes and it began to sink into the water around it.

"You son of bitch. Those are fucking Marines you just killed," Jack roared into the radio.

"And to think, Commander, I'm just getting started," replied the Occitanian.

Jack watched as the boat slipped below the waves leaving the Marines bobbing in the water. They were still about a hundred yards out but they were completely weighed down with full gear.

"We need to get those men before they go under," Jack ordered as the crew began to pull down another boat. Greg raised his hand to interject almost immediately.

"No, Jack. Let them swim. I have a feeling they'd fire on another boat in the water and besides, those Marines can swim even with seventy-five pounds of gear on their backs."

Jack looked back out to the water and scanned the floating Marines with his binoculars. Two of them didn't appear to be in any further distress and looked to be swimming back to the Destiny, while towing the bodies of their deceased comrades.

"I promise you that you're going to pay for that. I'm going to personally make you pay for the Marines you just killed," said Jack into the radio.

"Now, now, Commander. No need to be hostile. Zee just needed to see that I meant business."

"What have you done with the crew? Where's the crew of the ship?" Jack asked.

"Why, they are under guard, of course. What do you think I am, Commander? Some kind of animal?"

So many questions swirled in Jack's brain that he didn't know which one to go with next. How did the Occitanian come to be in control of the ship? Was it the same one that was thrown in the Tiger's brig? If so, how did he escape and how did he overpower the crew? There were just too many questions without any good answers. Instead, Jack asked the simplest question he could think of.

"What is it that you want? Why are you doing this?"

The voice chuckled again. "I see now we are getting somewhere! I'm a simple man, Commander. I like zhe simple pleasures of life. Gold, women, and staying alive. Because of you, I'd never get to experience those three things ever again so I decided to take matters into my own hands."

"All by yourself? You must be pretty talented then," said Jack, eager to have the man keep talking to allow him to think of a solution.

"You see, that's where we have much in common, Commander. I want to live as do many of your men. Men who think they are being sent on a suicide mission. Men who don't want to die in the Fourth Vector. With the assistance of your crew, we chose life, Commander! We chose not to die early deaths."

"Is that it then? You grabbed some of my crew and turned them against their own country just to save your own hide? What's to stop them from coming after you as soon as we're out of the picture?" asked Jack.

"That's simple, Commander. I'm going to give them command of the pride of the Javan Navy, of course."

Jack furrowed his brow as Abigail shot him a worried look. "Come again, Occitanian? What do you mean?"

"Oh, it's very simple, Commander. I want you to turn over your ship to me and my new crew. You can have the Tiger back. Marvelous vessel—don't get me wrong—but I'm afraid if I sailed off just now with only this destroyer that you'd soon be on my tail just to blow me up in a day or so."

"You're completely right about that," grunted Jack.

"See? I've been around zee block a few times. So to prevent you from pulling a fast one on me, I want you to swap ships with me. Give me command of the Destiny and I will willingly return the Tiger to you command. Then we part ways, and I don't have to worry about a tiny destroyer and light cruiser trying to sink me on my way back to Occitania."

"So that's it then? That's all you want? Command of the Destiny?"

"Precisely, Commander," came the reply from the radio. "I'm glad we understand each other."

"You have to be out of your fucking mind if you think I'm going to surrender control of this ship to you, Occitanian. I'd rather see this entire task force at the bottom of the ocean instead of at your hand."

The voice began to laugh once more. "I love the fight in you, Commander! Perhaps zee fame is well-earned, although I suspect it is not. I didn't expect you to go along with our little plan. Certainly the great Jack Easterbrook is no traitor to his country. But would your men be as loyal as you?"

Jack looked over to Abigail. She bit her lip and looked at the assembled ranks of sailors behind them. Most of them wore unreadable expressions.

"I'm now turning the frequency from the officers only channel to one that will reach all of the crews of your task force, Commander," said the Occitanian. Jack could now hear the voice coming not only from his radio, but echoing from several others in the small gathering of crew near the stern.

"And so I open up and offer to all the men of zhe Valiant and zhe Destiny. You all face certain death in the Fourth Vector. Might I remind you that everyone who has ever attempted to enter the Vector has met with certain death. That will be all of you in just a short time unless you join with us. Your commanders and your country have given you a suicide mission! Join with us and we'll sail back to Occitania where you have my word that you'll be given fair treatment. It's a simple choice, sailors. Death or life? I know which one I choose. I know which choice the brave crew members of the Tiger have chosen!"

The voice began to cackle again with laughter as Jack personally watched the faces of every sailor assembled. Most of them held uncertain looks, almost trying to distinguish if the Occitanian's offer was genuine or just some bluff. Most of them watched the Tiger from the starboard railings, having come topside at the broadcasting of the message.

Jack watched both Abigail and Greg begin to back against the railing. Once he saw Abigail's hand start to drift to her service pistol, he grabbed it and prevented her from completing the motion.

"Don't," he hissed to her. "The men can't see you doubting them. You'll push the ones on the fence right over."

She gave him a look full of fear but ultimately nodded. Jack tried to make eye contact with every nearby sailor in some small attempt to show solidarity with their plight. The very thing they needed most was the trust of their commanding officer.

"I think that offer is fair, do you not, Commander?" asked the voice over the radio. "Your men have until noon to respond. Oh, and if I were you, I wouldn't think of trying to attack us. If you haven't noticed, our torpedo tubes are armed and our guns are focused right on the bridge of the Destiny. I'm not afraid to issue the same treatment to you that you did to my cruiser. You have four hours, Commander."

The radio went dead and stayed silent. Jack gestured to Greg and Abigail. "We need to get below deck to my command headquarters. I want those officers left on the bridge to join us there. Bring the ships to a stop and tell the Valiant to do the same. Once both ships are stopped, issue a message to have the commanding division officers come over to our side. The Tiger shouldn't see it since they won't have a view of our port side. Make sure to tell Luke and his officers to stay within the silhouette of the Destiny to hide their approach. We need to get moving!"

Both of them nodded and immediately left the small crowd of sailors, leaving Jack largely alone with the remaining crew. Most of them looked at him with questioning expressions at this point, at the turn of events and also to figure out what he might do with them. Jack knew he needed to say something to them—they almost expected him to.

"Don't you men worry now," he started. "We're going to turn this around and rescue our comrades on the Tiger from the Occitanians."

"What do we do if they fire on us, sir?" asked one of the sailors near the front, a small rotund sailor Jack knew to be called Jenkins.

"Then we'll sink them again just like we sunk that cruiser back at Quiller's Cove," said Jack firmly. "No matter what happens though, I will protect this ship and I will protect all of you men. You have my word on that."

Several of them nodded while a few wore relieved smiles.

"I need you all to be my eyes and ears until this crisis is over. We're going below deck to think of a plan to rescue our comrades on the Tiger. This whole conflict started with the spilling of Occitanian blood and by god, it will end the same way!"

A few of the men cheered and one yelled out, "Huzzah!"

"Go get 'em, Commander," said one of the sailors as he patted Jack on the back.

Jack nodded and quickly followed after Greg and Abigail, secure in the knowledge that at least the men on the Destiny weren't likely to turn traitor.

As he made his way below deck, he heard the great, noisy boilers of the ship come to a stop, first producing a vibration throughout the ship and then a stillness unknown except for when they were docked. As the ship abruptly died in the water, Jack pushed open the door to headquarters and promptly heard the sounds of an argument.

"You can't seriously suggest we try another assault? They are close enough to the ship to do serious damage to her," said Abigail passionately while Greg simply shook his head.

"What else can we do? We can't fire on one of our own," he replied before looking at Jack. "Jack, let me lead a rescue mission. We can figure something out here."

"Let's talk about this once Luke and the rest of the Valiant officers get here," said Jack, holding up his hand to the Marine commander.

It wasn't much more than ten minutes later that Luke Ravencross came bursting his way into the headquarters, followed by Kim Cross, Bill Norman, and the latest division head, Cory Renner. All of them flanked beside Jack's quarters as the officers from the Destiny—Stephanie, Kyle, and Anna—came streaming in too. In short order, Jack had the entire command structure of the two ships at his disposal.

"I'm sure you all heard the message that was broadcasted over the radio frequency so I won't go over the whole story. The short of it is that those Occitanian's have control of the Tiger along with an unknown number of the ship's crew. We have less than four hours to surrender the Destiny to them or they will fire upon us with torpedoes and guns already trained on our installations. We need a plan."

"What if we strike first? Get our guns on them and fire first, Jack?" asked Abigail. "They aren't too far from us that we can dial in a very accurate positioning and be fairly confident at our shot. We won't be risking much that way."

"Just the Tiger which will be blown all to shit," said Luke while rubbing his chin. "And then our task force is down to two and we haven't even crossed into the Vector yet."

"I'd rather not have one of our ships destroyed if we can avoid that," said Jack.

"Why don't you let me take both companies and mount a proper assault on the Tiger?" asked Greg, stepping forward with his chest puffed out. "Those nancy-boy Occitanians won't be able to withstand all two hundred of us."

"But as soon as they see you all in the water, they are going to open fire. How long will you last when they open fire with all their machine guns? While their guns go off on the Destiny?" asked Kyle.

Greg looked on firmly. "Can't fight a war without casualties."

Jack intervened. "I don't want any unnecessary casualties if we can avoid it. Plus there's a lot of space between us and them. You'd be sitting ducks in those boats all the way over."

"So what else can we do then?" asked Anna.

"I don't know about you guys but I like the shoot-first-ask-questions-later idea. We're not entirely sure they'd fire on us anyway. Maybe all it will take is one warning shot from the Destiny's guns and they'll lose heart," said Luke.

"If it were just any stowaways, I'd be inclined to agree with you, Luke," said Jack. "But these are the Occitanians from the sunk cruiser. Something tells me they are itching for revenge for losing their ship."

"Wait a minute," said Cory as he approached the port window. He looked out across the waves to the Tiger and then back to the assembled officers. "What's the approximate distance between us and the Tiger?"

"About a thousand yards, give or take."

Cory then approached Greg. "Can your men swim with the full weight of their gear?"

Greg thought about it for a moment. "For a couple hundred yards at most. Seventy-five pounds of gear isn't easy to swim even for an experienced Marine. They'll be pretty worn out before they even reach halfway."

"What if we took their gear off?" Jack asked, picking up on Cory's idea. "What if we left them with just their ammunition and their rifles? Can they swim the thousand yards with just that?"

Greg looked out at the water. "In this water, it won't be that tough. Those waves are pretty choppy out there, but I'm sure some of them could do it. The only problem is that it will sacrifice some of their fighting ability."

Jack nodded excitedly. "The amount of waves right now is perfect. It'll disguise your approach."

Greg frowned. "Disguise?"

"Yes, exactly. Greg, I want you to handpick your best fifteen men and have them meet back up here at my headquarters. Have them bring their new NT-12s and two clips each. We're going to sneak aboard the Tiger and take our ship back."

*****

Approximately thirty minutes later, a fully assembled team of Marines stood in Jack's headquarters, making space very tight. All of them were lightly equipped per Jack's orders and all shared the same look of grim determination.

"What we're asking you men to do is highly dangerous and unorthodox," began Jack, switching his gaze from one to the next. "It's a high probability that some or most of you could die in this next mission. If anyone wants to back out now, please let me know."

Jack waited for someone to speak up but the unwavering look on all of their faces already gave him his answer.

"Okay, excellent. Here's the plan. We are going to circle wide around the back of the Tiger. That requires us to swim in an arc off the back of the Destiny and approach the destroyer from the rear. The water out there is exceptionally choppy today and that ship is nearly a thousand yards away. It's going to be a perilous journey just to get to our target and we'll be doing it in broad daylight. There's a small access ladder near the portside stern of the ship that we can use to board once we get there."

"Once we get aboard, our primary mission is to locate and release the ship's crew. The ship's armory is located on the first deck where we can access additional weaponry to arm the crew and give us more of an advantage over the Occitanians and the portion of the crew that's turned traitor. Our secondary mission will be to locate the enemy combatants and take them out."

Jack stopped to look at them closely. "I need to make this clear. Those Javans that are now willingly corroborating with the Occitanians are no longer our allies. They are part of the enemy now. Treat them as such." Jack's eyes drifted from one man to another. "Are there any questions?"

"No, sir!" yelled out fifteen men in unison.

"Excellent," said Jack before turning to look at Twitch. "Lieutenant, get my service NT-11 from the gun cabinet in my closet." He then began to unbutton his jacket.

"Jack, what are you doing?" asked Abigail.

"I'm not going to ask them to risk their lives for me while I stay aboard the ship. I'm going with them," said Jack.

"Is that really the best thing for you to do?" interrupted Anna, coming to a stop by Jack's side. "We need you here on the ship."

Jack shook his head. "I need to be with my men. They'll need my help once we get to the Tiger."

"You have to be higher than a kite if you think I'm going to let you go—alone," said Luke before breaking out in a smile.

"Add me in too. It's been too long since I've seen any action," said Greg.

"All right, but just the three of us. Combined with the fifteen Marines, we'll be a deadly force. The rest of the officers I need to stay on the ship. I'm going to need you to come up with some type of diversion once we get closer. Something to keep that Occitanian focused on the ships and not the assault."

Abigail nodded. "We'll think of something, I promise."

"Okay, everyone has their orders. Let's get ready," said Jack.

It was about another thirty minutes by the time the three commanders were suited up and ready to join the assault team. Together, the group assembled below deck and used a portside door to reach the water without being seen from the command bridge of the destroyer. One by one, each man slipped into the cold waters of the ocean below. Each of them wore a special type of head covering, specifically designed to hide their skin and hair and provide just enough camouflage to look like the waves below them.

"Goddamnit, my balls are freezing," yelped Luke as soon as he was in the water.

"Better get used to it now. We have a long way to go," said Greg, bobbing a few feet from the lieutenant commander.

Jack slipped into the water carefully and immediately began to shiver as the icy temperature seemed to invade his entire body. Even with the watertight suit underneath, Jack knew it would be quite a long time until he felt warm again. Once all of them were in the water, he gave the signal to head out.

"Jack, this is going to take longer than we thought. Every time I get a little bit further ahead, the waves push me back," said Greg once they were about five minutes out from the ship.

"Let's just keep an even pace. Try to save some of your energy for the Tiger!" yelled back Jack.

It was slow going, even for the accomplished swimmers of the Marines. The choppy waves kept splashing Jack in the face and despite how much he swam, he felt he never made it any closer to the destroyer. All of them had spread out to reduce the chance they would be seen and they operated under a strict order of silence as well as they got closer. For Jack, it just meant continuing to plow forward, hoping that they'd get there in time before the officers of the Destiny started the diversion he ordered or Occitanians ran out of patience.

*****

"It's a little quiet o'er there, Commander," came the voice from the radio. "You wouldn't happen to be up to anything nefarious, are zee?"

Abigail's attention zeroed in on the command radio in front of her. She and the rest of her division head officers were now back on the bridge of the Destiny, waiting for the appropriate time to begin the diversion ordered by Jack. It had been just twenty minutes since they had begun their mission and it would take a good forty-five minutes until they were in place to board with how choppy the sea was today.

"Should we answer?" whispered Anna as she sat next to her sister at the command terminus.

"Commander Jack, where are zee?" taunted the Occitanian.

"Someone has to," said Abigail as she reached for the radio. "This is Lt. Commander Abigail Wainwright."

There was a moment of silence until the radio crackled again. "Where is zhe Commander?"

Abigail looked to her sister for a quick answer but the younger woman simply shrugged. A lie would have to do. "Indisposed at the moment. He had to hit the head."

The radio crackled again. "How very convenient. I want to talk to him as soon as he returns."

"What are we going to do? If he insists on talking to Jack, then we're screwed," whispered Anna.

"I know, Anna. I know. We're going to have to bluff with him. At least until we can set off the diversion. And pray that Jack and the Marines get there before the Occitanian finds out he's not on the ship," said Abigail.

*****

"Quick, there's the railing. Let's get topside as soon as we can," said Jack as the assembled team of Marines made their way to the dull, gray hull of the Tiger.

"Is anyone up there? Can you spot any of their men on guard?" asked Greg.

"Just one. He looks to be armed and he appears to be walking from one side to the other," said Jack.

"Okay, let's wait until he checks in on our side and then let's go up. Carver, Walker, you're both over the top first."

"Yes, sir," came the crisp reply from the two Marines.

The group bobbed in the water for several moments until the guard on the top deck touched the railing and then turned around. In an instant, both Marines hit the metal railing and began to bound their way up the side of the hull.

"Remember, no shooting! Dispose of him quietly!" Jack hissed to the two men.

He didn't have to watch them for long. Both men crawled up the side like it was the most natural movement in the world. Seconds ticked by as the men slipped over the railing and disappeared from sight. Jack's heart seized in his chest, and he prepared himself to hear the ship's external warning system as someone was bound to notice them on the deck.

The warning didn't come. After what couldn't have been longer than a minute, Walker's face appeared back over the side of the ship. "All clear."

Jack was the next to follow up the ladder with Greg right behind him. Together, the four men hid behind the rear gun emplacement to avoid being spotted. The Javan guard who had just been watching the stern of the ship lay just behind the railing, a small pool of blood under his head. Meanwhile, Walker could be seen cleaning off blood from his personal knife. It wasn't hard to figure out how he'd been disposed of.

More and more of the Marines began to come up the ladder until their small group of eighteen was piled thick behind the gun emplacement.

"Okay, there's too many of us right now and we have two objectives so let's split up. Luke, I want you to lead a team below deck and rescue the crew. Arm them as quickly as possible. Greg and I will take the remaining Marines and head to the bridge. I have a feeling our Occitanian friends will be waiting for us there."

"Aye, Jack, that sounds like a good plan," said Luke. "You men, on me. Let's head down this hatch here and see who we can find."

"Good luck to you, Luke," said Jack as the stealthy Marines slipped below deck.

The remaining nine men stayed tucked in behind the gun emplacement.

"How do you want to get to the bridge without being sighted?" asked Greg.

Before Jack could answer, the automatic turret for the gun started to move. A second later, the alarm for battle-stations began to alert across the ship's PA system.

"I think they've sighted us," said Jack, as he flipped the safety off of the rifle.

*****

"I need zhe Commander right now, Lootenant!" demanded the Occitanian through the radio.

"Kyle," hissed Abigail. "I need you to try to fake Jack's voice!"

"I sound nothing like Jack. He'd know we were bluffing," said Kyle in return.

"If I don't 'ear the Commander's voice in five seconds, I'm going to commence firing on your ship," said the Occitanian.

Anna looked out the window. "They're put in the call for battle-stations! I can see their lights flashing!"

"Five. Four."

"We have no choice, Abigail. We have to do something!" said Anna while excitedly grabbing her sister's jacket.

"Three. Two. One."

"Wait!" said Abigail through the radio. From the noise around the ship, the sailors on the Destiny had started to cause a commotion. A few crowds had formed of men that usually worked below deck and they began to organize on the top deck of the ship. Abigail looked out the window of the bridge to see them yelling and screaming loudly. Most of them were yelling, "Let's go home!" as loudly as they could.

"Our men are trying to join your cause. Jack went below deck to quell them, but they are rioting right now! They want to sail with you!"

The voice was silent for a moment. Abigail wondered if her lie was stretched a little too far and waited to hear the blast of the first gun on the Destiny.

Finally, the man spoke. "I can't say I blame zhem. I wouldn't be surprised if they ripped your Commander to shreds for daring to take them on such a mission."

"My men are rioting on my deck right now. Please take your guns off of us and we can facilitate your transfer to the Destiny," Abigail pleaded.

"No funny business, Lootenant Commander. I've given the orders to have torpedoes fixed on your position. If I detect any tricks, I will release them."

"No funny business at all. Just take the Destiny and leave us be," said Abigail.

"I knew you'd see things my way," said the Occitanian with an audible chuckle. "Your vessel will be one hell of a war prize when I sail back into Montauban with—what zhe fuck was that noise?!"

The sound of gunfire poured over the radio connection, seemingly coming from the Tiger. Abigail grabbed her binoculars and peered over to the destroyer, able to see immediately the sparks of light as the muzzles of the assault rifles went off. The Occitanian's voice rang out with serious distress. "You, pick up that gun and get out there! Fight them off! Lootenant Commander! I told you no tricks! Zee will pay the hard way now! Release the torpedoes!"

"Fire up the boilers right now! We can't let those torpedoes hit us!" yelled Abigail as Anna rang the orders through the ship's system. In the space of moments, the ship rumbled to life, the vibration making Abigail lose her balance as she sought the safety of the hand railing.

"Zee are dead! Dead, zee hear me?? I'll kill zee ALL!" roared the Occitanian over the radio as the gunfire seemed to get louder.

*****

The sounds and impact of gunfire began to open up all around Jack and the Marines as they found themselves pressed up against the hull of the destroyer. From just above them, two shooters opened fire from a small ledge off the superstructure. Partially hidden by the ship's railing, they had the position to pin down the group without further movement.

"Damnit, we need to get around these two assholes," roared Greg to the team.

"Any suggestions, Major? Taking a lot of heat here," said Jack in return, as he popped the rifle around the ledge and opened up some covering fire.

"You two! On me. The rest of you and Jack, cover our asses!" Greg popped out around the corner and two of the Marines followed in quick succession.

"You heard the man! Let's open it up!" Jack and the rest of the team pulled away from the ship's hull. For the first time, Jack got a clear line of sight of the two men on the railing and began to pepper the position with rounds. One of those rounds got through immediately, striking one of the men in the abdomen as he crumbled against the railing and ceased firing. The other man wasn't as easy to take down and Jack heard the low thud as one of his Marines took a hit and fell to the deck.

It didn't last much longer. The remaining shooter took a shot that pierced his neck and was quickly disposed of. While another member of the team checked on their fallen comrade, Jack looked ahead to see Greg and the other Marines waiting just ahead.

"He's dead," said one of the men as he felt for the pulse of the fallen Marine. "Let's keep moving!"

The small team rushed ahead and rendezvoused with Greg right at the foot of the bridge.

"Jack, we've got four men on the bridge. They're armed to the teeth and we are at a disadvantage having to go up one at a time on this ladder."

"It's the only thing we can do right now. Let's get up there. First person up covers the rest," said Jack as the ships forward batteries opened in their first salvo. Jack watched with horror as a round punched out of the destroyer's five inch guns and raced on their way to the Destiny. The rounds seemed to fall just short of the heavy cruiser's position, and there was no more time to waste.

"I'm up first. Cover me!" roared Jack as he dashed up the ladder to the bridge. Jack kept his head down as he scurried up, fully expecting to be fired upon at any time. The bullet never came and he came to a rest right outside the main door to the Tiger's bridge. Inside, he could hear the sounds of yelling as the Occitanians tried to throw them off the ship.

Greg was the next to come up the ladder and the two of them crammed against the door.

"No room for anyone else. We've got to go through," said Jack, earning a nod from the Major.

Jack opened the door, sticking his rifle through the slot for covering fire. He was able to glance quickly into the room before rushing in and ducking behind one of the command stations. In the process, he made eye contact with one of the men, who judging by his features, could only have been Occitanian.

"Zee will regret the day you tried to assault this ship," yelled the Occitanian as he opened fire on Jack's position.

"Fuck you!" roared Jack in return. "I'm here to take my ship back!"

The man stopped firing for a moment. "Ah, I see I've found where Commander Jack 'as gone. Welcome aboard the new and improved Tiger, Jack!"

The Occitanian opened fire once more as Greg dove through the bridge entrance and came to a stop behind another command station. He quickly opened up on one of the four men, taking him down easily. Now the only thing that separated them was the command stations and the three remaining combatants.

"There's nothing you can do, Jack! I've already released the torpedoes! The Destiny is history! You can't save them!" yelled the Occitanian across the bridge.

Jack felt the knot in his stomach form at the words. "No, but I'll avenge them!" he roared. "Cover me," he said to Greg. In an instant, Greg popped up and began to fire while Jack dove across the floor toward the enemy position. Only a few steps separated him from the Occitanians and once he rounded the corner, he could see the three of them pinned down from Greg's fire. The man looked at him with wild, panicked eyes as his muzzle pointed in their direction.

"Get the fuck off my ship," said Jack as he opened fire. The three men took multiple rounds a piece and slumped to the floor quickly. Small pools of blood opened up under their bodies as their lives fled.

"All clear up here," yelled Jack back to Greg, who immediately ceased firing. Both men stood up as more of the Marines began to enter the bridge. Jack looked up to survey the damage on the bridge as many bullet holes seemed to pierce the systems. Finding the command radio still being grasped by the dead Occitanian, Jack pried it from his hands.

"Abigail, come in. This is Jack. We've retaken the Tiger." He watched out the window as the Destiny took evasive maneuvers to escape the torpedoes.

"Oh, thank god, Jack!" came Abigail's voice over the radio. "We need to get out of the path of these torpedoes!"

Jack grabbed a pair of binoculars to find the wake of the weapons on their path to the heavy cruiser. Spotting them midway between the ships, he radioed back to Abigail. "You've got to go faster, Abigail. You won't outrun them at that pace!"

"We're trying!" she said back. "All the boilers are running at full steam!"

Jack gripped the binoculars tighter and watched the large ship appear to slowly surge forward. Seconds ticked by as the torpedoes got closer and closer.

"They should just make it," said Greg, watching from his side. "They're pulling ahead!"

At the last minute, the torpedoes reached their target. Or rather, they reached where their target had just been. The Destiny surged forward and outran the path of the torpedoes which kept traveling past the giant heavy cruiser.

"Jack, it's all clear! They missed us!" said Abigail with a triumphant voice.

"Great handling, Lt. Commander," said Jack with a grin. "Let's rendezvous with Luke and see how they did," said Jack to Greg. "It's time for us to get back to our mission!"

The cleaning up action didn't take much longer. Apart from a small fight below deck in which Luke took a round to the arm, they managed to clear out and release the remaining Javan crew and kill the rest of the traitors guarding them.

"Oh, I thought I'd never be so happy to see you!" gushed Vicky Carter, leaping into Jack's arms forcibly the second she saw them.

Jack hugged her back just as fiercely. "The ship is back under our control now, Vicky. The Tiger is yours once more."

The remaining crew that had been locked up with her let out a loud cheer as they rushed about to their formal stations and began to resume control. Jack and the Marines assisted with the cleaning up process as the bodies of all the dead men were stacked near the rear of the ship.

For Jack, it stung the most to count eighteen Javans among the dead who had turned traitor as well as the bodies of the three Occitanians. On their side, casualties were light. Luke was the only one wounded and he was taken back to the Valiant already to get treated for the hit. The only other hit was the deceased Marine who had opened up covering fire with Jack before they arrived on the bridge. A full burial at sea was arranged for the man the following day, as well as for the two Marines who perished on the first attempt to reach the Tiger.

"What do you want to do with all the bodies?" asked Greg as he gestured to the stack of turncoat Javans and Occitanians.

Jack shrugged. "Throw them over the side as they are. I've no room for traitors on this ship."

A majority of the crew watched as the bodies slipped over the deck and into the great waves below. Several of them wore expressionless faces at seeing men they once called comrades disposed of so casually.

Jack climbed up to the top of the gun emplacement and gestured for the crew to gather round. "Sailors and comrades, come closer! I just want to take a moment to say I'm proud of all of you for the action today. For helping us to retake the Tiger and continue with our mission!"

Several of them gave him fearful looks. Most of them weren't sure if they'd be punished for the loss of their ship or if they were now better off for having to resume their mission to the Vector. The air was silent with anticipation and fear.

"Men, I want to talk with all of you about the nature of our mission. Yes, we are all sailing into the unknown. Yes, we will be going into the Fourth Vector. I stand here before you just as frightening of the Vector as I'm sure most of you are. No one knows what will face us when we get there, but I will say one thing: I'm damn proud of the men and women on this ship that are coming with me."

Several of their heads perked up and watched him more closely.

"I know that we've assembled here the best crew in all of Java to accomplish this task. I know there aren't any better sailors in the entire world than those right in front of me. While our mission will be perilous and we will no doubt lose some brothers and sisters in this quest, I'd volunteer to assault hell itself with all of you. You are the fiercest, meanest bunch of warriors in this world, and you should be all very proud of that!"

Several of the men let out small cheers as the looks of fear and doubt largely dropped from their faces.

"I know that of which I ask of you is not the easiest mission. I know most of you are scared about what we'll find in the Vector. That's why I want to offer you this one time. Any man who doesn't want to proceed with the mission, please step forward. I'll arrange to have you sent back to Quiller's Cove and join another task force. Not a thing will be said about it, and I'll make sure you get fair treatment in your new role. If you don't want to come with us on this mission, you won't be punished or thrown out of the navy. I just need to know now so I can arrange transport for you. What say you?"

Several of the crew looked around amongst themselves and a low chatter erupted between them. Jack felt his heart seize up at watching them deliberate. The truth was that this stage was necessary. He couldn't constantly be on guard for another mutiny from within his own ships. Those that couldn't stomach the mission had to be reassigned. He just hoped it wasn't the majority of them.

Finally, one of the sailors in the front ranks spoke up. "Commander, may I speak?"

"Absolutely, sailor. What say you?"

The sailor pursed his lips and pointed back over to the crew that was disposing the bodies of the traitor Javans. "From the way we see it, sir, the only men who cared enough not to go to the Vector are laying right over there. While most of the men aren't exactly enthused about the mission, we signed on to fight! No matter where that may take us in the world, we will fight by your side, sir!"

Jack nodded. "Thank you for your words, sailor. I'm glad to have you onboard! Does this man speak for the rest of you? Are the rest of you with me? Will you sail to the Vector with me?"

The rest of the assembled crew began to nod at first. Later on those nods became cheers and finally a small majority of them began to yell out.

"We're with you, Commander!"

"Let's go to the Fourth Vector!"

"And kill some Occie's while we're at it!"

Jack could only smile as the men cheered back. He raised out his hand to silence the men. "I'm honored to be sailing with all of you and I appreciate your honesty. Thank you all!"

The men resumed their cheer as Jack stepped down from the gun emplacement. In an instant, he was clapped on the back by Greg and hugged once more by Vicky. "The ship is yours, Lieutenant Commander. We have a mission to resume!"

*****

That evening, Jack found himself largely exhausted and finally back on the Destiny. The battle, and the swim alone, had taken a lot out of him but also because the impromptu speech he had given to the crew of the Tiger today was replicated to the crews on the other ships. If he was being honest with himself, they had faced a mutiny today and he was determined it would be the last one to happen under his command.

While the crew of the Tiger had received their chance to join with the traitors, not a single man from the remaining crew voted to return to Quiller's Cove. The other two ships weren't as lucky, but altogether a total of seven men from the two cruisers accepted the deal to return to Quiller's Cove. After sending a message through to Commodore Lucas, they arranged for a transport ship to meet with them at sea to take those sailors back to the base. As promised, Jack arranged for them to keep their ranks and get assignments to another task force closer to home. It was a better option than having to face another takeover attempt.

Part of his report about those men included an after action report back to the Admiralty. Jack was hesitant to hear back from Bancroft about the attempted mutiny and what it might mean for his prospects within the navy, but the response back from Bancroft was mild to say the least.

ATTN: COMMANDER JACK EASTERBROOK

COMMANDING OFFICER, TASK FORCE 21

I APPROVE OF YOUR PLAN TO SEND THE DISGRUNTLED SAILORS HOME. CONTINUE WITH YOUR MISSION AND MAY GOD CONTINUE TO GUIDE YOUR PATH.

ADMIRAL PERCIVAL BANCROFT

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, IMPERIAL JAVAN NAVY

Jack shrugged at receiving the dispatch and knew that it could've been a whole lot worse. He had seen officers lose their entire command for much less and knew it was only due to Bancroft's tutelage that he remained in charge.

He arrived at his headquarters a few moments later. The sun had long since set and the only light in this part of the ship was artificial from the bulb right outside the door. Opening the latch, he stepped inside carefully and immediately heard a feminine giggle coming from his bed.

"A little late for this tonight, don't you think, Anna?" said Jack, well accustomed to the horny officer waiting for him in his bed by this point. Jack switched on the light and turned to look at the bed.

Instead, the face he saw was that of her sister, Abigail, and not Anna. Abigail was also fully clothed and looking at him like the cat who had caught the canary.

"I knew it," she said triumphantly, standing up from his bed.

"Listen, Abigail, let me explain this one," said Jack, holding up his hands.

"You're fucking my sister, aren't you? You're sleeping with Anna."

"Well, yes. Although it was her idea. She was the one who slipped in here first. Just like that to be honest," said Jack sheepishly.

"I can't believe you," she said while crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I trusted you, Jack."

"Wait, Abigail, let me explain—"

Instead of continuing to get angry, she began to laugh. In a moment, she covered her mouth to contain her laughter and doubled over. "Sorry, I couldn't keep a straight face with that one."

Jack stood there thoroughly confused. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked back at her. "So, are you mad? Or not because I can't tell?"

"Jack, why do I care who you're sleeping with?" Abigail giggled mischievously.

He stumbled over his words. "Well, because . . . you know, we did . . ."

"Because we slept together?" she finished.

Jack nodded.

"Ancient history, Jack," she said with a smile.

"If you call a week ago ancient history, then I suppose so," he said.

"I don't mind who you sleep with, as long as you don't hurt my sister. Frankly, I'm not surprised about it whatsoever. Anna has always gone after my boyfriends. I had my suspicion and it looks like I was right."

Jack sat down at his desk and looked back over at the sultry brunette. "How did you figure it out?"

"Oh, it was nothing you did, Jack. But I've known my sister my entire life and I know how she turns when she's around men she likes. Every time you're on the bridge, she can't stop watching you. She constantly stares at you. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. I just had to watch her face."

"So what now, Abigail? What does this mean for you and I?"

She giggled. "Nothing, of course. Because there is no you and I. Don't you remember what I told you?" With a further shake of her head, she got up from his bed and walked to the door, stopping right before she opened it up. "Especially now that you're with Anna. Nothing will ever happen between us now. Even if I am a little jealous of her."

"And if it doesn't work out with Anna?" he asked.

"Well then you'll have an angry big sister to deal with," she said with a wink as she slipped out of the door and slammed it shut behind her.

Jack sighed. The woman never made it easy on him and now there were two of them to deal with. Completely exhausted from the day's events, he didn't linger at his desk long. Slipping between the covers of his now empty bed, he was soon out in an instant.

*****

Over two weeks later, Jack stood with his binoculars watching from the bridge of the Destiny. The lookouts over the main mast had the first spotting of land and had radioed it down to the bridge shortly after. Beside him, Abigail also gazed out on the horizon, taking in the pristine white-sand beach in front of them and the heavy foliage of trees just off the beach.

From what Jack could see, it looked larger than a typical island, and contained enough mass to hold significant land in the interior.

"Right there," he called out, pointing to the land in front of them. "There's the Vector. Bring us in a little closer and let's start to explore this land."

"Aye, sir," said Anna with a coy grin.

The rest of the bridge remained silent as they had finally arrived at their destination. Of course, they had lost some time waiting for the transport from Quiller's Cove to pick up the dissident men, but they had continued on full steam west to reach the Vector after they had been unloaded. Now that it was right in front of them, the real work could begin.

Although Jack could only just make out the shoreline from their position far out at sea, if he were closer he'd be able to see that someone was watching his ships approach.

Her eyes caught sight of the giant ships just off shore, watching them slip closer through the channel. Beside her, her elderly companion jotted down several scribbles in her notebook. The arrival of the ships could only mean one thing.

The long awaited return was now in motion.

The woman clutched at the protective dagger at her waist. Things were about to become much more interesting. She turned to face her elderly companion.

"He's here."