him.”
Frank put his hand against Guy’s chest. “Just stay
calm. You can control the situation best by making the most sense. Tosco’s just
another demagogue who thinks you run a ship by pandering to your men.”
“Demagogue? Have you been studying the dictionary
again?”
“Not a lot to do on board a ship but read. I’ll
get the Hatchet moving again. Sooner we leave New York in our wake the better,
if you ask me.”
Guy nodded agreement.
They marched up to the pilothouse where they found
Tosco and a gathering of enlisted men. Guy was happy to see that none of his
other officers had sided with Tosco and were all elsewhere, performing their
duties. Tosco held his chin high and squared his shoulders as if he were about
to put forward a great speech of noble cause.
Guy didn’t give him a chance to utter a single
word. “I understand that some of you want to leave,” he said, wiping the smug
expression from Tosco’s face as he took the upper hand and addressed the issue
before it had a chance to be raised. Tosco would not get the opportunity to
play hero and put forward the concerns of his men. “But I would remind you of
why you are here: You are enlisted men of the United States Coast Guard. You
are not trained killers, like the Navy. You are not merchantmen or fishermen. You
sail the Seven Seas not as pirates. Every man and woman aboard this ship signed
up to be a hero, and today we saved over thirty civilians from a terrible fate.
For that, they will thank us for the rest of their lives. You probably think
that earns you the right to disembark this ship and go searching for your families.
Perhaps it does. Yet, I ask you to think carefully, because the moment you step
off this ship, you cease being heroes at a time when the world needs heroes
more than ever. As long as people are in need of help, it is our duty to stay
aboard this ship and do what we signed up to do. Something terrible happened today,
and our country is relying on us to minimise the damage. If we fail to protect our
homeland, then what do our families even have left to live for? America is a country
forged by brave men and women. The moment we stop fighting for our freedom is the
moment we lose it. I, too, have a family, but I will remain aboard the Hatchet and
do my duty. I ask you to do the same. We are heading to Norfolk, and there we will
rearm and refuel. What will happen beyond that, I do not know, but I suggest
that those of you that pray do so now. Pray for us all.”
Before anybody replied, Guy turned to Frank and
gave his orders. “Sail us out of here, Chief Petty, and don’t stop until I say
so.”
~RICK BASTION~
Devonshire, England
Rick still had the injured
woman in his arms, but now Sarah had passed out on the floor besides him. Keith
was frantic trying to call Marcy while everyone else in the pub paced up and
down. The news report said they were at war—not just Britain, but the entire
world. Where had the creatures come from? What did they want? Was it all some
kind of media conspiracy? Other than what he’d seen on the news, Rick had witnessed
none of it for himself. He’d walked to the pub only two hours before, and it
had been a normal evening. It wasn’t until this injured woman had collapsed in
front of the bar he saw anything wrong first hand.
“The paramedics are here,” somebody said, and Rick
looked up to see a man and woman entering. Both wore green NHS jumpsuits, and were
quick to rush over to help. There was no mistaking the haunted look in their
eyes.
“What happened to her?” The female paramedic asked
as she started examining the unconscious woman.
“I have no idea,” said Rick. “She just ran into the
pub and fell down.”
“Something bad is going on,” said Keith. “It’s all
over the news. My wife isn’t answering her phone. Something’s happened.”
“We know,” said the male paramedic, whose bald
head was slick with sweat.
“What do you know?” asked Rick. “Anything
Frank put his hand against Guy’s chest. “Just stay
calm. You can control the situation best by making the most sense. Tosco’s just
another demagogue who thinks you run a ship by pandering to your men.”
“Demagogue? Have you been studying the dictionary
again?”
“Not a lot to do on board a ship but read. I’ll
get the Hatchet moving again. Sooner we leave New York in our wake the better,
if you ask me.”
Guy nodded agreement.
They marched up to the pilothouse where they found
Tosco and a gathering of enlisted men. Guy was happy to see that none of his
other officers had sided with Tosco and were all elsewhere, performing their
duties. Tosco held his chin high and squared his shoulders as if he were about
to put forward a great speech of noble cause.
Guy didn’t give him a chance to utter a single
word. “I understand that some of you want to leave,” he said, wiping the smug
expression from Tosco’s face as he took the upper hand and addressed the issue
before it had a chance to be raised. Tosco would not get the opportunity to
play hero and put forward the concerns of his men. “But I would remind you of
why you are here: You are enlisted men of the United States Coast Guard. You
are not trained killers, like the Navy. You are not merchantmen or fishermen. You
sail the Seven Seas not as pirates. Every man and woman aboard this ship signed
up to be a hero, and today we saved over thirty civilians from a terrible fate.
For that, they will thank us for the rest of their lives. You probably think
that earns you the right to disembark this ship and go searching for your families.
Perhaps it does. Yet, I ask you to think carefully, because the moment you step
off this ship, you cease being heroes at a time when the world needs heroes
more than ever. As long as people are in need of help, it is our duty to stay
aboard this ship and do what we signed up to do. Something terrible happened today,
and our country is relying on us to minimise the damage. If we fail to protect our
homeland, then what do our families even have left to live for? America is a country
forged by brave men and women. The moment we stop fighting for our freedom is the
moment we lose it. I, too, have a family, but I will remain aboard the Hatchet and
do my duty. I ask you to do the same. We are heading to Norfolk, and there we will
rearm and refuel. What will happen beyond that, I do not know, but I suggest
that those of you that pray do so now. Pray for us all.”
Before anybody replied, Guy turned to Frank and
gave his orders. “Sail us out of here, Chief Petty, and don’t stop until I say
so.”
~RICK BASTION~
Devonshire, England
Rick still had the injured
woman in his arms, but now Sarah had passed out on the floor besides him. Keith
was frantic trying to call Marcy while everyone else in the pub paced up and
down. The news report said they were at war—not just Britain, but the entire
world. Where had the creatures come from? What did they want? Was it all some
kind of media conspiracy? Other than what he’d seen on the news, Rick had witnessed
none of it for himself. He’d walked to the pub only two hours before, and it
had been a normal evening. It wasn’t until this injured woman had collapsed in
front of the bar he saw anything wrong first hand.
“The paramedics are here,” somebody said, and Rick
looked up to see a man and woman entering. Both wore green NHS jumpsuits, and were
quick to rush over to help. There was no mistaking the haunted look in their
eyes.
“What happened to her?” The female paramedic asked
as she started examining the unconscious woman.
“I have no idea,” said Rick. “She just ran into the
pub and fell down.”
“Something bad is going on,” said Keith. “It’s all
over the news. My wife isn’t answering her phone. Something’s happened.”
“We know,” said the male paramedic, whose bald
head was slick with sweat.
“What do you know?” asked Rick. “Anything
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