Title: Never Surrender
Chapter 1 – Trapped?

Summary: He's not about to lose his best friend or his ship. The problem is, he can't get to or help either without risking his own life. Based off eppy 1.10 No Place Like Home (contains some spoilers)

Disclaimer: I own nothing from The Last Ship (sadly) only my hard working muse and the dream to work under Captain Chandler hehe

A/N: OMG! I love this show! And since I'm all about bromance (yup ask anyone hehe) I love the bromance between Chandler and Slattery so I had to write a little angsty/actiony piece based off the finale with both of them in danger and then of course reuniting. Of course I have no idea how they'll resolve all these crisis's but this is my take! So I really hope this isn't too lame! Thank you and enjoy!

"Nathan James…where are you?"

The silence he's getting back in return is almost stifling; drowning out the dismal hum from the eerie cityscape around him. This isn't what he expected coming home. His beloved wife Darien was dead, his children sick and father nearly dead; three of them he could save, one precious life was lost by time not being on his side. He would need time to mourn her, for the sake of his own mental wellbeing and that of his children. But right now wasn't the time. It was time to get the hell out of dodge as it were – Baltimore was no longer the safe haven they thought it was and they were all in danger. Things are rapidly deteriorating and an even bigger challenge has been presented – no contact with his best friend or his ship. And to say he was left stranded in hell was almost an understatement.

"Sir?" Lt. Carlton Burk breaks into his thoughts, pulling Captain Tom Chandler's narrowed blue eyes in his direction. "They'd answer if they could."

"I know…something's wrong," Chandler's lips utter a soft whisper knowing inside that his XO Mike Slattery wasn't the kind of man to play silly games, certainly when tension was this high. Had he let down his guard a little? No, Mike would never do that. Something's wrong. Very wrong. They're in trouble.

"Dad I need you find a place to hide and take Sam and Ashley with you," Chandler quickly directs his attention to his father.

"I can go with you," Jed Chandler, Tom's father replies in haste.

"No. You need to keep them safe, that is your mission right now. Burk and I will handle this," Chandler tells his father in a stern tone; his heart still racing at all that his brain was frantically trying to take in while at the same time keep his wits about him and figure out why he had lost contact with his ship.

"We need to go now," Burk states as they hear determined footsteps heading in their direction. Tom Chandler picks up his daughter; his father taking his son's hand and Burk leading the charge toward a darkened stairwell; all of them hurrying down and praying that the next door they bust through wouldn't have any more unwelcomed surprises.

"Find them!"

"Hurry!" Chandler hisses as he picks up the pace, sprinting toward a clump of trees and then pressing himself and his daughter into the shadows and hoping they'd be overlooked.

They would be – this time.

"Dad…"

"I'll go to Ernie's bait shop. You know the place. We'll wait there. I think it's marked with a Red X but that means we could be safe."

"No one is safe here anymore. We need to leave Baltimore tonight," Chandler replies with a small groan as he looks at Burk who's dark eyes look back with determination. "We need to get out of here but we can't be seen or caught all together. I need you to take them down to the waterfront but via the opposite direction. When you get there stay out of sight and wait for me. I know Green and Jeter are headed there but no matter who else you see, you wait for me. Is that understood."

"It is."

"Okay we gotta go."

"No daddy, don't go!"

Chandler kneels down to his daughter and holds her close. "I have to go baby girl. I have to help Uncle Mike. But I give you my word that we will see other again very soon, okay? But right now I need to make contact with my ship and my crew. If they are under attack or in trouble you know I have to help them. Stay with Grandpa and stay out of sight. No one here's your friend but us."

"Stay safe Tom."

"I will," Chandler nods to his father. "Now go!" He directs as he watches his father pick up his daughter in one arm, take his son by the other hand and dart off in the opposite direction. "Did you try Danny?" Chandler asks Burk.

"The signal's still being blocked. They could be walking into a trap or…"

"Are already in one. We know trouble is at the ship or heading toward it and we need to warn it. Let's go."

"What about Alisha and Dr. Scott?"

Chandler looks at Burk's concerned expression and feels his own stomach tighten. They were spread too thin and his concern for all under his command, military, civilian or otherwise were starting to pull him in a few conflicted directions. Could he leave two women at the mercy of war lords? What about Danny who was trying to get an injured Jeter safely back to the ship? And what about his oddly silent XO?

"We can try calling them from the lab."

"No. We need to make contact with Slattery first. We head for the harbor and try to contact the Nathan James and then we regroup with Danny and Jeter and figure out a way to get everyone back on board. Then we get the hell outta here."

"Copy that," Burk states in an undertone as both of them hear voices in the near distance approaching. Time was up. They had to move on.

"This way."

Chandler charges in the same direction as his father had just been but then darts in the opposite direction to double back; Burk hot on his heels. But there is no time to even breathe a small sigh of relief as he rounds the corner and is instantly confronted by two armed thugs.

"Hey!"

Chandler and Burk go into action, each taking a man; applying a few moves that render their targets neutralized in moments. Without wasting a breath, they take their opponents high powered weapons and push onward, desperately looking for a somewhat discreet mode of transportation.

"What do you really think's going on Sir?"

"I don't know Burk," Chandler answers in truth. "I just know I don't like it."

XXXXXXXX

"Nathan James come in…"

He can hear the tension in his friend and commander's voice as his mind races to find a way out of this seemingly no win situation they were all stuck in.

Mike Slattery looks at Lt. Norris before him and feels his jaw instantly tighten. How the hell did this happen! How the hell did we let ourselves get taken like this? They had expected to arrive and find help from those on their side; instead they are now under fire from their own; or who they thought was their own.

"I'm not giving you anything you son of a bitch!"

"I'll pick your crew off one by one! My troopers are everywhere. This ship is now mine."

"We're Americans like you and like you…"

"You're…not…listening!" Norris hisses as his hand keeps his gun trained on Slattery. "Now I want you to…"

"He needs help!" Slattery hisses; his eyes dropping down to a writhing Dr. Tophet and then back up to Norris; his patience running thin. If I charge, where will I get hit? Would he chance it? Would the rest of the crew then rush him? Surrendering wasn't an option and giving over the Nathan James into the hands of traitors would be tantamount to treason in his own mind.

"Surrender this ship, now!"

"Go to hell!" Slattery retorts angrily as he does what shocks a lot of his crew; his mind telling him that it was time for him to act. But at the same time he gets a bit of help from Tophet, who sends his legs out to help the man who had once looked at him with a death threat; kicking at Norris and taking away his aim.

*bang*

Slattery's lips cry out as the bullet rips through his upper left forearm, Norris stumbling backward and allowing Slattery's angry frame to slam into his and send them both backward into the control bulkhead. He lands an angry punch to Norris jaw as Norris tries to pry himself out from under Slattery's solid frame.

Norris, however, lands a stiff punch to Slattery's already wounded arm, causing the XO to let out a painful gasp as he pulls back. But the struggle is short lived as a few of the deck officers rush in to help, pulling Norris's struggling frame off Slattery and giving him a chance to pull free and get upright.

"Hold him!" Slattery barks as he looks down at Kara. "We need Rios up here," Slattery states in haste, referring to the Nathan James navy doctor. "Get Tophet some help."

"He's shot pretty bad, we need to get him to the hospital or he'll die."

"We need…" Slattery starts with a hint of desperation in his voice.

"You need to get that looked at," Kara looks up in haste as Slattery's already bloody hand clamps back down on his throbbing arm.

"No, we need to warn Chandler and whoever else is on their way here," Slattery muses as he looks at the blood smattering on the control panel to the right. No more funerals, he quickly recalls Chandler's words during Dr. Scott's medical trials. "Okay so we can probably assume that they are monitoring all channels and they know we have control of the bridge…" Slattery's voice dies out as he slowly heads toward one of the windows and looks down to see the rest of the crew of the Nathan James gathering as directed. "They heard the shots. They know something's going on. Damn it!"

"How many guns?"

"It's those that are coming toward us that I'm worried about," Slattery huffs as he looks down at Kara tending to Tophet and then back up at the rest of the standing bridge crew. "We cannot surrender this ship and pulling up anchor and leaving the Captain and the others isn't even an option but we can't afford any more casualties. Alert the crew down there right now without warning and Norris's men start shooting all we'll be watching is a blood bath."

"A few of us can go down there armed," Kara suggests firmly.

"We don't have time!" Slattery's lips offer an exasperated huff. He looks at all the brave faces and knows that each and every one of them would gladly surrender themselves if it meant the freedom of everyone else. But their lives were also precious and so taking needless risks is something he wants to avoid.

"Can we wait them out? They'll try to radio him," Meija pipes up, drawing all eyes to him, "and when they come up we can pick them off one by one?"

"Those men will be here soon."

"I will take the boat to the Marina to warn Green and the captain," Kara suggests as Slattery looks at her with a set jaw. Slattery didn't know the whereabouts of Granderson or Scott but could only assume that from his last communication with Chandler that they were still at the lab and he assumes will be safe there. But then if these men were supposedly protecting the lab then maybe none of them were safe.

"Sir?"

"Make sure Norris doesn't come to and can make a fuss. We need to leave but we can't without everyone who should be here back on board."

"We have to get Tophet to a hospital right now," Kara states as he keeps pressure on Tophet's gunshot wound. "He's fading fast."

"No we need Rios up here and we need to stand and fight!" Slattery looks down at Tophet and then up at the city's twinkling horizon in the near distance and utters a whispered curse through his clenched jaw as he sees the burning lights of 3 boats and 3 choppers heading straight for them; the city fading in the background.

"Water…Air…we can't let them take the ship! Okay…here's what we do…"

XXXXXXXX

"Now what?" Burk huffs as they near a blockade; three armed men in black several meters a head.

"Tell them I'm sick and we're going to get my family in Kresson. It's the opposite direction of the bay," Chandler quickly undoes his seatbelt and slowly turns on his side, trying slink down in the seat and pretend that he was sick.

"Hold it right there! You need to…"

"We need to get to his family in Kresson," Burk replies calmly as the gunman shines a light in Chandler's face; prompting the Nathan James commander to continue to put on his best fake cough and pray the rouse works. "He wants to get them and take them to Olympia."

"Heard…there's a cure…there…" Chandler offers with a fake wheeze just as he bends his head and offers another fake cough. "Hurry…"

"Look man we gotta get to his family. We need that cure!"

Time seems to slow to a painful eternity while they await their fate, time against them and rapidly pushing each second pass with a bit of extra incentive. Finally, the answer they were waiting for.

"Let them pass."

"Damn that was close," Burk sighs as Chandler sits upright and gives him the directions to double back to the harbor, remaining unseen if possible. That plan works for about ten minutes. Then all hell breaks loose once more. "We're under fire!"

The bullets embed themselves into the side of the sedan, two breaking the window and forcing Chandler and Burk to take immediate action as they are sprayed with jagged shards of glass and torn up bits of distressed leather upholstery.

"Look out!" Chandler shouts as Burk tries to keep the car from hitting a tree and sending them both toward a painful impact. But his plan is rendered moot as another bullet blows out the tire and the car slams into the tree fender first.

For a few seconds both remain there dazed but not at all confused. Someone had alerted the independent rebels that they were a threat and now they were taking action.

"Bu…rk…Burk!" Chandler coughs as his right hand instantly shoots up to touch the spot on his forehead where it throbs the most. He feels the sticky ooze from fresh blood but doesn't even have time to apply some finger pressure as the passenger door is yanked open and he's literally dragged from the front passenger seat.

"Wait…a second…" Chandler tries, his head trying to turn back to see what was happening with Burk while at the same time, his brain is yelling at his eyes to focus! These men will not listen to reason! Fight back! His brain urges at the same time. However, that wouldn't be as easy as instruction.

Chandler tries to get both of his legs to work at the same time, which they do and he's able to make the two men on either side of him stumble; his next plan of attack to get his arms free and go for a weapon. He twists his left leg and kicks out just as the man on his right punches him in the side; making his lips utter a painful gasp thanks to the bruising his tender ribs were now feeling after the impact with the tree.

"We're not…sick!" Chandler's voice implores as one of the men tries to subdue him with a tackle to the ground and then trying to get his arms behind his back. But he's able to pull one arm free, grab the leg of the man closest and give it a good yank, causing the man to stumble backward. That distraction then allows Chandler to send his legs to the left and kick out the man on the other side. Finally able to pull his gun, he fires off two shots, taking his attackers down for good.

He rolls onto his back, looking up the inky night sky as he desperately tries to get the pounding in his head to stop and the world to stop spinning long enough for him to stand up and see what Burk's status is. Something finally cooperates and he's able to lift his head and see his trained officer take out the third man before rushing in his direction.

"Commander!" Burk calls out as he nears, offering his hand and helping Chandler to sit up; his weary frame begging for a few extra seconds to just rest and try to recover. "So much for trying to remain invisible."

"Someone is desperate to keep us away from our ship," Chandler slightly gasps as he stands upright and looks around. They could hear a few gunshots in the distance and both exchange worried glances. "We have to keep moving. We need to get to Green and Jeter and then see why we can't hail the Nathan James. Let's go."

Biting back the pain emanating from his head down through his side, Chandler directs Burk toward the shadows alongside a few dilapidated homes; wanting to keep them hidden as long as possible. But that cover is short lived and within seconds they find themselves under fire once more.

"Damn these guys just won't quit," Chandler huffs, his body once again begging for him to rest for even a few seconds.

"I thought they wanted the cure?" Burk asks as they finally gain some ground and race down a darkened alleyway, once again using the shadows to help them with their escape.

"They want power."

"But from who?"

"From whoever has the most guns," Chandler growls as they near the end of the street. "And right now that doesn't seem to be us."

"Where on earth can we go that's safe?"

"I don't know," Chandler answers in truth as they near another area with a few busted up cars and dimly lit houses. "We have no friends here so take no chances," Chandler warns his officer as they near a small group gathered around a fire in a metal barrel. Chandler's eyes slightly narrow to sharpen his field of view but he can see from the blank stares on the wondering faces looking at them that they'll find no friends or ally's here. They'd keep moving on.

They get to the top of a hill and pause for a few minutes to finally catch their breathes and let their heart rates slow a little; Burk dropping to his knees in a more restful pose.

"You've earned this few minutes," Chandler states as he looks toward the bay where the Nathan James is waiting. But instead of just seeing his ship sitting idle and waiting for them, his eyes widen in horror as they take in the very distinct lights in the air and on the water heading toward the Nathan James in what appears to be attack formation. "Oh no," Chandler whispers as Burk's dark eyes lift and follow Chandler's, they too instantly widening in horrible wonder.

"That's why they're not answering, they're under attack!"

XXXXXXXX

"I don't care if it's crude just patch him up and put him someplace safe!" Slattery barks as he watches Kara and two other officers pad Tophet's chest as best they can and then wrap it with duct tape for the trip into the belly of the ship. He knows Norris only has a few men on the actual ship deck, but it was the incoming attack that worries him the most and he needs everyone in fighting stance; leaving the ship right now, not even an option for him.

"What about Danny and the others?" Kara inquires with a furrowed brow.

"As soon as we start shooting, they'll get the message loud and clear. Those incoming are our top priority now. Meija get Tophet below deck now!"

"Yes sir."

Slattery's attention then turns back to the imminent incoming attack and without hesitating, he sounds the alarm to signal all – battle stations. He knows it's not a foolproof plan and there is the very good chance they'd lose more precious crew members but surrendering the ship, the crew and the cure into the hands of power hungry madmen isn't an option.

"ALL HANDS! BATTLESTATIONS!" Slattery shouts with renewed force as he his hand reaches for his radio and he calls Chandler; the outside alarm sounding with renewed vigor.

"Nathan James calling Captain Chandler. Tom are you there?"

Just as they reach the bottom of the hill, Chandler looks at Burk as they both hear Slattery's contrite voice coming through with a slight crackle and forcing their actions to instantly halt and look at each other with strained relief. Chandler's fingers quickly scramble to get a reply back.

He pushes the button to talk and…

"Nathan James! What the hell's going..."

*click*

"Captain Chandler…are you there?"

A/N: Eeks! writing in a new fandom always makes me nervous so I hope this was okay! And I must confess it started out as a one shot but grew into a two shot and I hope that's okay for a first piece. So who do you think has pulled a gun on the captain and Burk and how will Slattery defend and take back the Nathan James? Will the crew's reunion be marked with more death? I hope it was okay and you all liked it a little bit and I hope I had everyone mostly in character. I would love some feedback on this so please do review before you go and thanks in advance!

PS: summer of 2015 can't come soon enough!