Grey foam splashed high, stinging sea mist flying this way and that as the angry waves grappled amongst themselves and reached up to lick the sides of the eighteen-ton boat. Rippling faintly through the whistling wind came the faint but determined voices:
...Through surf and storm and howling gale,
High shall our purpose be.
"Semper Paratus" is our guide…
The man pulled the collar of his indigo suit up higher against his chin, grimacing and raising a hand in a twisted salute-turned-shield against the chilly spray that spattered his strong-jawed face.
"Hey!" The call rang out, strident and barking. "You've got ten seconds to get this sorted and organized, and you just wasted three! Get over here and do your job!"
Petty Officer Third Class Samuel Winchester turned and swiftly strode back from the ship railing, only the slightest tightening in his jaw betraying his agitation and distaste. Chief Petty Officer Nathan Walzer raised an eyebrow but said no more. Swarthy and handsome in a stern, no-nonsense sort of way, Officer Walzer had an unappreciable tendency to look down his large, aquiline nose and stare his subordinates into groveling and timid young boys, a far cry from the muscular chests and commanding manner that greeted most others.
The epitome of "would-rather-be-friendless-than-jobless," Walzer was a planner and a doer; hardworking and rigidly fair, insensitive to the hardships of others, and a perfectionist, he held others to unshakeable high standards and would not hesitate to put another lower-ranking man in his place. Unfortunately for Walzer, however, his quite-respectable 6'2'' frame could not quite bring him to a level eye-to-eye with Petty Officer Winchester, and no matter how much he expanded his chest or strained his spine, he was always forced to raise his own eyes to meet Winchester's. Walzer's dark brown orbs always brimmed with a special brand of hatred when they meet Winchester's cool hazel-blue.
"Yes, sir!" Winchester enunciated carefully, spitting the words out with carefully-contained venom. "Right away, sir." His upper lip twitched and then clamped down hard as if it wanted to curl in defiance, and then thought better of it. Yes, sir. Right away, sir. Of course, sir. No, sir. Yes. No. Yes. No. No. No.
Only the thought of another man kept his angry words from escaping; the thought of another tall form, another set of corded arms that embraced him instead gesticulated wildly at him, another set of eyes that warmed when they fell on him instead of hardened. And another mouth, that joked and comforted and teased but never dropped the cold words that were so common in this chilly little life. He thought of another life, another family, and pressed on.
A/N: So...any thoughts on Ch. 1? If anyone is enjoying it, please let me know and I promise I'll finish this one up. Not sure how many chapters it'll end up being, my current guess is about 5 but really that's up in the air. At least 3, I can promise you that.
If you have a moment to spare for a review or a PM, I would be super grateful and happy to hear your thoughts, good or bad!
And as always, thank you for reading.