Chapter 2
Minutes later, RO speaks up "Sir, I've just got a call from NAVCOM. They say all ships should find a safe anchor point immediately. A category 2 cyclone is nearing our coastline." Getting up from his chair, Mike goes over to RO. "RO, give me NAVCOM. And put the call through to my cabin." Without waiting for RO to answer, Mike is already on his way down to his cabin, shouting over his shoulder "Nav, you have the ship!" Nav confirms his order "Aye, Sir. On the bridge, Navigator has the ship!"
RO just looks after him and says "Already on it, Sir", even though his CO can't hear it anymore. Charge, Dutchy and Nav exchange knowing glances and resume their jobs at hand. Nav keeps her eyes on the radar, Dutchy still watching the EOD, hoping to catch sight of the FFV and Charge is still at the helm, steering them directly towards their target vessel.
Once down in his cabin, Mike shuts the door, to maintain some privacy. Then he grabs the receiver, just as RO puts the call through. "NAVCOM on the line for you Sir." "Thanks, RO", Mike replies and then waits till he hears Maxine's voice on the other end of the line. Then he starts to explain their situation "Max, we have a big FFV on our radar, possibly a mothership. We just can't let them get away. They may even need our assistance, depending on the condition of their boat." Maxine thinks this information through and answers "Alright, Mike. Follow this up. But don't stay out there any longer than necessary. Find a safe anchor point ASAP. Is that understood?" Sighing softly, Mike replies "Perfectly, Maxine. We'll keep you posted. Bye Max." "Bye, Mike. And fair winds", with this being said, Maxine ends the call.
Just as he is about to write this down in his log-book, a call comes through the ships PA system. "CO report to the bridge. CO report to the bridge!" Shaking his head, Mike puts the pen aside and leaves his cabin. On his way, he decides to wake the X, letting her know what's going on. He knocks softly on her door and after taking a quick look around, enters her cabin. Seeing her still sleeping in her rack puts a smile on his face. Moving over to her side, Mike carefully sits down on her bunk and wipes a stray strand of her blond hair gently out of her face. Then he leans down and whispers directly into her ear "Time to get up, Kate. We are both needed on the bridge." As she slowly starts to wake up, Mike decides to be bold and still hovering over her face he gently presses his lips down on hers. But even this feather-light touch, is enough to wake her fully. Startled she looks into Mike's face, centimeters from her own.
Realizing the slight panic in her eyes, Mike hastens to reassure her "Everything is alright, Kate. I just need you with me up on the bridge. Are you feeling up to it?" Sitting upright on her bunk and looking into the face of her lover, Kate answers "Of course, Sir. Just give me a moment and I'll be right up." With a nod, Mike gets up and exits her cabin, making his way up to the bridge. On arrival he is directly spoken to by Nav "Boss, we have another radar contact. It's only about ten minutes away from our current position. Could be another FFV Sir." Going over to her, Mike takes a look for himself at the radar and sees that the last contact is stationary. Knowing such a short distance is nothing for their RHIBs, he orders "Pipe boarding stations, Nav."
Nav grabs the intercom and says loudly "Hands to boarding stations! Hands to boarding stations! Hands to boarding stations!" Hearing this PA call, Dutchy gets up from his post at the EOD and goes down to the boarding room. Knowing that the X will be already there, too, Mike hands the ship over to Nav and exits the bridge. Down in the boarding room, Dutchy, X, 2Dads, Bird and the new swain, Buddy are putting on their boarding gear. Mike arrives just in time to help Kate with her gear. She smiles gratefully at him, as he helps her into her Kevlar vest and then into the tac-vest, pulling the straps just right. As he adjusts the last strap, he can't help himself any longer and before anyone knows what's going on, he has her in his arms and kisses her hungrily. Only the need for air forces them apart.
Shocked Dutchy, 2Dads, Bird and Buddy watch the scene play out in front of them. Kate on the other hand, is not just shocked, she is outright furious. Not really thinking of any consequences, she lets the flat site of her hand connect with his cheek. The slapping sound reverberates throughout the boarding room, shocking the others in the room even more. The slap is so hard, that the COs head flies to the side and makes contact with the metal wall behind him. Groaning slightly, Mike rights himself and rubs his still aching cheek. Not taking his eyes of the X, he turns to the others in the room. "Get into the RHIB and wait for my signal to go ahead. Dismissed." Dutchy nods and orders the rest to come with him. To his CO, he says "We'll be awaiting your orders, boss, X". Having said these words, the Bosun finally leaves his two commanding officers alone.
Alone at last, Kate lets go of her frustration even more "How could you do this? Do you really want to throw our careers out the window? Have you gone totally nuts?" Her voice rising in volume with every spoken word. Not being fazed by her loud voice, Mike calmly responds "I won't discuss this with you here. We'll talk later. For now, just do this boarding and when you're back, we'll have our talk in my cabin", he halts a moment and then finishes "Go ahead, X." He then follows her out to the deck where the others are already sitting in the RHIB. The X joins them and the RHIB is lowered into the water. Mike stands at the railing and looks down to his sailors. Then he gives the order they are all waiting for "Away sea boat!" With that the RHIB takes off, heading towards the FFV. Looking as long as his eyes would allow him after the RHIB, Mike then makes his way inside and up to the bridge. Once there he grabs a pair of binoculars and trains them on the departing RHIB, following their progress.