4. Minesweeper

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They were closing in on Takehaya and the kidnapped sailors. But as usual there was trouble ahead. The only thing he remembered was hearing Senior Chief Taylor say "Captain, we need to belay that order." But Kudelski wasn't hearing it. Then the Captain ordered them out of the water. There was a blast shortly after it.

Kudelski..

In their search for the missing crew members they had maneuvered the James in the middle of an underwater minefield. They were like sitting ducks, stuck, waiting for the mines to reach them. In their effort to defuse the situation they had now lost another crew member. As the divers came back to the James and were walking to the helo bay when Captain Chandler asked if they got Kudelski. "Nothing to find." Danny said bluntly, angry at the whole situation. How were they going to get away from this? As he sat down to think about the situation they were in, his mind kept only thinking about Kara.

Remembering the morning after their wedding. He had woken up and heard her laugh the cutest laugh. Turning to see her, he saw that she was lying on her back, hands on her growing belly. He had smiled at her and startled her with a kiss on the lips. "The baby is kicking." She smiled and took his hand to place it on her belly just over where the baby had kicked a moment before. He felt a kick and chuckled. "Good morning wife." He gazed at her and smiled. "Good morning husband." She smiled back at him. Making him feel so content right there and then. He still couldn't really believe that in this post-apocalyptic world he had found someone to share his life with. "I think he's practicing the SEAL routine." He heard her chuckle. "Thinking it's a boy?" He looked at her. "Just a hunch." She had said and then kissed him.


They were brainstorming in the wardroom. Danny himself, Taylor, Cruz, both the Burk brothers and Captain Chandler. They were shutting down idea after an idea. Nothing sounded safe enough. Then he heard the Captain ask the ships current TAO, Cameron Burk about the ships Nixies.

He wondered what the Captain was thinking with them. They were usually used as a decoy to divert hostile torpedoes away from the ship by producing an acoustic signal which was more attractive than the ship itself. Cameron had confirmed that both the Nixies were in working order. As Danny studied the Captain, he could see that he was coming up with an idea. "We drag a Nixie behind us to fool a torpedo.. What's stopping us to use it to trick the mines?" Chandler wondered. Yeah, that might work he had thought.

They all agreed this was the safest approach, to drag a Nixie that was tied to the helo and fly the helo in front of the ship, clearing a path. But as Danny thought about it, they were still not going to make it.

"Sir. I don't think Jesse's helo can cover enough water in the time that we have. You may get a path out, but the time it's clear, the mines on our flank are going to take us out." He laid out the facts. "We can rig the second Nixie to one of the RHIBs." He made his suggestion not thinking about the consequences. Not allowing himself to think about Kara. He had to keep his head clear or it might be Gitmo all over again. "You'll be racing over the mines as they detonate." He heard Chandler's serious tone. But he knew. It would be a risky operation, but they had to do it. Stating that there was no other way, he glanced at Taylor, Burk and Cruz. Not noticing the shared look Taylor had with Cruz. After a pause Chandler had agreed and he left the room to prepare the RHIB. Wondering what had made his colleagues so serious and still all of a sudden. They needed to act and get away from this nightmare. Sooner, the better.

As he was preparing the RHIB with Taylor and Cruz, he could hear the Captain shout at him "Green! You're a lookout on the helo." What? He looked puzzled and glanced at the Captain. Had he heard him wrong? Why was he ordering him to the helo? "What?" Was the only response he gave to Chandler. "That's a two man job. Lookout. Helo. Now!" Chandler shouted firmly.

Danny eyed his men. So this is why they hadn't spoken their minds. They had gone to the Captain behind his back to assign him off the RHIB. To make sure he would be out of harms way. It was about Kara and Frankie, he thought. He had family back at home, but so did others on the ship as well. Why should he be any different? This was part of his job and Kara knew the risks. "100 yards of cable." He said to Cruz, seeing him nod back at him. Then he stepped toward Taylor and stopped to meet his eyes. Thanking him in a way that they would be willing to take the risk for him. Even though he felt betrayed inside. He then bumped Taylor on the arm and walked away to the helo. Hoping they would survive through this.


He couldn't shake the feeling that he should have been on the RHIB with his men. Perhaps he could have done something differently. As the helo was flying over the water, Danny was trying to locate Taylor and Cruz after the explosion. They had taken a hit since the Nathan James had been targeted from ashore with a torpedo. Hitting the torpedo with the Nixie had also blown up the RHIB. He felt guilty that he hadn't been on the RHIB, but at the same time he was relieved. He would get a chance to go back home.

But it didn't make him feel any better, because at what cost was he getting to go home?