Back on Samoa, dawn approaches. The island's vampires now slither back towards their holes...to avoid becoming piles of ash, by the dawn's sunlit wrath.

Not too far from the NAU islands, Russia flies its flag over a few of theirs. There are naval bases here. Some of the warships here come all the way from Vladivostok. They're stuck here during the winter...for Vladivostok freezes over at that time of year.

Russia's thinking about opening up another port in Ryojun... Alas, they'd have to conquer Korea to do so.

But there are many merchant ships, too. Samoa's got a lot of valuable resources growing in its jungles, and within its soils and off its shores. At the wharfs, merchant ships take in a lot of these commodities, and prepare for a springtime voyage to Vladivostok.

One of these ships is about to ferry less than 329 people from here to Vladivostok. She doesn't make berth there, but this isn't the first time she's taken the Tsar's subjects across the sea. She's called the SS Omar Dresden. Rumor has it she's named after the bastard son of an Ottoman Turk and a Prussian German...

Soon, all the passengers are accounted for. This is a slave ship. It's about to send a bunch of enslaved Samoans from here to Vladivostok...where they'll be bought by Russian noblemen, and compelled to do all kinds of work that such noblemen would rather kill themselves than do. And as big as Russia is, that list is VERY long...

So, the ship casts off. Steam and wind later, it's in the bay. Its route will take it right past the military base where Thomas stays.

As of now, Thomas sleeps in his barracks...dreading the dawn. He's asleep. The SS Omar Dresden is still very far away...but closing in.

An angel visits him in his sleep. She's black. She looks like Carolyn...

"Thomas," Maya Sarabi whispers. "Thomas...your people are in danger. A ship approaches. There's a nitroglycerin bomb aboard it; fifty kegs, lashed together. It'll run aground, and kill many of the NAU slaves, who you protect. You must rise. You must call the artillery to arms. You must defend your adorable little Carolyn. She's worth more to you than any little Mary, or old Todd. Rise, Thomas. Rise, and defend your race...let mine gives you a volley right in the scrotum!"

Thomas wakes...with fear in his heart. The Omar Dresden is coming. Carolyn says it's got a bomb aboard it. This fort must act! This fort must protect its country's slaves!

Soon, the bell is ringing. Scarlet flags wave, calling the artillery to arms.

Via mules, the cannons are hauled to shore. They're lined up, and unhitched. They're swabbed. They're stuffed with gunpowder.

Up the strait, the Omar Dresden approaches. It's just a slave ship. None of the gunners notice. But even if they did, they're just following orders.

The artillery's barrels are raised, and angled to perfection. They all point at where the ship is going to be. Cannonballs are rolled into the breeches. Torches are lit, and prepared to light the fuses on Thomas's command.

Far offshore, the Dresden still sails. If its crew is wary of the threat ashore, they don't signal so.

"VOLLEY," Thomas shouts, raising a red flag.

Simultaneously, the gunners of the battery raise their torches...

"FIRE!"

Just as simultaneously, the torches are lowered, and the fuses are lit. Sparks and explosions later, a battery's worth of cannonballs are flying over the strait. They plunge right into the wood and steel that make up the Dresden, and explode, once inside.

The ship only needs one volley. Soon, it's on fire. From topside, a few crewmen scream, while on fire, and jump into the water. Thomas doesn't dare give another command, until the last of the ship's topside has submerged, beneath the strait's waves...

The battery retires. They've no idea they've just sunk a bomb-free ship...or murdered over 300 Samoan slaves.

Later, Thomas returns. He's barely dressed. He leaves his hinny ashore, wades out into the strait, swims, and dives.

Down there, the ship's remains still smoke, and make bubbles. At least its fires are out.

Every now and then, a shark swims into a hole in the ship. Just as often, another shark swims out, having eaten his share of the crew. And for that, a lot of human blood still oozes through the ship's holes.

This doesn't stop Thomas. He dives through the holes, and looks for survivors.

Alas, he recognizes a lot of slaves' cages. Many of them are still inside...and dead. The sharks thrash against the bars, trying to get in... Alas, sharks just aren't meant to eat some meals. For their remoras, it's an easy way in. Alas, it's too bad remoras are better for keeping their hosts clean than they are at fetching food for them.

The moray eels arrive, and have a feast. The sharks then leave, knowing they won't have much luck, if the eels have already gotten to all the good stuff before they can.

Thomas dives...and feels like gagging, here and there. Sadly, he doesn't think anyone got out alive.

He finds the crew's roster in the flotsam. There are 329 names on it. They've all been crossed off. The first mate probably did that, moments before the ship casted off from the Russian wharfs.

From behind Thomas, something approaches. It's black, and it's devious...

It touches him. He whirls, with a bayonet, prepared to defend himself...

With freaked-out eyes, Carolyn shakes her head, and holds up her arms. Thomas relaxes. He sticks the bayonet into his trunks, takes Carolyn in his arms, leaves the ship, and hauls her to the strait's surface.

Up here, they take their breaths. They're all wet. And they're both way too close to each other.

"I had a dream last night," he tells her. "You told me to destroy this ship. You said there was a nitro bomb aboard it. So I...did what you asked."

Carolyn looks down. She can't see much past the surface...but she doesn't look like she likes what she's seen. "I don't know how you dreamed that," she admits. "I never would've ordered such macabre."

"I would say that's a relief." He looks down, too. "Too bad I can't do anything about all those dead slaves down there." He studies her...

"It's okay," she assures him. "I'm African. Those people were Samoans. They were hardly my kin."

He studies her.

She frowns. "But even if they were my kin, I... Depending on who they were, I probably would've given you that order. I don't remember much about my family back in Africa, but I do remember one person. And she was..." She stops.

Thomas studies her. "She?" With his hand, he guides her hot ebony chin, to where she's looking back up at him. "Carolyn? Is there someone from your past that I should know about?" He blinks. "Or, your matriline, even?"

She shakes her head. "We don't do pedigrees in Africa...or at least, not with ink and parchment. Anyway, it's probably nothing."

"Well... What if it is something?" He looks down. "If it is nothing, then those slaves probably all died in vain."

She shakes her head, and starts swimming back. "They died in vain, then."

"Carolyn!" Thomas chases her down, and embraces her again.

Soon, they're both upright again...and staring into one another's eyes. On impulse, he kisses her.

"Sorry," he says, later. "I had to do that."

She leaps, and kisses him back. Soon, they take this to shore...and do it sea otter-style. With luck, no one will come down from the stockades and see them like this. Thomas isn't sure, but he's got a steamy feeling that he could get court-martialed for this...or even dismissed from the army.

They shouldn't. So what, if Carolyn's black? So what, if she's a slave? She's hot, and she's single. And if she had her way, she'd have better things to do than a slave's work...like become this conservative Californian man's mistress...if not his wife.

Back aboard the Dresden, the remains of the ship's decaying passengers have been reduced. Alas, they're not entirely inedible yet...

Through holes in the decks, lampreys swim. With their round mouths, they latch themselves to the bones...and start lapping up the marrow. If the corpses were still alive, their blood would come from their marrow.

The fruit isn't as ripe, when it's just a seed...but if you're a vampire, anything's possible.

All around, other lampreys arrive...and take part in what's left to be had of the Dresden's feeding frenzy. The vampire epidemic is still at-large. Soon, it'll be up to Thomas to oppose it. And that's going to be very hard, at times...especially now that Maya Sarabi's involved...if she wasn't before.