Prologue

Captain Willie Sharp was nervous, but trying to hide it as his blue eyes took in the sight of the USS Danbridge and the sailors running around it. His plane had malfunctioned and he had been forced to eject over the Mediterranean Sea on his way back to the air base in Jordan and the Navy destroyer had picked him up out of the water with the expected jokes about the Air Force from some of the Naval officers onboard. A pair of coveralls, belt, shirt and ball cap had been donated from one of the others, with metal insignia denoting his rank on the collar. As he was walking outside, he ran into an argument taking place on one of the decks.

"…and with all due respect, sir, just because you have a degree doesn't mean you know this gear. That would be me…" Will stepped forward to see a young woman glaring at an even younger man with the gold bars of a 2nd Lieutenant, no Ensign, he mentally corrected himself, as she wiped her hands on a rag before continuing her lecture. "Sir, I am well aware that we have to have this repaired before we hit the Suez, but I can't fix the fucking gear if I am standing here flapping my gums and not working. I promise that as soon as I get it repaired, I'II come find you." The young officer nodded and walked away as the woman let out a breath and turned to go in the opposite direction. As he caught a glimpse of her face, Will was taken aback. She wasn't a classic beauty, but there was something striking about her features that spoke of recent Native American ancestry. She was maybe two or three years younger than he was, her dark brown heavily streaked with auburn from the sun and a dark tan. "Excuse me, sir," she said calmly as she brushed past him. Before Will could finish processing his thoughts, the woman had vanished and disappeared into one of the passageways. He heard his name and went with another officer as they prepared to receive a helicopter to take him back to his base.