Chapter 15 - The Ocean HorizonSix months after the trial of Arthur Sterling concluded with a life sentence for high treason and conspiracy, Admiral Richard Callahan stood on the pier at Naval Base San Diego.
Beside him stood Michael Carter, civilian coat turned up against the Pacific breeze.
In the harbor, a sleek Arleigh Burke-class destroyer pulled away from the pier, heading out past Point Loma toward open waters. Standing on the bridge wing, visible through binoculars, Ensign Sarah Carter watched the coastline recede as her ship began its six-month deployment to the Western Pacific.
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Callahan looked over at Michael, offering a quiet, satisfied smile. Twenty-four years after the dark waters of the South China Sea nearly swallowed them both, the truth had prevailed, the conspirators were imprisoned, and a new generation was taking the watch.
As the destroyer disappeared over the blue horizon, the two old sailors turned and walked together down the pier under a clear, endless sky.
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