Chapter 18 - Pacific WatchSeven thousand miles away, in the deep blue waters of the Philippine Sea, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS John Masters sliced through six-foot swells at twenty-four knots.
On the bridge, Ensign Sarah Carter stood watch as the Officer of the Deck under instruction. Her night-vision goggles hung around her neck, her gaze fixed on the dark, endless horizon where the starry sky met the Pacific.
In her pocket rested a small silver compass—a gift from her father before her ship pulled out of San Diego, engraved with the coordinates of Grid 7-Alpha in the South China Sea.
“Contact bearing two-four-zero, range twelve miles, surface contact proceeding on course one-eight-zero,” the radar operator announced crisp and clear.
“Rudder ten degrees left, track contact on primary surface radar,” Sarah commanded, her voice steady and sharp with absolute authority.
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The bridge team executed the order without a second's hesitation. Standing near the chart table, the ship’s commanding officer looked over at Sarah, offering a subtle, approving nod.
She wasn't just Michael Carter’s daughter anymore. She was a naval officer in her own right, standing watch over the very waters where her father had once fought in the dark.
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