He hesitated, but only for a moment. For the second time, he was going to lose another base ship to enemy attack. The Iranians had sunk another commando carrier, the S.S. Valley Mistress, in the Persian Gulf, killing several dozen men. That incident had brought Patrick out of his first retirement to start a campaign of revenge against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards that had captured the survivors. He was determined not to allow that loss of life again. “Abandon ship,” Patrick ordered. “All crewmen to lifeboats. Right now.”

“Patrick—” Dave Luger began.

“This means you, Dave,” Patrick interrupted. “We’ll stay up here with whatever weapons we have left and hold off that frigate as long as possible. Then we’ll—”

Suddenly, Hal Briggs shouted, “Hey, Dave, is that a FlightHawk on the launcher over on the starboard side raising up to launch position?”

“A FlightHawk?” Patrick asked. “Dave, how did you get a FlightHawk ready so fast?”

“I didn’t do it, Muck,” Luger replied. “I just noticed it elevating too. It’s already spun up its guidance system. I didn’t do it from here. I don’t know . ..” He paused, then shouted, “Missile inbound! A missile just lifted off from that frigate ... a second missile just launched! Two missiles inbound! Sea-skimmers, accelerating to point nine Mach, range twenty-five miles!”

“Get your asses on those lifeboats now!” Patrick shouted to the two MANPADS crew members with him, pushing them toward the lifeboat stations on the port side. He grabbed his last Stinger missile and dashed down the starboard side of the salvage ship. He saw the FlightHawk on the amidships launch rail, but he couldn’t see what weapons, if any, it was carrying, or any other markings that would tell him which UCAV it was. Just as he reached the fantail alongside Briggs and Wohl, the FlightHawk unmanned combat air vehicle blasted off from its launcher on deck.

“Good job, Dave,” Patrick said. “Now get to the lifeboats.”

“I’m telling you, Muck, I didn’t—”

“Contact! Here they come!” Briggs shouted. “Man, they’re damned low. I don’t know if the Stingers will be able to lock on them.” But he raised his Stinger, aimed, and fired. Seconds later, the first antiship missile, a Russian- made SS-N-2C Styx missile, exploded in a brilliant ball of fire. Patrick’s Stinger missile missed the second antiship missile, but Chris Wohl was ready with his Vulcan cannon and destroyed it seconds before it hit. This time, the starboard side of the Catherine was showered with unspent rocket fuel and fiery bits of the obliterated warhead. It was a very close call.

“Lifeboats away,” they heard Dave Luger report. “One lifeboat starboard, another on the port side, ready and waiting for you guys.”

“How many of those big missiles does that frigate carry?” Briggs asked.

“Koni-class frigates carry four SS-N-2s,” Luger responded.

“Then I’ll stay to see if they fire any more missiles,” Patrick said.