“Bring us on bearing 190,” the Captain said, holding tight to the guard rail next to the helmsman’s station.

Slowly but confidently Cradoc began to turn despite the maniacal opposition of the ocean.

“Captain, sir,” Franks cried, “I can make her, see, there, off the starboard bow.”

The Cradoc sunk again down the abyss, torrential waters cascading over her bridge, but rose smartly with the help of her untiring power plant to find herself on almost parallel course with the mystery ship, now visible at perhaps 4,000 yards.

“Morse burst,” the Captain ordered.

“Surface search, give me images on main screen, scan for heat signatures,” the Captain spoke into his microphone.

Silently, the Captain and the exec, Commander Rawlins, fixed their gaze on the main screen. A shadow was slowly resolving into the outline of a ship riding low and seemingly rudderless in the heavy seas.

“Sir,” the surface search officer’s voice sounded, “no heat signatures, no movement detected. She appears abandoned, sir…”

Silence.