Choosers of the Slain

46

"Yo?"

"Admiral Garrett? This is Captain Callendar, Admiral MacIntyre's Chief of Staff. Sorry to disturb you at this hour, sir, but the Admiral thought that you would like to know that they are going in now. We will keep you advised as the situation develops."

"Thank you, Captain. I appreciate it. My compliments to Admiral MacIntyre."

Wilson Garrett replaced the phone in its wall cradle and returned to the living room. Impatiently, he scooped the television remote control up off the low, golden-pine coffee table and killed the cable news broadcast issuing from the entertainment center across the room. Dropping back onto the couch, he picked up his sketch pad and tried to return his attention to the concept drawings he had been working on. He found, however, that the images of Empress Augusta Bay that he had been seeking had become entwined with the visualization of a much more current and personally meaningful battle.

Sliding his pencil into the wire coil atop the pad, he angrily swiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. And when he resumed his drawing, it was not of a naval engagement. It was a sketch of a young woman, an idealization of a girl as remembered by a father.