The captain of General Ferguson's yacht had been left with strict orders, he was to get as close to the Port town and open fire, turning the yacht into a well armed mercenary ship. He shook his head knowing that this was the wrong path to take, but he had orders.
The captain had argued with the General, but in the end it was no use. "My men will be at those defenses, attempting to disable them."
"They are expendable as are you, and I want to be sure that the job is done right," the General said with a dismissive gesture.
"But sir you must know that twenty-five men cannot take on an entire armed port. The best use they can be put to is diversion . . . they will add to the confusion."
The General glared at him with a steely gaze, then the Captain of the vessel carefully directed the Yacht ahead, stood silent a long moment, his jaw muscles bunching. That was the last thing he had heard from the General before he left the yacht.
"Just give the order, sir," he said at last in a terse voice.
"You know what to do. Good luck."
**
Just as Dominic finished the conversation with the lookouts and the order to evacuate was issued, he turned his gaze out toward the sea. He knew that Alannah's father had come in on a yacht, but what surprised him the most was the sudden boom he heard and the plumes of white that followed the noise. Dominic immediately went into defensive mode and started barking orders at those around him.
"Get everyone out of the town NOW!" Dominic shouted to the port authority soldiers. "Including yourselves, we have been ambushed."
"But . . ."
"Don't argue!"
Another boom from the yacht and more plumes of smoke confimred the urgency in Dominic's voice. Everyone ducked instinctly as the artillery shells screamed overhead and slammed into the hillside above. Dominic could not fathom how a yacht would be that well armed, he kept looking around for the General but there was no sign of him. "Damn it all to hell."
"Go! While they're still finding their range! Get everyone out of port. Lead the people to high ground beyond the port, they will be safe there."
"Which way should we go?" Santiago asked him.
"We need to turn around and head back the way we came, I need twelve soldiers to come with us," Dominic replied. "We have to warn everyone what we're up against here. Then, we need to get everyone with a gun to return with us and we fight."
"What about Alannah?" Anya asked him as they mounted their horses.