in the cockpit.

The first mate of the freighter picked up the cup and took a sip of hot water and exhaled.

Looking at the time, it was already half past seven.

I'm almost ready to hand over the third mate.

The first officer, second officer, and third officer are all job titles on a freighter. If you call it in a more understandable way...... It can be called that they are all freighter drivers.

Their job is to observe radars and charts, direct sailors to steer, and control the ship to always sail on the planned route. The captain is in charge of commanding them.

The reason why there are three of them is because they have to take turns on duty. During normal navigation, whether it is day or night, the first officer is on duty from 4 o'clock to 8 o'clock, the third officer is on duty from 8 o'clock to 12 o'clock, and the second officer is on duty from 12 o'clock to 4 o'clock. However, in practice, it will be half an hour earlier.

So, at half past seven, it's time for a shift change.

"Continue to maintain this speed and course," the first mate commanded the two sailors at the helm.

Then, he got up and yawned, ready to go and see why the second mate hadn't come yet.

But at this moment...... He casually glanced at the navigation radar, but suddenly saw something, his body stiffened, and he instantly returned to seriousness.

He immediately came to the radar screen and took a closer look.

I saw that in the radar picture, near the lower border of the circle, a small dot appeared!

And...... A few seconds later, a second one appeared!

Then, a third one appeared!

As soon as the first mate, who has a lot of experience in driving a freighter, saw these three small points, he knew that something was wrong.

But the captain had just gone to the cabin for something and was not in the wheelhouse.

So the first mate immediately picked up the walkie-talkie, adjusted it to the captain's frequency band, and said, "Mr. captain, please come to the wheelhouse quickly!

Soon, Captain Frank responded over the intercom: "Roger! I'll be right over!"

In less than a minute, Captain Frank burst into the wheelhouse and asked, "What's going on?"

The first mate pointed to the radar and said, "Look." ”

Captain Frank rushed over and quickly noticed these three points as well.

Moreover, what can be seen with the naked eye is that these three small bright spots are slowly approaching!

You must know that the detection range of this navigation radar is several kilometers away! The slow approach on this screen shows that these three targets are actually approaching this freighter at a very fast speed!

"When did you find out?" said Captain Frank, frowning slightly.

"Less than a minute before I informed you," the first mate said.

Captain Frank was silent for a few seconds before he spoke, "Adjust course and turn left 30 degrees." See if they're still following. ”

The first mate immediately nodded and gave orders to the two sailors.

Soon, the freighter completed its steering and moved in a new direction.

The first mate and Captain Frank stared at the radar screen, watching the screen refresh again and again.

Half a minute later......

The faces of the two of them sank.

"Come along," said the first mate, grim ......, "and it's already two kilometers away." ”

Captain Frank grimaced and nodded. After being silent for a while, he said, "You quickly use the radio to notify all the crew members and go into a state of alert." Close the important cabins and lock the doors. ”

Then, grab the binoculars from the side, get out of the wheelhouse, and use the binoculars to look at the rear of the boat.

Soon, he saw that about two kilometers away, he could faintly see a few small white dots and splashes of water.

After looking at it for a while, he slowly lowered the binoculars, and the expression on his face became more solemn. At the same time, the voice of the first mate came over the radio: "Attention all crew members! Attention crew members! We may be about to encounter pirates! Please don't panic and deal with it calmly." The important cabin doors were closed and locked, and then gathered together to be at the mercy of me and the captain

In addition, the third officer does not need to come over to change shifts for the time being, I will continue to drive with the captain, and the third officer and the second officer will do a good job of coordinating the work in the engine room, so that everyone does not panic. ”

Edwin and Johnson, who were on deck, thought it was a little strange to see the captain rush into the wheelhouse and rush out again. When I heard this radio at this moment, I immediately understood and became serious.

They glanced at each other, then rushed towards the captain and asked, "What's going on?"

Captain Frank looked at the two guards with a solemn face and said, "At the rear of the ship, that is, 15 degrees north-east, there are three small boats or yachts, approaching. I suspect it's pirates. You two need to be ready, and the safety of the entire crew is up to you. ”

Johnson immediately nodded and said, "Leave it to us!"

Edwin also nodded and said, "That's right, don't worry, Captain, just leave it to us!"

Captain Frank was about to nod, but suddenly noticed that Edwin's face was a little red. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I had drunk again.

Captain Frank frowned, and wanted to reprimand him, but after thinking about the current situation, he still didn't say, and said, "Okay, you guys do a good job of guarding." I went back to the cab to check on the situation. The news will be kept coming to you on the radio. ”

With that, Captain Frank turned around and walked back into the wheelhouse. However, at this time, he also noticed Yang Tian on the other side of the deck, and was slightly startled.

"Hey, boy, don't stand here! Get into the cabin and hide! The pirates are coming!" shouted Captain Frank.

But Yang Tian just turned his back to him, raised his hand and waved, indicating that it was okay. Then I moved on to the view.

Captain Frank was a little speechless. However, now that time is pressing, he has no time to entangle with Yang Tian.

He rushed back to the cab and said, "What's going on now?"

The first mate immediately said: "It's still close, about 18 kilometers away." ”

Captain Frank thought for a moment and said, "Have the crew turn on all the fire sprinkler valves and spray water on both sides of the ship." ”

"Yes!" the first mate immediately issued an order.

Soon, all the water spray valves were opened, and countless water jets sprayed down from the water spray pipes on both sides of the boat, forming a barrier of water columns to prevent small boats from approaching and erecting rope ladders.

In the days that followed, the atmosphere became more and more tense.

"One and a half kilometers. ”

"One point two kilometers. ”

"A kilometer. ”

"Eight hundred meters. ”

When the three dots in the back were close to 800 meters, Captain Frank picked up the telescope again and went outside to take a look...... At this time, it was clear what was going on with these three objects on the radar, they were three speedboats! There were five or six people on each of them, basically black people, presumably natives from outside Soma. And they all have guns in their hands!