"Doing what, Mister Waters?" The captain's voice was empty and cold, and like the water that surrounded the submarine in every direction for as far as the eye could see. There was a fathomless emptiness in the commander's tired eyes.
"Punishing yourself like this," Water continued. "You made the right decisions."
"Did I, Mister Waters?" The commander's voice was as cold as an icy tundra. His eyes swept the horizon. He knew he'd have to live with the consequences of this patrol for a long time. Millions were dead and it was as a result of his actions.
He had never questioned his navy life before. He had always loved the sea. He knew from an early age that he would pursue a seagoing career and he had never regretted his decisions in life. Recent events had given him pause though.
It was fine for politicians in Washington to order these things but men had to live with the consequences. He wondered was he suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. It certainly felt like it.
The court martial onboard the Obama had also unsettled him and he continued berating himself for playing God, hurt and executioner. Who was he to rule over a man like Davids? Who really knew what had been tormenting the mind of the killer sailor?
Something of what Waters had said seeped slowly into his brain. It was time to go below and to resume control of his crew.
His duty was done.
It was time to go home.
About the author
Liam Robert Mullen is an Irish writer living in Wexford, Ireland. Having worked for many years in the telecoms industry, he returned to Griffith College Dublin in 2003 and graduated three years later with an honours degree in journalism and visual media.
The writer has always had a passion for writing and has completed different writing courses including a novel writing course with the Writer's Digest School in Ohio, and several shorter courses with the Irish Writer's Centre in Dublin.
The author has a heavy social media presence and has a writing blog at freelancer555.wordpress.com His Facebook presence is at irishwriter112, and he also has a presence on writing.ie and on Wattpad.
The author's previous books include The Nationalists, The Scribe, The Soaring Spirit, Kolbe, and Land of Our Father. He has written numerous short stories. Forthcoming works include Orphans, Sorting out Charlie, Pacific Deeps, Atlantic Deeps, Mano, and several other titles.