Chapter 34 - The Admiral’s Reckoning
"Donald," Admiral Vance’s gravelly voice cut through the cavernous bay like a crack of thunder. "You disgraced the uniform the moment you put a price tag on the lives of American sailors."
Croft let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "Disgraced the uniform? Vance, you spent fifty years fighting wars for politicians who traded our budget like baseball cards! Halston Maritime offered us autonomy! With the capital generated from the refits, we would have controlled naval procurement outright. No Congress. No budget cuts. A real navy, ruled by the men who bleed for it!"
"You didn't build a navy," I shouted up at him, stepping onto the central junction platform directly beneath the reactor core. "You built a cartel. You murdered my crew on the *Gallant*. You sabotaged the *Defiant*. And you’re about to turn this carrier into a floating Chernobyl just to secure your pension and stock options!"
Croft’s eyes hardened. "She talks too much. Put a bullet through her good arm. Let her drown in the bilge."
Before the nearest mercenary could shoulder his rifle, Liam exploded out of the shadows beneath the intake valve, tackling the guard into the churning secondary coolant pool. The splash masked the deafening roar of my pneumatic arm as I ripped a forty-pound high-pressure steel wrench from the bulkhead rack and hurled it upward with inhuman velocity.
The wrench struck the catwalk support pillar, shearing the bolts. The steel platform tilted violently, sending two guards tumbling over the railing into the churning waters below.
Admiral Vance didn't hesitate. Despite his age, the old war dog dropped his shoulder, slamming his entire body weight into Croft’s knees. Croft lost his footing, his ceremonial sidearm clattering across the metal grates.
"Eleanor! The manifold!" Vance roared, grappling with Croft on the collapsing walkway. "The timer is at two minutes!"
I turned to the rogue bypass. Red LEDs flickered across the Leviathan control board:
*00:01:45... 00:01:44...*
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The manual release wheel was seized—jammed with an explosive weld. There was only one way to open it. I had to force the hydraulic bypass valve by hand, counteracting four thousand pounds per square inch of pressurized, superheated coolant.
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