As her Dad huffed into the beach area just behind the lagoon that constituted her first official command since she’d been in the Navy, Tracey saw a sailor approach and salute. “I heard that guy yelling for an engineering rate, ma’am. My name’s Rick Grimm…machinery repairman first class. Maybe I can help.”
Tracey grabbed Petty Officer Grimm by the elbow and steered him toward her father who was bent over and catching his breath on the edge of the lagoon. She made a quick introduction and watched her father look directly into the sailor’s eyes. She’d seen it before many times. Shake Davis sized a man up in a hurry and he was rarely wrong in his conclusions.
“Grimm, I need to make a flamethrower. And you’re gonna help me do it in a hurry.”
“I’ve made a lot of weird s**t out at sea, sir, bu
