Captain Jansa stood at the prow of his first command, the Fair Damson. It was likely to be his last command. Salt spray kicked up and splattered his tunic, but he took no notice of the cold seawater that was drenching him as he thought back to the night before at the captain's meeting on the fleet's flagship.
The night before, Tranquil Islander Fleet at anchor for the night.
The Admiral had spoken first to start the meeting, "Captains as you know that despite our best efforts we were unable to outrun the enemy fleet after we broke through their blockade. They got to the western shore first and now we are blocked from landing our troops to aid our only allies in this war. I know what I think is best for us in this moment, but I want to hear from you captains as to what our course of action should be now that we have been blocked from our objective. I ask this because I think it is a decision that should not be made by just one man. I give the floor to you captains, what do you have to say? I will preface the discussion by placing two options before you. Either we attack the enemy fleet and try to break through to the beach or we turn our ships around and return to our islands to await the fight that will eventually come to be fought on our own ground."
Captain Jansa, the most junior captain present stood up from the table where he was seated at the far end of and addressed the admiral, "Neither option sir!"
"What do you mean by such a statement Captain Jansa?" The admiral asked, as he speculatively eyed the young captain at the far end of the table.
"I mean to say that with all due respect, Sir, that neither option presented before us can accomplish anything meaningful in the outcome of this war. Attacking the enemy fleet guarding the western shore is shear suicide, Sir. Not one of our ships will reach the beach, except perhaps later as a piece of idly floating driftwood. Sacrificing ourselves in such an attempt will serve little purpose other than to help us preserve our honor with a noble death. As for the other option, Sir, as you yourself said this war will come to be fought on our own shores some day not to distant from now, if the battle taking place is lost by our allies. If we leave this fight we return home without our honor, only to face the inevitable outcome of our own fate at a later date. The outcome will be the same only we will die without honor after having run from this battle that is before us that our allies are proudly facing head on. It is not the way that I or how I want our people to fade into the pages of history!"