Nika was ragged by the time they spotted land. Another storm front had swept south out of Italy along the Adriatic Sea and collided with the one headed northeast across the Ionian Sea. The two collided right over their position.
With the fifteen hundred gallons she’d grabbed from the Chinook helicopter before Captain Roberts had to wave off, both Italy and Greece were technically possible, but not through this storm. Any thoughts of turning about and fighting back upwind toward the Peleliu were shut down when Lola Maloney ordered Roberts to continue on to Izmir Air Base in Turkey rather than return to the ship. The sea state around the ship hadn’t slackened and there was some doubt whether the big Chinook could land safely back aboard in this weather.
What had it taken to launch from suc
