The pirate leader shouted in a local dialect, his voice filled with hysterical fervor.
More speedboats fearlessly cut through the hail of bullets, their engine roars rging into a cacophony of death.
They took advantage of their speed and size, like a bloodthirsty wolf pack, pouncing from different directions upon the relatively clumsy body of the "Marlin Fish".
Bullets beat like hail against the armored hull and superstructure, making a teeth-grating clattering sound, sparking tiny bursts of fire.
A few RPGs streaked through the air with long trails of smoke; one exploded near the stern, raising a huge column of water and shaking the ship; another barely missed the bridge, the scorching heatwave making the porthole glass hum.
"Starboard! They're coming alongside! Damn it!"
A team mber shouted hoarsely.
Several speedboats clung to the massive hull like leeches the mont "Marlin Fish" turned to evade.
The guards on deck frantically poured bullets downward.
Screams, curses, gunfire, and explosions mixed into a symphony of hell.
Captain Jackson gripped the wheel tightly, his palms sweaty.
The massive hull tilted in high-speed evasive maneuvers, waves slapping against the sides with a heavy roar.
Each evasive move was fraught with danger, the cumberso freighter under the nimble speedboat attack like an elephant stuck in a mire, every breath bearing the threat of death.
Despair, like icy seawater, began to creep over the heart.
The radio kept repeating the ergency signals, but the nearest reinforcents were 120 nautical miles away...
120 nautical miles from the "Marlin Fish", the US missile destroyer USS Sampson DDG-102 cut through the waves like a steel island.
Inside the bridge, urgent alarms blared.
"Report! Ergency distress signal! Civilian freighter 'Marlin Fish', position XXX, distance 120 nautical miles! Under large-scale pirate attack, situation critical!" The communication officer's voice overpowered the alarms.
Lieutenant Colonel Richardson rushed to the tactical display, his sharp gaze swept over the electronic chart's flashing distress signal and quickly verified his ship's position.
"120 nautical miles..."
He frowned deeply, knowing the distance ant it would take at least a few hours to reach at full speed.
He turned his gaze to the flight control room on the bridge's flank. "Deck! Red Eagle One, ergency take-off! Target 'Marlin Fish', coordinates sent! Seal Team onboard, top priority fire support!"
"Understood! Red Eagle One, ergency take-off!"
The flight deck commander's voice imdiately responded.
The sharp take-off alarm pierced the destroyer's serene air.
A dark gray MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter's rotors began to accelerate, whipping up fierce gusts that nearly toppled the deck crew.
Four fully-ard Seal Team mbers bent against the strong wind and quickly boarded in single file.
Heavy weapons crates were swiftly pushed into the cabin.
The pilot confird the coordinates and mission brief, giving a thumbs-up toward the bridge.
"Red Eagle One, take-off!"
The engine roared to its peak, and the helicopter gracefully broke free from the deck's constraints, rapidly climbing in the sea breeze.
Once at a certain height, the nose dipped slightly, changing direction, decisively pointing towards the distressed "Marlin Fish", soon becoming a speeding black dot against the twilight ocean sky.
The deck of "Marlin Fish" had turned into the antechamber of hell.
Pirates clung like festering sores, using ropes and grappling hooks to climb and leap along the ship's sides.
Although the heavy machine gun fire was fierce, the narrow angle of fire and the pirates' agile evasion significantly reduced its effectiveness.
Several guards lay dead in pools of blood, their bodies dragged to cover by comrades.
The pirates' bullets thudded against the sandbags, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Hold the staircase! Don't let them rush the bridge!"
The guard captain shouted himself hoarse, his arm grazed by a stray bullet, blood dyeing his sleeve red.
He grabbed a shock bomb, pulled the pin, and hurled it rcilessly towards a gathering point below.
The flash and bang temporarily suppressed that direction of pirates, but more speedboats were circling from the flanks, seeking new breakthrough points.
One speedboat daringly approached the stern, with several pirates attempting to sabotage the giant propellers.
RPG trails occasionally lit up near the hull, each explosion shaking the ship violently and leaving charred black scars.
The ergency lights aboard flickered, illuminating faces etched with exhaustion and despair.
Ammunition was depleting rapidly, and the defense line was on the verge of collapse.
The pirates' beast-like howls and engine shrieks seed inches away, with greedy flas nearly burning through the steel hull.
Just as the defense line was about to give way, a new, deep, oppressive roaring sound approached rapidly, overshadowing the clamor on the sea.
The sound ca from the sky.
Everyone in the fierce battle instinctively looked up.
In the twilight sky, a dark gray steel eagle tore through the clouds, diving swiftly with an air of dominance.
Beneath its belly, the gaping muzzle of an M240 7.62mm door gun locked onto the densest cluster of pirate speedboats below.
"Eagle's Nest calling Marlin Fish! Hold on! Red Eagle One is in position!"
The helicopter pilot's calm voice was heavenly, cutting through the chaotic radio waves and clearly reaching the "Marlin Fish's" bridge.
"Open fire! Free hunt!"
The Seal Team commander succinctly ordered inside the cabin.
"Boom boom boom boom boom——!!!"
The door gun erupted in a long stream of fire, the tracers like crimson whips of death, lashing the sea below.
In an instant, the leading two speedboats were shredded, with splinters, fuel, and human debris shooting skyward mixed with seawater.
A pirate vessel's engine compartnt was hit, causing a massive explosion; a reddish-orange fireball rose, illuminating the pirates' astonished faces.
"RPG! RPG!"
Soone scread among the pirates.
Several white smoke trails hurriedly shot toward the steel giant in the sky.
The helicopter pilot calmly nudged the control stick, the massive body deftly rolling to the side.
An RPG rocket shrieked as it narrowly skimd beneath, plunging into the sea with a distant explosion.
"Target locked, ready Hellfire."
The pilot's voice remained steady as ever.
Under the stubby wings, an AGM-114 Hellfire missile was released from its rack, igniting!
A hot white fla shot from the rear, launching like an arrow, with the Grim Reaper's wail hurtling toward a slightly larger pirate ship.
BOOM!!!
A deafening roar.
The mothership's mid-section was directly hit, a massive explosion fireball instantly engulfing it, steel fragnts and burning debris showered the surrounding waters like a storm.
The hot airwaves even caused violent shaking to nearby speedboats.
Absolute aerial dominance!
The remaining pirate speedboats scattered like ants doused in boiling water.
The previously frenzied courage in their assault on the giant ship vanished under the precise and lethal aerial strikes.
Speedboats turned tails, engines roaring to the max, fleeing frantically in all directions, leaving behind burning wreckage, floating debris, oil slicks, and scattered cries for help swallowed by the waves.
On the deck of "Marlin Fish", silence reigned, with only the waves lapping the hull and the distant helicopter engines humming.
The surviving guards collapsed behind cover, gasping for breath, their faces marked with blood, sweat, and disbelief.
Captain Jackson clung to the wheel, watching the gradually extinguishing firelight on the sea, his body trembling slightly, the chilling touch of brushing against death still vivid.
He picked up the communicator, his voice ragged and hoarse: "Red Eagle One... Marlin Fish... thanks for the support. Repeat, pirates dispersed."
"Acknowledged, Marlin Fish. Maintain vigilance, Sampson is en route at full speed. Red Eagle One will continue overwatch."
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