Attack on the Queen

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“Sir. you asked to be awakened at sixteen hundred.”

“Very well, comrade,” answered a soft, scratchy voice from the stateroom’s black void.

As the junior ensign who delivered this curt wake-up call stepped back from the doorway to resume his duties, Capt. Shen Fei’s eyes popped open. A thin sliver of light emanated from the outside passageway and Shen glanced up at the softly glowing luminescent dials mounted in the partition at the foot of his bunk. A single practiced glance was all that was needed to determine that the Lijiang remained on a southwesterly course, at a depth of forty eight meters, and a forward speed of twenty-three knots. He was thankful that his two-hour nap had been sound, and he took a second more to continue the pleasant dream he had been enjoying. His lovely Mei-li had prepared a picnic on the banks of the River Li, the same tributary that his current command was named after. A native of nearby Guilin, Mei-li appeared in all her natural beauty, with the limestone hills of her birth, the perfect setting. It was a gorgeous midsummer afternoon, and after a delicious lunch of dumplings, they sat back to watch a passing fisherman work his cormorants. Then, completely out of the blue, Mei-li made the first amorous advance and an incredibly sensuous session of lovemaking followed. Unfortunately, it was just as this act was about to be consummated that the ensign’s voice called him to duty.

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