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Tal walked on the Oil Rig, pointing and commanding people as they ran about, preparing for the immanent attack. As he walked to the edge of the rig, he saw a few ships, and a bunch of helicopters heading in their direction. Tal gritted his teeth as a Sergeant ran up to him saluting. He was probably 15 years old, "Sir, Argonauts and Dead Squad assembled. I got two people together who were Navy Seals back in the day and a few Army Rangers, we are going to have one hell of a time here pretty soon."

"Very good Sergeant...." He waited for the man to tell him his name and looked to him for a moment.

"Williams, sir!" He said standing at attention.

"Good man Williams. I want you to stay by me at all times, you got that? You're my new runner. You think you can handle that?" Tal asked and started to walk off to another location.

"Absolutely sir! I'm ready to do whatever it takes!" Williams said with a small grin.

"Good man, Williams! Now, I want you back in the command post. You will be in charge of keeping things running smoothly in there until I arrive. You're my right hand man now, you got that?" Tal said stopping to emphasis the gravity of his words.

The man smiled and saluted him proudly, "Absolutely sir!"

Tal saluted back, "Good man! Get goin!"

The man ran off to the command post and Tal grinned, 'Good kid', he thought to himself. He walked up to a small gathering of troops and to a Lieutenant that Tal knew well. "Chuck, let's get the AA batteries in place! Get that cannon mounted and ready, NOW! I want you to break your men up into two groups. One will secure the lower levels, the other will hold the top platform. Give me the best you got Chuck and don't let me down!"

The man nodded and began giving orders as Tal walked off to another part of the rig. The regular workers were also armed with pistols, shotguns, and a few rifles. Not exactly tot he teeth, but they would defend their home. He was going to rely on that more than he probably thought.

Just then, Sarah ran up to him. She was sweating and bent over slightly with a strained look of pain on her face. Tal took a step closer to her and helped her as she doubled over in pain and clutched her protruding belly. Tal's eyes popped out of his head, "Is it the baby?!" He asked worriedly with a hint of excitement.

She nodded, "The baby is coming now!!" She said and let out a cry of pain.

"Holy shit!! Bad timing!" Tal said and called over a medic.

"I'M NOT THE ONE WHO CHOSE THE TIME TAL!! AAAAAHHHH!!!" She let out and the medic came to them, putting an arm under Sarah to support her.

"Adam, Sarah's going into labor. I'd deliver myself but I have to command out here. I need you to deliver my baby..." He said giving Adam a hard look.

Adam nodded but Sarah stopped them before they could move and grabbed Tal's arm, "Tal! Don't go! Please! I need you with me for this!"

Tal took her hands and kissed them as tears fell down her face, "Sweetheart I have to stay out here so that our baby can survive. Adam knows what he's doing! I promise I'll be in as soon as I get the chance! Now go!" He let her hands go and kissed her hard again as she began to cry.

It broke his heart to leave her like this, but just then, he saw the AA missiles on the rig begin to fire at the helicopters. A few of them went up in brilliant fireballs, while the rest spun out of control and into the water. Suddenly, there was a click over his radio and Williams spoke, "Sir! The Russian Commander has a message for you: he is demanding our surrender, says that we are hopelessly outnumbered, surrounded, and there is no hope of help. What do you want me to tell him?"

Tal thought for a minute then grinned, "Tell him, 'Nuts'." And Tal's radio went silent.

Just then, everyone who had heard the conversation over the radio, let out cries of laughter and cheers. Tal grinned, "ALRIGHT BOYS!!! LET'S SHOW 'EM HOW THE PIRATES DO THINGS!!!"

All at once, the cannon's, small arms fire, snipers, and AA guns erupted in all directions. Boats, planes, and helicopters began to take fire as they moved in from all directions. Tal moved to a railing and began to fire his M14 at a boat that was getting closer, hitting the man on a large 50 Cal turret.

Just then, one of the larger cargo ships exploded and broke in half from the side. Tal stepped back slightly at the surprise of it all and watched as another smaller ship was hit and exploded. Tal messaged back to the command post for answers, but instead of hearing Williams, heard a response in Russian accented English, "DOES VA DONIA!! HAHAHAHA! It seems you could use a hand, Comrade Tal!"

Tal let out a laugh of relief and surprise, "Captain Mikov you scurvy dog!!"

"I apologize for not being around as of late. But we were all conflicted on whether we could attack our old General from the Motherland. However, recent events have made that decision much easier! So do not worry my friend! We will pick them off one at a time!" Mikov let out a cry celebration and encouragement and the mike went dead.

Tal watched as another ship went up in a ball of fire and the men let out a cheer. Just then, the entire rig shook as an explosion wracked the side of the rig. Tal almost fell onto his ass and others toppled over as he grabbed his radio. "Damage report!" He called out and ran out into the center of the rig.

Williams called back and coughed hard, "They hit the command center sir! *cough cough* But we're still functioning, we just have a large hole in the wall now! We have casualties, we need a medical team!"

"You heard him people! Get a few medics over there now!" Tal called into the radio and saw as a helicopter began to hoover over the rig. Men began to jump out on ropes and onto the deck as Tal lifted his rifle and fired a few rounds. "INTRUDERS ON THE RIG! I SAY AGAIN, INTRUDERS ON THE RIG! Lieutenant, get my your roof half people to section B, level 4!"

"Got it!" The Lieutenant called back and Tal saw a few men begin to climb up after the intruders.

The attack went on for hours, but eventually they were pushed back. By the time they were done, they had over 150 Russian captives, 4 captured boats, and there was a mess of oil, and debris in the water. Men hooted and hollered as they slapped each others' backs, hugged, and high fived. Tal moved past it all and into the make shift medical wing. He walked up to the head surgeon and sighed, "Give it to me straight Frank."

"Thirty six dead, seventy five wounded, five MIA." The man said simply as he whipped blood from his hands with a rag. "How do you want to handle the treatment?"

"Triage them and I'll help you in a bit. Get the Argonauts to help. I'll make sure we're on clean up first and everything's secure. Give me about 15 minutes and I'll scrub in." Tal said clapping the man's shoulder.

Tal hurriedly ran over to the other end of the wing and in a separate room. Tal slowly opened the door to silence. His heart skipped a beat for a moment, but then subsided as he saw Sarah laying in a white bed with a baby in her arms. Adam was cleaning up as Tal walked in and he smiled and put up his hand, "Everything's fine. No problems. I took care of everything Tal. Congratulations, you're a father." He said and shook his hand.

Tears were still moving down Sarah's face as she looked down at the newborn wrapped in white linen. Tal moved over to them, covered in grim, and a little blood and knelt down next to Sarah. A tear fell down his own face and he sniffed loudly, "Well down mommy..." He said kissing Sarah.

"Tal meet your son. Talanus Micheal Mantalus Jr." Sarah said and handed the baby boy over to Tal. The baby squirmed for a moment but stayed silent. "Meet your daddy Tal Jr."

It was then that Tal realized that there was nothing in the world that could stop him from completing his mission, from being the father that he needed to be. There was nothing in the world that would stop him from making this world a safer place for his family.

Tal sat down on the bed with his son in his hands and his soon to be wife resting her head on his shoulder. The world was right again.