Chapter 7: Occupying the Nest

The "Black Elf" was originally an ocean liner capable of accommodating 850 passengers, with a sturdy hull, towering bulwarks, and three thick, round funnels. With all boilers fired up, it could reach a speed of 18 knots. Back when it was first built, it was considered a famous vessel shuttling between England and America, but that was nearly 40 years ago, during the time of King George V of England, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria.

"Major, I must confess to you, starting from ten years ago, this ship has only been suitable for operations near the European coast. In the summer of 1936, it officially became a messenger between England and France, to put it plainly, it became a ferry in the English Channel! You're Scottish, so it's not surprising if you haven't heard of it!"

The elderly man, dressed in a deep blue suit and wearing a flat cap, had the captain's characteristic deep eyes and weathered face. He introduced himself as Harold Mosey, a sailor who had been wandering the seas for over forty years, witnessing the entire process of the previous war. Concerned and pessimistic about Britain's prospects in the face of the impending war, he nevertheless decided to contribute all his efforts to the country.

Standing at the bow, Logan could now see the vague outline of Dunkirk's outer harbor breakwaters. The harbor area was shrouded in thick smoke, and lighthouses, breakwaters, drawbridges, warehouses, and even the city seemed to have been scorched by the flames.

"I'm very sorry and regretful for you and your crew, but..." Logan turned to face the captain, his peripheral vision catching Tobias standing by the door of the wheelhouse, giving him a nod, indicating that they were ready to act.

"This is war! Let's go!" Logan said, pulling out his pistol with what he thought was a dashing movement.

It was a British Webley-Scott revolver, with an 11.18 mm caliber and a capacity of 6 rounds. It was bulky and lacked elegance, but it was powerful and easy to operate, capable of easily piercing human flesh at close range and leaving terrifying wounds!

"You..." The old captain's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the handsome, sunny young officer in front of him. In Britain, it was rare for someone in their thirties to rise to the rank of Army Major, unless they were from a prominent family or very skilled in political maneuvering. But never did he expect that this fellow was actually an imposter!

"Hands up, turn around!" Logan said coldly in his Scottish-accented English—thanks to his aunt who had studied in Glasgow.

About four or five miles from the shore, the sporadic gunfire on the freighter seemed insufficient to attract attention. The prepared German paratroopers quickly took control of the "Black Elf", and all nine British sailors on the bridge and deck surrendered. Only the stokers wielding shovels displayed the toughness of Anglo-Saxons, but their fate was four dead and seven injured. In the end, apart from four stokers, one first mate, and one sailor who continued to operate the ship under the surveillance of German paratroopers, everyone else was locked in the ship's lower deck.

As Dunkirk's silhouette became clearer, Logan turned his gaze to the entrance channel of Dunkirk Harbor. He remembered from the aerial photos provided by the Air Force twelve hours ago that although a British destroyer and three civilian ships had been bombed and sunk near the channel in the harbor, many British ships were still passing through this channel in and out of Dunkirk. In the past two days, Goering's pilots had been trying their best to block it, but they were thwarted by the British fighters flying over from across the Channel and the stubborn British sailors!

So, Logan found Tino Grotte, the only sailor among the paratroopers, and asked, "Is there any way to sink this ship in the channel, preferably across to completely block the channel?"

"Sir, when I was on the ship, I was just a sailor. Apart from cleaning, I never went into the wheelhouse, but I know there's usually a big plug at the bottom of the ship. Just open that plug, and the ship will sink slowly like an open canoe!"

"You're talking about the sea valve!" Logan rarely said such professional names, most TV shows were lacking in nutrition, but occasionally there were exceptions.

The sea valve, also known as the underwater door, is a valve located at the bottom of a ship, leading to the sea outside the hull. It is used for engine cooling, ship balance adjustment, firefighting, and other purposes, and is also opened during docking for related work. Sinking is not the designed purpose of the sea valve, but it can effectively achieve this goal.

Grotte lit a cigarette for himself and said, "Hmm, that's about it! When the ship enters the channel, we'll just open that valve and let the ship sink slowly. To make it more realistic, I think we could set fire to the ship or detonate a few explosions! But... we didn't see any high-explosives on the ship, and the ammunition we carry obviously isn't enough to create that kind of spectacle!"

"Good idea!" Logan thought, "Let's set it on fire! When our air force comes to bomb, maybe we can even give the pilots some guidance!"

"Great idea!" Grotte said, "Should I go ahead and do it?"

"Yes, go ahead!"

A few minutes later, someone rowed a small skiff from the shore and attempted to communicate with light signals. Logan quickly had Grotte brought to him again. The guy ran up to the deck covered in sweat and grinned, "Hey Lieutenant, they want us to sail directly into the channel. They'll guide us from both sides. Look, those little lights are probably them!"

Logan picked up his binoculars and saw indeed faint lights on both sides of the channel, presumably people holding lights standing on the shore.

"Tell them we got it!"

As Grotte replied with signal lights, Logan turned to another paratrooper and ordered, "Lower two lifeboats from the starboard side! We're going to leave before the ship sinks!"

The freighter smoothly entered the channel leading to the inner harbor, and Tobias, with a few paratroopers, set fire to the boiler room and fuel tanks. Feeling unsatisfied, he used kerosene found in the kitchen to set the restaurant on fire as well. In just a moment, the large Channel ferry was ablaze everywhere. At this point, Grotte also found and opened the sea valve of the freighter—since the handle was rusted, they had to use high-explosives they carried with them!

Before the Allied soldiers on the shore reacted, Logan had already left the "Black Elf" with his 19 paratroopers in two lifeboats. As for Captain Mosey and his crew, they could only continue to be confined in the ship's lower deck. It was cruel, but for the sake of the entire operation plan, Logan could only silently say to them, "Sorry, but it's war!"