The commandos knocked out the last of his men on the bridge while three took him and held him at gunpoint. Artemis strode onto the bridge, surveying his mens' work.

"Good work men. Jimmy, Rob, start overriding the ship's systems." The commander nodded towards one of the consoles and two of the soldiers starting opening panels and splicing wires.

This will turn out OK, the admiral thought, reeling in shock. All of the ships already have their orders; we can't possibly lose.

 "How long until their encryption is cracked?" The dark captain paced, watching the two men work.

"At most five minutes, sir!" Rob barked.

That's not right...the codemasters set it up themselves! How could--

Sure enough, three minutes later the fleet's last commands were scrolling past on the main screen.

"What the--" the captain exclaimed, biting it off as his mind began to race. The commands on the display were his alright, but they weren't what he thought he had sent. Where had he gone wrong? Which strategy was he using? It looked like he had split off a flank under one strategy, then given the rest of the fleet separate orders after the enemy's fleet had moved to parry the manoeuvre. Why hadn't he called them back? What had been going through is head? How had he forgotten them?

"Uhhhh... You, you... You can't do anything from here. Any transmission will alert my men to the takover here!" The admiral was spluttering, hoping to shake his captor's confidence.

"Oh, we don't need to tell anyone what has happened here. Those that know," he gestured towards the enemy flagship on the holographic display, "are confident in my ability to do what I say I will. They are also confident in their fleet's hidden strength. I simply want you to watch as your fleet is eaten alive."

The admiral watched in horror as the enemy armada skillfully matched and capitalized on every awkward move he himself had ordered. Thinking of the excellent men, the fine training, the friendships he had built among them, he groaned. "A straightforward death would be much simpler..."

"No, my friend." Artemis grinned, baring every shred of the malevolence he exuded. "You live."