<strong>Alex Macauley<br/>Location:</strong>Wardroom<br/><strong>Tag:</strong>Mack the Knife<br/><br/>Alex Macauley waited in the wardroom and brooded.  After dropping Mari back at the girls' quarters, he'd gone back to his stateroom to try to rest, but sleep hadn't come.  All he could see was Ophelia in the cage behind him as he got Mari out of the mess hall.  This was wrong.  His training as an officer told him that the Captain's word was law, and his conscience screamed that he needed to go see Mack the Knife and convince him to get the Captain to relent...or relieve him.<br/><br/>When Macheath came on the 1MC and announced the Captain had been relieved of command, Macauley had gone up to the Control Room and gotten them on course for the submarine base at Holy Loch, Scotland.  He'd pretended not to notice the glances and mutters he'd gotten on the way there, the half-sullen answers he'd gotten from the quartermaster and helmsman as he gave his orders.  And by the time he'd gotten to the wardroom for Macheath's officer's meeting, he couldn't hide from what he'd done anymore.<br/><br/>He hadn't done wrong and he hadn't done right.  He'd gotten Mari out and probably earned enough hatred that he was through in the submarine service, but he hadn't been willing to stand up to the Hawk when it counted or keep Ophelia from her fate.  When they got to port they'd likely all be court martialed, and in his heart Mac couldn't say he didn't deserve it.  He'd wimped out when the chips were really down, and that was a hard thing to know about himself.<br/><br/>Well.  At least he could try to stay alive and get the boat back to Holy Loch, and right now that looked like enough of a job.  He wondered if he'd be able to look Mari in the face the next time he saw her, though.