The night at Jebut Port was torn to shreds by the searchlights of the US Navy Base.
The salty sea breeze carried the moisture of the Mediterranean, blowing over the anchorage.
The massive Marlin Fish cargo ship lay quietly on its designated dock like a stranded steel giant whale.
The ship had a deep draft line, silently conveying the heavy load within its hold, enough to alter the course of a war—thousands of tons of deadly munitions from the United States.
All around the dock, barbed wire glinted coldly under the searchlights, and the defensive works built with sandbags interlocked like jagged teeth.
Sentries from the US Marine Corps, clad in desert digital camouflage, moved cautiously at the border between shadow and intense light.
The muzzle of their M4A1 assault rifles slowly scanned every suspicious corner along their line of sight, while night vision goggles occasionally skimmed the water surface, capturing any unusual ripples.
