Tiger Cruise — Douglas Morgan

USS Cushing is coming home from the Persian Gulf on a course through the Malacca Strait. Cushing's a good ship, a Spruance-class destroyer: lean, fast, and armed to the teeth, with a few Special Weapons in its magazine. It's been assigned to carry a batch of Tigers--civilians, family members--from Diego Garcia to Yokosuka, and there's a major typhoon about to hit; but those should be no big problem.

Then, under cover of the storm, Cushing is boarded by pirates and cut off from its battle group. Its battered and unarmed crew can't look for any outside help. Worse, the Australian Navy gets wind of the attack and intervenes--on behalf of their own national security interests. If blowing up Cushing means its special weapons won't be sold to Pacific Rim terrorists, too bad for Cushing.

It's a deadly three-cornered game. The men and women of Cushing will have to do battle with their enemies and allies, and with the sea itself, if they ever want to see port again.