[ WP ] The Little Black Box

The explosion was blinding. Captain Tom Jameson shielded his eyes against the white light shooting through the port-side windows of his bridge. He grasped the right arm of his chair in anticipation of the imminent shock wave. The 50 foot Ruby Jameson, a humble fishing ship on its second decade at sea, pitched and bobbed in the inky North Atlantic. When the shock wave reached the boat, the bow breached the surface of the water and crashed down with a unsettling thud. The Ruby Jameson's crew held on tightly to the railing on the main fishing deck. Captain Tom swung the ship counterclockwise and barked into the bridge's microphone. An emergency siren blared on deck. 
 
 `` Emergency preparations! We're heading over to help! Grab anything that can float and keep your fucking eyes open!'' 
 
 The Ruby Jameson cruised toward the site of the explosion. Fire was now burning on the surface of the water and the glossy exterior of a large plane was visible. The flames illuminated the side of the hulk, now taking on water and dipping nose-first. 
 
 `` Holy shit! Do you see what that says?'' 
 
 `` No fucking way...'' 
 
 Captain Tom's crew peered over the bow. Through the flickers of the flames on the water, the crew could make out the words `` STATES OF AMERICA''. Air Force One had crashed 80 miles of the coast of Newfoundland, Canada and the only ship to witness it was less than a nautical mile away. The twin engines of the fishing boat roared violently as Captain Tom navigated the troughs and peaks of the rolling Atlantic. Within minutes, Captain Tom cut the throttle of the vessel. He picked up the microphone again. 
 
 `` Do you see anything? Is there anybody out there?'' 
 
 It was February in the North Atlantic. Hypothermia would set in minutes and death was not far behind. The spotlights on the ship spilled over the bow, lighting the water ahead. 
 
 `` I ca n't go much further! That oil on the water could catch at any second!'' 
 
 `` Hey look!'' 
 
 One of the Ruby Jameson's crewmen pointed 30 degrees away from the bow toward the starboard side. Bobbing on the surface of ocean was a bright orange buoy. Strobe lights droned around the edges of the buoy. It was calling to eyes that were still hundreds of miles away. Captain Tom's eyes saw it though. He angled the ship at the buoy and gunned the engines. 
 
 `` Hey! Get on the hook! We're going to reel that thing in!'' 
 
 The crew rushed to the starboard side of the ship and got in formation to pull the buoy on-board. 
 
 `` Alright, I'm going to pull up alongside of it! You know what to do when I get there!'' 
 
 The Ruby Jameson rolled around its port side, now on course to intercept the blinking buoy. A crewman grasped the salted and rusted grappling hook in his right hand and eyed up the target now quickly coming into view. Using the precision only earned from thousands of repetitions, the crewman deftly snared the buoy and a second crewman activated the attached winch. A minute later, the buoy was on board. Its strobe lights flashed bright white and illuminated the deck. The shadows of the crew surrounding the buoy blotted out the light on the deck like a Rorschach test in a kaleidoscope. 
 
 `` The fuck is this thing?'' 
 
 `` Did this come from the plane? 
 
 `` I ca n't believe this is happening...'' 
 
 Captain Jameson stared out the back of his bridge at the crew now huddled on the deck. His short breaths fogged the glass inches from his face. The Captain knew what he was staring at. The Ruby Jameson had just recovered Air Force One's little black box. It was just a matter of time until the Navy arrived. 
 
 Edit: Care to explain why you downvoted me, random user?
