It was past three in the morning. A luxurious cruise ship in the Indian Ocean was slowly moving from west to east.
The night life on this vacation cruise was vibrant, with bars, casinos, and karaoke lounges offering plenty of entertainment.
However, no matter how lively the nightlife, most of the tourists were already sound asleep by this hour.
In the bridge's duty room, a group of unidentified terrorists had taken control.
Several duty officers were tightly bound and placed on the floor, except for the ship's first mate.
One of the terrorists held a pistol to the first mate's head.
"Relax. We don't have much interest in this ship. As long as you don't do anything that might make us misunderstand, I guarantee you'll survive until we disembark. Got it?"
The terrorist threatened the first mate while opening a few maintenance hatches below deck. Beneath the ship, there were two mid-sized double-deck yachts, which served both as lifeboats and as rentals for guests who wanted to venture out on their own.
After confirming the hatches were opened, the armed terrorist knocked the first mate unconscious with a blow and led his men below deck.
Outside one of the windows of the bridge, a captain in disguise, equipped with a shield coated with light-absorbing material, blended into the darkness.
He sent a message to Peggy, instructing her to rescue the unfortunate first mate later. Meanwhile, the captain moved ahead of the terrorists and hid in the engine room of one of the lifeboats.
Since learning of Hydra's resurgence, the captain had been restless, determined to root out this threat.
The terrorists' target was a S.H.I.E.L.D. ship, and the captain was eager to uncover their true intentions. Were they Hydra agents? This was why he hadn't taken action yet.
The yacht sailed for over two hours before the captain noticed the engine speed slowing as dawn approached.
Though the engine's hum softened, the noise still made it hard for the captain to discern what was happening outside.
He didn't risk emerging immediately. After waiting over ten minutes with no sounds or movement from outside, he finally opened the door and stepped out.
The yacht was completely empty, and another yacht floated about ten meters away, equally deserted. Upon inspecting the cabins, he noticed the inflatable life rafts were missing.
About 100 meters ahead, a large cruise ship quietly rested on the sea's surface.
Faint bursts of gunfire could be heard from its direction.
Without hesitation, the captain dove into the water.
As he swam closer, he noticed the ship bore the name *Lemuria* and the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem.
So, this was their target. But who could be so bold as to hijack a S.H.I.E.L.D. ship?
With questions swirling in his mind, the captain stealthily climbed aboard from a deck.
Several terrorists patrolled back and forth with rifles in hand.
The gunfire had stopped, suggesting the ship had been taken over. It was unclear if the S.H.I.E.L.D. crew had been killed.
Fearing hostages might be involved, and given that he was alone, the captain refrained from acting recklessly. Instead, he cautiously avoided the patrolling terrorists and moved toward the interior of the ship.
The bridge was under terrorist control, but for some reason, they hadn't started the ship.
The priority now was to locate the hostages.
The captain took out a pair of glasses from a side pocket on his arm and put them on.
He tapped twice on the temple of the glasses.
The glasses' scanning system activated, projecting thermal imaging directly onto the lenses, allowing the captain to see through the cabin walls.
The number of people in each room was immediately clear.
In a room behind the dining area that appeared to be a kitchen, the captain could clearly see about twenty people huddled closely together on the floor, surrounded by four individuals pacing back and forth.
Without a doubt, this was where the hostages were being held.
Impressed by Stark's equipment, the captain pulled out a small button-like device and flicked it outside the room holding the hostages.
"I'm heading out to the bathroom!"
After eavesdropping on some meaningless chatter for a few minutes, one of the terrorists finally prepared to leave.
Unfortunately for him, just as he closed the door behind him, he was greeted with a shield strike to the face.
Inside, there were still three terrorists. The captain was confident he could deal with two of them without endangering the hostages if just one more came out.
After waiting silently for a few minutes, it happened. Noticing the other terrorist hadn't returned, the ones inside grew restless.
"You, go check on why Virginia hasn't come back yet. That idiot always takes forever when he's supposed to be working!"
Another terrorist stepped out, only to be promptly taken down by the captain.
Now there were just two left inside. Without hesitation, the captain pushed the door open and stormed in.
"What are y—"
The terrorist near the door started to speak but immediately sensed something was wrong. He tried to raise his gun but was shoved headfirst into the wall by the captain.
Behind the long kitchen counter, the second terrorist hadn't reacted yet before the captain's shield struck him with a loud *thud*.
"Captain Rogers! How are you here?"
The speaker was a bald hostage the captain recognized as Agent Sitwell, a senior operative of S.H.I.E.L.D.
"So this *is* a S.H.I.E.L.D. ship. These guys were planning their hijacking on a cruise ship, and I overheard their plan, so I followed them here."
After briefly explaining, the captain untied the ropes binding the hostages one by one and went outside to retrieve weapons from the two unconscious terrorists.
"Whoever is capable, grab a weapon and follow me. We'll take down a few more patrolling terrorists and collect more weapons. The rest of you stay safe and find a secure hiding place. I'll handle the rest on the ship."
Sitwell, clearly in charge, organized the group. Two individuals armed themselves with rifles and followed the captain, while the others sought a safe spot to stay hidden.
Once everyone was assigned a role, Sitwell and another agent remained behind.
"The Insight Project must not fail. We'll take weapons and head to the satellite launch bay first," Sitwell said, inspecting his weapon.
The other agent nodded and then grinned.
"These guys are seriously unlucky—hijacking a S.H.I.E.L.D. ship and running into Captain America. Even without Cap, they'd be doomed. Offending both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra at the same time—"
"Hey!"
Sitwell cut him off before he could finish.
"Be careful. Captain America is still on the ship. We can't afford any mistakes, understood?"
Meanwhile, as Captain America led his small team in an assault on the bridge, his face suddenly changed—shock and realization dawning on him!
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