Eight Months Later.

February 7th, 1873, Oamaru Bay, Queen Charlotte Sounds, New Zealand, aboard the Russian Warship Petropavlovsk.

Ship-of-the-line Captain, Grigoriy Ivanovich Butackov, of the Imperial Russian Navy's ironclad frigate Petropavlovsk, paced the teak deck with growing impatience. Hands clasped behind his back, he reached the rail, swung his six-foot frame around, and began his return journey for the umpteenth time that hour. Crewmembers and officers ...