Crossword Genius

Second in command at sea briefly returns for a little scrap that brings a charge (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ion

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'a little scrap that brings a charge' is the definition.
(ions are electrically charged)

'second in command at sea briefly returns' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'at' could be 'on' (location) and 'on' is found within the answer.
A single letter 'i' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'for' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ion that I've seen before include "Electrically charged particle" , "Subatomic particle" , "Charged atom/molecule" , "Particle (phys.)" , "Electrically-charged particle" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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