Russell Moran: The Gray Ship

Ashley called Naval Operations at the Pentagon. Duty Officer Orzo answered the phone. “Naval Operations, Lieutenant Commander Orzo speaking.”

“This is Captain Patterson of the California. How are you this afternoon, Commander?”

Orzo’s last few stressful hours were taking their toll on his nerves.

“Holy shit!” said Orzo. “Excuse me, Captain, I mean Wow, I mean fuckin’ A , I mean I think I better patch you in to the Chief of Naval Operations.”

Admiral Roughead answered the call.

“I suppose, Captain, if I ask you where you’ve been, you’re going to tell me it’s a long story,” said Roughead.

Ashley bit her hand, and managed to let out a respectful chuckle. What she was inclined to do was collapse on the floor in hysterical laughter.

“Yes, Admiral, it is a long story, and I’m sure I’m going to be telling it to you very soon.”

Roughead said that he wanted her to give him a short explanation for now.

Ashley knew that if she said they went through a time portal, arrived at the beginning of the Civil War, hung around with Abraham Lincoln, kicked Confederate butt at Bull Run, and all that, he would think she was an insubordinate wise ass.

“We encountered a very strange sea anomaly off Charleston Harbor, Admiral, which affected our navigation and communications ability,” Ashley said.

“But just tell me how you could have disappeared from our communications, radar and satellite systems,” said Roughead.

“Sir,” said Ashley, “I don’t have an answer for that. We will need to do a lot more investigating.” Ashley knew that she had just told the Admiral the absolute truth. She did not have the foggiest idea how a wormhole works. He seemed mollified by her answer, if only temporarily.

“Admiral, as you know we’re scheduled to be in Charleston Harbor the day after tomorrow, after which we are to deploy to the Persian Gulf for six months. If I may, Sir, I recommend that we return to the California’s homeport in Norfolk.”

“Captain,” said Roughead, “the thought of deploying a ship that disappeared for no reason is just not on my radar screen. Yes, set your course for Norfolk. Future deployments are on hold.”

As soon as Ashley got off the phone with Admiral Roughead, she walked quickly to her office to meet with Father Rick and Jack. The three of them huddled around Ashley’s computer screen.

“Destination, Wikipedia,” said Father Rick.

They were nervous, armpit moistening nervous. They had just spent four months in another century and actively intervened in the Civil War. They all had a list of items they wanted to look up.

Father Rick typed in “ USS California .” There was the standard Wikipedia history of the California . Date of launch, gross tonnage, length, weapons. The article mentioned that Ashley is the current captain. Nothing about disappearing on April 10, 2013. “They probably haven’t updated the article yet,” Said Father Rick.

“Put in ‘Battle of Bull Run,’ ” said Jack. Father Rick typed it in. Some of the familiar history of the historic battle was there, the problem of inexperienced troops and officers. But then came a an amazing change. The article discussed the missile attack, indicating that it probably came from the Gray Ship , the mysterious USS California . Instead of the old entry that Father Rick remembered, the article then summarized and concluded with the words, “The Battle of Bull Run, or First Manassas as it was called in the South, was a resounding Union victory, and hastened a quick ending to the Civil War.

“Try Gray Ship and Gray Ships. ” said Ashley. He entered the terms. Pages of entries on various historical websites, besides Wikipedia, discussed the Gray Ships , and how it was the greatest example of PsyOps, or psychological operations, in the history of warfare. One article concluded that there was only one Gray Ship , and that was the USS California .

“I have to talk to the crew,” Ashley said as she stood up.

“I have a special project for you guys for the next few hours,” Ashley said. “I don’t expect you to write a History of the World from April, 1861, but it would be great for the entire crew if you could summarize the parts of history that have changed from what we know it to be. We made it back to 2013, but it’s a different 2013.”

The boatswain’s pipe got everyone’s attention, as it was designed to do. “Attention all hands, attention all hands. Stand by for Captain Ashley Patterson. The Captain will be on both TV and loudspeaker.”

“Good afternoon everyone,” said Ashley.

“The last time I spoke to you I said we were going home. Well, I guess I got that right.” Those who still had voices screamed and cheered. She then announced that their visit to Charleston had been cancelled as well as their deployment to the Persian Gulf. She said they would tie up to the pier in Norfolk at 0800 the next morning, and that the word had been put out to their families. More cheers.

“When you return to your families, your homes are likely to be surrounded by TV, radio, and newspaper reporters in brigade strength. Don’t be surprised if they aren’t sympathetic and understanding of what you’ve been through in the past four months. They think you’ve been gone for only seven hours.”

“A few of you have asked me what to say when questioned by the press, by the Navy, or by anybody. I have one suggestion and one suggestion only. Tell the truth, the truth as you saw it, the truth as you understand it. Everybody will want an explanation of what happened. They don’t know our dirty little secret. We want to know what happened too! There is no official position of the USS California . I have my story and you have yours.”

“To repeat,” said Ashley, “the people who will question you for the next few days or weeks or months, have not gone through what we’ve been through, the fear, the boredom, the anxiety, the sadness, the anger. And God knows they didn’t go through two weeks of barfing and dry heaving as we hunted for the wormhole.” That brought laughs and groans.

“Speaking of telling the truth,” Ashley continued,” I’m going to tell you the truth. I have never served with a finer group of human beings than the crew of the USS California . We’ve all been through four months of living without a future, wondering if our lives would ever return to normal. What you people showed me was courage, patience, dedication, and maturity. You people are what this great Navy is all about.”

Ashley then said something that the crew of a warship would never expect to hear, especially from a commanding officer.

“I love you.” And especially you, Jack. Ashley thought

Father Rick and Jack Thurber sat in the ship’s library for the next four hours collaborating on their outline of the new history of the World since April 1861. They agreed that the outline would be a randomly picked list of major world events and the characters who shaped them. The details were from articles in wikipedia.com.

The American Civil War — 1861

The American Civil War was one of the shortest wars in world history. It began with the South firing on Fort Sumter, South Carolina on April 12, 1861 and effectively ended three months later with the Battle of Bull Run, known in the South as the Battle of Manassas. Total casualties on both sides were 942. The turning point in the war was the appearance of a strange Union vessel that came to be known as the Gray Ship , also known as the USS California. After her heavy weapons turned the Battle of Bull Run into a complete rout of the Confederate forces, the ship then opened fire on the Army of Northern Virginia, which was camped near Richmond. The ship then fired a missile at the Richmond Armory, completely destroying it along with a valuable cache of weapons and munitions. Part of the Richmond waterfront was also destroyed.