“Captain, we have two full teams ready to go, and a partial to fill in if we need them,” reported the Chief in Damage Control Central.
Another button was pushed. “CIC, Bridge. What’s our status?”
“All systems online and in standby. All weapons stations are manned and ready. We are ready to get underway. We will have to run short staffed, but we can get the job done,” said the assistant CIC officer.
“Very well. Bring the systems online. I don’t know what to expect once we get to sea, but be ready for anything,” Flank ordered.
The ship’s Executive Officer suddenly appeared on the bridge along with several others, including a harbor pilot. He looked at the Captain. “Didn’t think I’d make it. You want me here or in CIC?”
“Go to CIC for now. Let’s get her underway,” Flank said. He turned to the Command Duty Officer. “Lieutenant Justice, you now have the deck and the con. Single up all lines,” he ordered.
Along the deck, several groups of people suddenly began disconnecting the lines that held the ship to the pier until only one line at each station remained. Flank turned to the pilot. “You don’t know how glad I am to have you here,” he said with a grin.
“I kinda thought you might need a little help. I’ll get the tug to tie up aft. Let’s back her around and then take off,” he said.
The pilot barked a few orders over his radio and a tug pulled up alongside the stern of the ship and passed over a line. When all was ready, the last of the mooring lines were cast off and the brow simply shoved over the side so that it would be on the pier. The tug pulled the ship’s stern toward the center of the harbor and the ship began to slowly make her way backward until she had plenty of clearance. Then the tug cast off and swung around to push the bow around. Within minutes, USS Gettysburg was around the corner and into the St. Johns River.
Captain Flank had the ship’s systems turned up full. The AEGIS system was pumping out 6 million watts of power to try and detect any missiles or ships which may be coming towards them. On the bridge, things were tense as the CIC watch began calling out contacts, their bearings, courses and speeds. Most were inbound airliners headed toward Jacksonville International Airport, but each new contact raised the sweat level of the people doing their jobs. The ship had made it into the channel when a gigantic explosion gripped the old ship and lifted the bow out of the water.
Almost immediately the electricity on the bridge went out and she began to settle by the bow. Flank and the rest of the crew were thrown from their feet. The Captain immediately sprang up and looked out over the bow to see that it was no longer lined up with the rest of the ship. “Do we have steering control?” he shouted.
Spinning the wheel and seeing the rudder change, the Chief reported, “Yes, Captain, I have steering control.”
Flank hit the damage control button and shouted. “DC Central, report!”
“Captain, we have reports of flooding all the way back to frame 100. I have guys going out, but it’s not good. Sir, the ship is going down,” came the report.
Flank knew it had to be done, but he nearly wept at the idea he had to do it. “Steer right. Put the ship up against the breakwater,” he said painfully.
Slowly, USS Gettysburg inched right, away from the center of the channel and toward the heavy rocks that formed the breakwater leading out to sea. Within a few minutes there was a great shudder as the bow ground into the rocks. There was a loud groan and a bang as the forward part of the ship snapped and moved to the left. The ship came to a halt.
“All stop,” the Captain ordered. He looked back at the pilot. “Is the stern clear?”
The pilot went to the port bridge wing and looked aft. “Yes, Captain, you’re clear. People can get around you,” he said sadly.
“You better get on that radio and tell the tower not to let anyone come out. Either we were hit by a torpedo or the channel has been mined,” he said. Flank looked around at the faces on the bridge. The shock was reflected in each of them.
Slowly, despite all their efforts, USS Gettyburg settled in the water until her main deck was awash. The engineers restored power to parts of the ship, but the Gettysburg wasn’t going anywhere.
“Mines too?” the President said in exasperation. “How the hell did they get mines in our harbors?” he asked.
“Mister President, if you recall, we had posed that possibility in our report,” said the CNO. He, along with Hammond, the other Joint Chiefs, National Security Advisor and several cabinet members were sitting around a large table in the situation room. “It’s awfully hard to detect one of their mines until it comes up from the bottom. That’s why we tried to get as many of our ships underway as we could,” he said.
O’Bannon sighed and put his hands on the table. “What a mess,” he sighed. A phone rang and an assistant answered. He turned to the President. “Sir, it is the German Chancellor.”
The President pressed the speaker on the phone, “Chancellor, I believe we have just witnessed the start of World War Three,” he said solemnly.
“Yes, Mister President, I believe this is the case. I have just ordered my army across the border to help. I am also seeing that you have been hit as well,” the Chancellor said.
“Yes, Chancellor, we have taken some serious blows. I am getting updated about it even now. Shall I implement our joint plans now?” the President asked.
“I have been contacted by the Poles, the Dutch, the Slovakians, Czechs and the Belgians. Since I doubt the British would object, I recommend we do.”
The President took a breath. “Very well, I agree. We begin operations immediately. I shall inform the new staffs and we will get things started as soon as possible,” he said. “If I may, I will get some things done here and contact you again later this morning,” he said. “Do you have any news from Slovakia?” he asked.
“President Jenej told me his air forces were nearly wiped out in an early morning raid. It appears they are following the main highways. He dispatched his forces, but he is certain it is hopeless. They are making plans to pull his forces back to the Czech Republic and form a government in exile. I told him I agreed with his decision. There’s just no way to stop them down there. I’m hoping that the combination of both the Slovak and Czech armies, we might be able to stop them at the Czech border,” the Chancellor said.
“I agree. There’s not much they can do. Looks like we have a mess on our hands. Let me check on a few things and call you back,” said O’Bannon.
“Thank you, Mister President. And please relay our support and our sorrow for the losses you have sustained. We shall talk later,” the Chancellor said, ending the conversation.
“The British Prime Minister is holding, Mister President,” said the assistant again.
O’Bannon activated the speaker again. “Mister Prime Minister, I just got off the line with the Chancellor of Germany. He wants us to implement the plans we made. Do you agree?”
“Most certainly. I am sending assets now. When do you think the commander will be on his way? I want to have at least a rudimentary staff up and ready,” said the Prime Minister.
“I’ll have him there within seventy two hours. How bad were you hit?”
“Devonport and Portsmouth were hit but not too badly. Both our carriers, the Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales, were spared. We had them up near Iceland. You might want to check for mines. One of our submarines caught one on the Clyde. I have a feeling where there’s one, there will be many more,” the Prime Minister said.
“I agree. We just lost USS Gettysburg to one in Mayport. Until I can make sure the area is clear, we can’t deploy any more ships. Let me get fully briefed and I will contact you later this morning,” the President said.