Hammond glanced at the crane on the pier. It had a long extension arm and a giant pulley with many strands of cable. He was staring at it when the air raid alarm sounded. “Everyone inside the armored belt! General Quarters!” Hammond shouted. “OOD, get everyone inside and you and your watch take cover,” he yelled as the announcement was made and the general quarters alarm went off.
The shipyard officer dashed back down the brow as men began to scramble to their stations. Hammond grabbed RADM Shranski and almost pulled him up the ladders into the ship and farther into Strike.
“We have inbound missiles, Captain. Three are targeted within the city,” called out one of the watch standers.
“Ballistic missiles or cruise missiles?”
“Ballistic missiles, Captain. We don’t have the capability to counter them,” he said.
Watching the satellite screen, the incoming missiles appeared as red dots with a half circle under them with a long line indicating the speed. The line was very long. “Battle stations manned. Zebra set,” reported another watch stander.
“Very well!” said Hammond.
The XO came into Strike. “You weren’t planning on getting underway were you? He asked.
“Not really. Let’s ride this out and see what happens. Do they have the capability for nukes?”
“I’m not sure if these are short or medium range Captain,” said the duty officer. “If they’re medium range, they could,” he said.
Hammond looked at his XO. “Set Circle William.”
“Aye, Captain.” He grabbed the 1MC. “Set Circle William throughout the ship. Ready the water washdown system,” he ordered.
Throughout the ship men began closing the last fittings that would protect them against nuclear fallout. Ventilators were closed and all other openings to the outside were sealed where they could. The bridge watch transferred to the bridge on the 0–8 level and closed all the doors and windows. All around the ship men began to worry. They could handle bombs, planes, missiles, or nearly anything else that goes ‘boom,’ but the thought of a nuclear blast made their skins crawl. For the first time, many of the men were scared. All they could do was wait. “Circle William set, sir.”
In the distance, an explosion was heard. Then a second one. The third seemed almost beside the ship, but the ship didn’t shudder or rock. It had missed. Looking at the satellite screen, the missiles were targeted all across the southern peninsula. One-by-one they blinked out as they struck the ground. The men waited for a few minutes to see if any more appeared. When they didn’t, Hammond picked up the 1MC. “OK guys, it looks like the missile attack is over. Luckily they were conventional. But this reminds us that we are still in a very dangerous shooting war. Be prepared to go to battle stations anytime and anywhere. Our job here is to do some repairs and get back out to sea. The good guys may need us much faster than we figured, so let’s do all we can to get the job done,” he said.
Placing the microphone back in its cradle, Hammond turned to the XO. “They did a good job setting Circle William. You and a couple of guys go around and do a spot check. When you’re satisfied, secure from general quarters.”
“Will do, Captain.” He grabbed Ops and called down to DC Central to get the Master Chief and Blackie.
“Admiral, why don’t you and I go to my cabin,” Hammond said. They exited Strike and went down a ladder to his cabin. “Come on in, Admiral,” Hammond said with a smile. He ushered Shranski to an armchair and he took the end of the couch.
“You know, Roger, you’re making quite an impression of a lot of people back home,” Shranski said. “I understand the President wants your funnel cap mounted on the White House lawn.”
“You’re kidding me. We’re just doing our job. What’s so different about us, sir?” Hammond asked.
Shranski shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Your band is making headlines, we hear about you guys shooting up a bunch of supply depots and tank farms, then you go and get hit by three missiles. The fact you aren’t dead rates at least an honorable mention,” he joked. “I also know Thacke has been shouting your praises to the winds and the carrier group commander wants to have your children. Not bad for a surface puke.”
Hammond grunted. “Hell, the band plays because I like how they sound and the crew enjoys it; especially when they have a tedious job. The rest is just what we do. You were a SWO, if you were a frigate captain, wouldn’t you put your ship in harms way?”
Shranski stifled a laugh. “I know a lot who wouldn’t. Anyway, the right people think you’re doing a great job and I’m one of them,” he said.
Hammond grinned. “Thanks, Mike.”
Shranski threw up a hand. “Don’t thank me yet. One of the tasks I have while I’m here is to investigate how you lost your stack. So while they weld another one on, I am supposed to pry into what was done and who did it. I have four other guys to help. We’ll start tomorrow,” he said somewhat sternly. Then he eased up a little. “But while we’re here, just go on about your business. Get your ship fixed and get back in the war. You know what I’ll be looking for and who I’ll need to talk to. I’ll work with your XO and get it done. Don’t worry, if something’s messed up, I’ll let you know,” he said with a grin.
Hammond nodded. “Okay, I’ll have the XO and department heads check in with you and round up the usual suspects. We don’t have a thing to hide. The logs are with the quartermasters and the watch officers. The XO knows who was on watch and where. I particularly want you to single out the repair parties and the gunners. They did an awesome job. The XO himself had the deck and conn. I was in Strike. My ship is yours for whatever you need,” he said.
Shranski smiled at the man. He was modest as hell and wanted the credit to go to the troops. Shranski already knew how the investigation would go. “Don’t worry, Roger. We’ll get through this. Would you mind if we stayed aboard while we work? If we have to get underway with you it will make it a little easier.”
Hammond’s face broke into a wide grin. “I had a feeling you would want to get underway with us. You’ll love the hell out of it. Come on,” he said standing. “Your cabin is right next to this one.”
As the men exited the cabin, the crew secured from general quarters. There was a shipyard conference to do and some extra officers to bring aboard. The XO was concerned about the investigation, but not overly so. He could think of nothing to be ashamed of or against regulations. The after boiler rooms had been shut down for the last 48 hours and the steam cross connected to keep the generators running and the ship moving. The forced draft blowers had been kept running to pump cool air into the boiler casings and stacks to lower the temperatures inside. By midnight, the shipyard crew had come aboard and measured off five feet above the deck on the remnants of the after stack. A straight line was drawn and the torches began cutting through the thick steel. Up above, some workers welded some eyes to the stump of the funnel and attached steel cables. The overhead crane extended and the hook was lowered. Once the cables were attached, the crane took a strain and just waited. In four hours, men crawled inside the funnel and began welding through the inner baffles. By seven am, the last of the metal had been cut away and the remnant of the funnel pulled cleanly away from the ship it had been attached to since 1943. It was set on the pier, soon to be joined by an exact duplicate of the stack that had just been completed by the shops.