There was a commotion on the bridge as reports were coming in and orders were issued. “Sir, damage control reports turret one and three still operational. There is some damage to the weather guards, but the turrets and crews are intact. Blast damage is restricted to light structures. They also report the after stack cap is not aboard the ship. It must have been blown overboard,” the OOD reported.
Hammond punched the engineering button on the bitch box. “Main Control, bridge. What’s your status?”
“We lost fires in one boiler of the after group, Captain. The explosion simply blew them out. Fires have been relit and we are capable of 27 knots. I have told the damage control teams to stop pouring water on the remains of the stack. The smoke you are seeing is stack gas and nothing more. There’s no real damage, Captain,” reported the Chief Engineer.
Hammond then punched in Damage Control Central. “DC Central, bridge, any word on casualties?”
“Captain, this is Blackie, Doc is headed up to turret one. It looks like there was some bleeding from the ears from some of the guys, but there are no reports of any real casualties. Doc said he’d call in a report when he got things sorted out. We still have a couple of small fires on the main deck aft. But they are being addressed. The repair party says there are missile fragments imbedded in the wooden deck. We’ll have to be careful around where the missiles hit.”
“I’ll pass it along. Thanks, Blackie.” Another button pushed. “Plot, bridge. What’s the weapons status?”
“This is Weaps, Captain, all guns operational, fire control systems operational. We are shutting down the Harpoons until we can check out the damage and we are also shutting down the Tomahawks on the after deck. Once we do a visual inspection I can give you an up or down check.”
“Thanks, Weaps. Keep me posted.”
Hammond leaned on his chair. No serious damage, he thought. The XO and the rest of the watch had now joined him on the bridge. Hammond was smiling until the XO pointed out the window. The top of the stack was sitting on the flight deck of the Ronald Reagan.
“Now I’ve seen it all,” said Hammond. Then he turned to the XO. “Find out where those missile sites were,” he said. Then he grabbed the 1MC microphone. “This is the Captain. Before now, I thought it was a joke. Sweepers, sweepers man your brooms,” he said. “Good work people.”
Strike received the coordinates of the missile launchers from the F-14 pilot. USS Iowa turned sharply away from the carrier and began steaming at full speed toward the coast. The RPV was launched off the fantail.
Thirty minutes later turrets one and three turned outward and took out their revenge on those who tried to damage them. It took only ten minutes each to totally destroy both the sites and their magazines.
Senator Williamson was sipping a good single malt when his private telephone rang. “Williamson.”
“Senator, I thought you might like to know something I just heard from my guy in the Pentagon,” said former Admiral Granger.
“Admiral! Good to hear from you. What have you got for me,” Williamson asked. He grabbed a pencil and a pad of paper at his desk.
“This is just off the wire and I have a guy who tries to keep me up on things. He just told me the battleship Iowa was hit by three cruise missiles,” Granger said.
“Damn!”
“You remember I told you it was foolish to put those antiquated ships out there. She probably couldn’t defend herself. I don’t have any more information, but I bet she’s about to hit the bottom of the sea. Just one of the things can sink a ship,” Granger began to pontificate. “Those ships just don’t have the technology to take on modern cruise missiles. But more importantly, the CO is that guy Hammond, his hatchet man. The President used his influence to get him a command and he blew it.”
“Hammond is the CO? That’s interesting. So you think she’s sunk?”
“Either that or very heavily damaged. I would figure they have lots of casualties too. All my man said was she had been hit and there was some damage.”
“Okay, let me get on this. I appreciate this, Admiral. Please let me know if you hear anything else,” Williamson said hurriedly. He hung up and thought a moment. This was hot and he needed to get on it right then. They’ll tell me to wait as usual, he thought to himself. No, this was one he would handle personally. He started making phone calls. After burning up the telephone lines for an hour he closed down his office and made his way home. He didn’t notice the light telling him he had a message.
It was late evening and President Steve O’Bannon was deep into the paperwork of a spending bill when his secretary told him of an incoming call from the CNO. “Yes, Admiral, what can I do for you?” he asked after picking up the telephone.
“Mister President, we just got word Iowa was hit.”
The words stung O’Bannon when he heard them. Not only did it involve his sailors and Marines, but also a good friend. “How bad?”
“Actually sir, not bad at all. According to the operational report, she was hit by three Silkworm missiles. One struck turret one, the second turret three and the third blew a funnel off. But the good news is there were no casualties.”
“You’re kidding me!”
“No, sir. Hammond got his people behind all that armor and they came out pretty much unscathed. I got a follow up from the carrier commander. Iowa took the hits by placing herself between the missiles and the carrier.”
“Son of a bitch. That’s damn near epic!”
“Yes, sir. But there’s even more news. The carrier had a helo up with TV news guys on it. There’s video of the whole thing coming over the satellite now.”
O’Bannon came up out of his seat. “Perry, I’m on my way over. Let’s get the PAO types on this. I should be there in a few minutes.”
“I figured so. We’ll be ready, sir.”
“See you then,” O’Bannon said as he hung up. He pressed the intercom. “Bev, get the Chief of Staff and the Press Secretary in my office right now. Then get the detail set up for a run to the Pentagon. Set it up fast, Bev.”
It took just seconds before Butler came through the door. “What’s up, Boss?”
“Jim, Iowa took some hits while defending a carrier. Perry called and says there’s video coming over the satellite. Wanna go see it?”
“Damn straight. Anybody hurt?
“Not a soul. The on-scene guy said Hammond placed his ship in a direct line between the missiles and the flat top. This needs to get out fast.”
“I agree. Looks like our friend is the best pick for the job,” he said.
The Press Secretary entered the room with his notebook in hand. “Anything up?”
“A ton,” the President said. “Let’s have us a trip to the Pentagon.” The men exited the Oval Office and picked up the detail. By the time they reached the front door the car and escort were waiting. Motorcycle police were always waiting at the gates and led the way out of the compound and down 15th Street to Constitution. The motorcade made its way to the Lincoln Memorial and Memorial Bridge. Crossing the Potomac, they followed Jefferson Davis Highway to the Pentagon. The Presidential Limo pulled right up to the steps. The CNO and members of the Joint Chiefs were there to greet him. All of them followed Johnson and the President to the Pentagon briefing room where the digital images had been transferred to a videotape and set up for viewing.
The President walked in and sat at the head of the table. Admiral Johnson started. “More news has come in. Some of the sailors were injured. Evidently the missile explosions ruptured some eardrums of sailors in turret one and near the other blasts. One guy broke an arm when it knocked him off his feet. The doctor aboard is treating them and there should be no lasting damage. They basically have to have cotton in their ears a few days until the eardrums heal. Also, right after the ship was hit, she transited to the area where the missiles were launched and took out both launch sites.”