The ship is also extremely fast, according to the fishermen. She was headed in the same direction as their fishing boat and was miles ahead of them within a few minutes.
There have been at least a dozen other reports of a Gray Ship steaming off the New England Coast in recent weeks, but Monahan and his crew were close enough to give a detailed description of the craft. All four of the men insisted that it must be a ship of war because of the objects that appeared to be cannons on her deck. The Navy Department was contacted but had no comment.
Chapter 47
Simon Planck, recently promoted to Petty Officer, was in his 15th session of Pete Campo’s martial arts class.
“Today,” said Campo, “we begin the ancient art of karate.”
He called Petty Officer Planck to the front of the class.
“Petty Officer Planck, look at me, and do exactly as I do.”
Campo held his left arm tucked against his side, and then thrust his right fist forward, turning his fist inward as he did. He then repeated the maneuver with his other arm. He did this ten times with each arm. Each time he did the thrust of his fist, he let out a shout, “Kia.”
Planck then went through the series of thrusts imitating Campo’s movements. Campo bowed toward Planck, and then gave him a swat to his left arm, saying, “Great job, Petty Officer Planck.” Campo meant it. In each session, he noticed that Planck honed his new skills with a passion. Planck executed these opening thrusts flawlessly.
Campo then lined up the class in rows with enough space between each student to avoid injury.
Planck was exhausted from the series of punching thrusts. Campo surprised him when he told him to stay in the front of the class.
“People, do exactly what Petty Officer Planck does.”
He just stood to the side as Planck led the class. When he saw that a move needed adjusting, he walked up to Planck, raised a hand and went through the move himself, without speaking a word.
Although dead tired, Planck continued leading the exercise, blanking his mind to his exhaustion and the heavy feeling in his arms, concentrating only on the task.
When the class came to an end, Planck wanted to continue. His body didn’t, but his spirit did.
Campo pulled Planck over to the side after the class.
“You’re a leader, Petty Officer Planck. I hope you understand that.”
Chapter 48
“Captain, may I have a word with you?” said Karen Sobel, the Personnel Officer.
“Come on up, Karen.”
“You asked me to keep you up to date on something, and it’s been a few weeks. It’s about Simon Planck.”
Oh shit, thought Ashley, he’s being bullied again. Ashley lowered her head and voice. “Tell me about it, Karen.”
“It’s great news, Captain,” Sobel said, sensing that Ashley expected bad news. “He’s completed about fifteen of those martial arts classes, and the difference is dramatic. I swear the kid’s voice is deeper, he moves with a kind of pride, and he smiles a lot. He actually smiles. His work is perfect. His uniforms even seem to fit better.”
Campo had told Ashley that Planck would be a different sailor in a matter of weeks, and he was right. The discipline of martial arts is a perfect tonic for this bully magnet.
“If I may, Captain, in all my years in the Navy I’ve never seen a commanding officer take such an interest in a sailor in need. A month ago he was a sad sack. Now he’s got confidence, and it shows.”
“Thanks, Karen. You have no idea how good that makes me feel.”
Ashley told Sobel that she discovered something about herself in high schooclass="underline" she hated bullying. She had nothing but contempt for the Mean Girls, the in-crowd that rules the hallways by intimidating the girls who didn’t make the cut. One day after soccer practice, she noticed a teammate fixing a note on another girl’s locker. She looked at the note. It read, “Is ugliness and stupidity catching? If so, please stay away. Better yet, why not quit the team?” The girl whose locker the note was taped to was one of life’s wounded birds. Physically unattractive with a terrible case of teenage acne, the girl was a natural “bully magnet.” Ashley, the team captain, pulled the note off the door and ran after the girl who put it there. She considered saying, “Barbara, this really isn’t nice,” or “I really wish you wouldn’t do this.” Instead, Ashley focused her large brown eyes on Barbara the bully and said, “Precisely what the hell is this all about?” After that incident, Ashley took the wounded bird, Maureen O’Day, under her wing. She spent time helping her with her soccer plays and singled her out for praise whenever she made a good kick or pass. She then spoke to each of the Mean Girls individually and let it be known that Maureen O’Day is not to be fucked with.
Ashley and Maureen remained friends over the years and correspond often. As Ashley’s Navy career progressed, Maureen O’Day’s career was also doing well. O’Day became a Senior Vice President at Microsoft. She also coaches girls’ soccer at her daughter’s high school.
“She was lucky you were her team captain,” said Sobel, “and Simon Planck is lucky you’re his captain.”
Chapter 49
It was 0800 on May 11, 1861. Lt. DeLouker addressed his team of 18 sailors who would be tasked to assemble the costume change for Operation Gray Ships. DeLouker dubbed them the Gray Ship Gang. Lt. Jg. Nancy Forsyth stood next to him. The ship was still anchored in Chesapeake Bay.
“You guys have been busting ass for the last couple of weeks, and you’ve done a great job. That’s the good news,” DeLouker said. “The bad news is that the work isn’t over yet, but it will get easier. Lt. Forsyth here has done an amazing job of designing these structures, and part of that design makes for easy and fast assembly and break-down. Once we put together the two major fore and aft structures, the regular daily changes should be a snap. This morning we’ll assemble the two major structures. This afternoon we will go through our first time-drill on assembling the rest. Any questions?”
The entire group of 18 began to assemble of the main “turret” towards the bow. DeLouker supervised, with Forsyth at his side for technical questions. Forsyth had labeled each piece of the structures in bright large lettering to make for quick assembly. By mid-morning the structure was complete and the water pipe “guns” were inserted into the holes provided. DeLouker was amazed at the precision that Forsyth had put into the design. The pipes slipped easily into the frame and were bolted down on the inside. The pipes were set at a 45-degree angle, mimicking the appearance of large guns. Each pipe section was 12 inches in diameter and 20 feet long. A 14-foot section of each pipe was visible beyond the structure.
Captain Ashley looked down from the bridge, and called Nick Wartella. “Your people have done a great job, Nick. Those set designs look like the real thing even up close.”
By 1230, the gang had completed the aft structure, along with its “guns.” DeLouker congratulated them and called a lunch break. He had prearranged with the mess hall that the Gray Ship Gang would go to the head of the line.
After lunch, the Gray Ship Gang broke up into smaller units to work on the ship’s name plate, the changing number boards, and the banquet tables. Four sailors were assigned to the nameplate change on the stern, four to the number boards to be mounted on the superstructure, and eight were assigned to the banquet tables.