Hells Bells

A slight Political Disagreement

Originally Written in 2022

June 11th, 2025. Uss Missouri. San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The Sea King slowly descends on the landing pad. The rotors spin down and the door opens, the group of officers waiting on deck salute as the president walks down onto the deck. Stokins walks forward shaking hands with the fleet admiral.

BRIGGS: As always it's an honor.

STOKINS: Likewise Cameron. Please lead the way.

Two of the most powerful men in the union make their way up the Missouri's superstructure to the conning tower. The two men sit at a table set up for the occasion. The two men get to talking as some ships from the 7th fleet, drop anchor and prepare for the annual fleet review.

BRIGGS: everything has been running smoothly, though the older ships need to get replaced or upgraded.

STOKINS: That's good to hear, how many ships are here for the review?

BRIGGS: 32 in total. 16 destroyers, 2 carriers, 1 planet destroyer battleship, 12 cruisers, and 1 submarine.

STOKINS: That should be enough. 32 vessels and 3 divisions from the Grand Army of the Republic. Let us get this review underway admiral.

Three new F-56's fly overhead, followed by twenty F-14 StarJets. The sixteen destroyers open fire with their main guns, targeting buoys floating a mile away. A crowd of civilians gather around the shoreline watching the fleet perform. The crowd looks up as the armada of aircraft circles back over head. One of the F-56's dips low and buzzes the Missouri's tower, sending Briggs' hat flying into the water.

BRIGGS: I want the name of that asshole.

STOKINS: Calm down Cameron, that's probably the most fun we're gonna see during this review.

The cruisers open up with their guns, while the Missouri turns and levels her guns out to sea. A pair of viper attack helicopters land on the carrier in front of the Missouri. The battleships guns join in on the target practice. The smoke dissipates and the air becomes calm. Suddenly Missouri's sirens go off, then the ship shakes as one of the nuclear powered engines explodes. The ship starts to list on its starboard side. The president is ushered to the helipad, all the while passing firemen going to the lower levels. Briggs splits off from the group heading to the bridge while the rest make their way to the stern. The president reboards the helicopter, seeing Missouri's crew throwing over life rafts into the water. The president gets off the helicopter, against his staff urging him not to, and starts helping some crewmen struggling to get a raft inflated. Stokins helps them and then helps lift the raft overboard. Another explosion rips apart another engine on the starboard side. The ship further lists and starts to sink. Marine one lifts off to avoid being thrown off the deck and into the water. A rope ladder is deployed and the president barely grabs on to it. Stokins grabs onto another sailor before he slides down into the water. Stokins tries pulling the man to the ladder as the helicopter starts to gain altitude. The man slips from Stokins hand and the sailor slides down the Missouri's deck and into the water. The Missouri capsizes and comes to a rest in the shallow waters of Puerto Rico. The president is helped back into the helicopter, he looks out at the bay seeing that the carrier in front of the Missouri is leaning as well, but hasn't sunk. Stokins looks back to the Missouri seeing its two other engines have broken off due to the capsizing. The helicopter's door is closed and the helicopter begins to fly back to the US Bahamas, flanked on both sides by its escorting aircraft. A few hours following the attack, the radical Puerto Rico liberation group called El Nino, claims the attack and vows to free the Island from American Influence. Martial law is declared by the governor of Puerto Rico, and all American possessions in the Caribbean are also put under martial law. Statehood for the Bahamas and the US Virgin Isles are put on hold. Puerto Rico's national guard and the federal divisions start to sweep the island.

June 12th - 13th, 2025

On the morning of the twelfth an infantry and armored division from the Puerto Rican national guard and a federal air element, engaged the main cell of El Nino in the countryside near the town of Cidra. El Nino was severely crippled and on the evening of the twelfth it was neutralized, the leaders still remaining at large. The Uss Missouri was raised and sent to a naval yard near San Juan for repairs. Admiral Briggs was severely wounded in the sinking, but remains in stable condition. 513 crew members were wounded, 23 were killed on the Missouri and the carrier Ulysses S Grant.

Two more nations in Azur ended their embargo.

After getting information from a classified source.. The investigation from the labyrinth in the Innerworld and the one in the Gods has shown the two to be similar in origin and design. More info from the informant has revealed these structures to be the aftermath of the war of the gods and the subsequent exile of twenty gods. All we know is these structures were built by the gods in exile, though the one in the gods has a different purpose that hasn't been discovered yet. The informant cannot be reached, he can only reach us.

Commander Macintosh Smith and Rishu WÓJCIK, have uncovered more evidence on how people got summoned from our world in both the Gods and the Innerworld. They requested to interrogate the people summoned to the gods, the request was accepted, though an hour after they were transferred the prisoners went missing. No evidence of more summoned people in other dimensions exists.