Starcross

Chapter Six Part lll

USS Florida SSGN 728

Norfolk, Virginia

            As always, the choppy waters of the Atlantic were the shade of bluish-grey that couldn’t be described to anyone who hadn’t seen them before. But to a mariner like John Castle, Captain of the missile submarine USS Florida, he would rather be on the ugly, grey water that smelled of salt and fish than anywhere else. Of course today the salty-fishy smell of the open ocean was replaced by the stink of the marshes near Norfolk and the pungent odor of diesel fumes and motor oil coming from the base.

            Having just come off from another patrol, the Florida was covered in sailors forming a box brigade, where the items being loaded are passed from one pair of hands to the next, passing boxes of food and other essentials from one man to the other until they disappeared down the hatch and onto their proper storage areas; he always found it amusing that submarines had been around for over a hundred years and the only way to get supplies on was to carry them by hand. This time, however, they were being loaded with munitions as well as food.

            It had taken three months but the Navy had finally gotten around to deciding whether or not to replace the nuclear tipped missiles that were fired, and ultimately saved the world, with more nukes or just plain cruise missiles. So, with the ship now badly unbalanced, Castles’ helmsmen had to fight the ship the entire time they were out.

             Standing on the observation deck of the Conning Tower he turned toward the stern, or rear, of the ship and watched the large crane equipped with a specially built attachment lower the large, non-nuclear, missiles into the silos. Below deck he knew that his sailors would be busy in the coming weeks during their next patrol by activating and checking the weapons.

            “Back out to play watchdog again, Sir?” Peter Beagle, his second in command, asked after nosily climbing the ladder from the bridge.

            “That’s right, XO. We wouldn’t want anyone getting sneaky and trying to take what’s ours, now would we?” For the most part the satellite network still worked and it would, in theory, allow Annapolis to guide warships to any threats. “Until the Air Force and Army get put back together, I’m afraid we’re it.” The main ground based military force still within the U.S. was the Army Reserve and the National Guard who had very few bases and allowed most of their soldiers to live elsewhere.

            “Well,” The Executive Officer said with a shrug. “At least this will make the Senate see that they need us more than they thought. Who knows, maybe they’ll allow us to build more ships…” He added thoughtfully.

            Castle snorted in laughter and took a sip of his coffee. “I wouldn’t count on that,” He said after swallowing down the bitter liquid. Navy coffee was always terrible. “They love money and bickering with each other more than they love being safe. If a Russian or Chinese flag flew over Washington, they wouldn’t care as long as they could keep their fortunes and continue arguing.”

            “Now that’s not a very Captain-like thing to say.”

            “Doesn’t make it any less true.” To say he was bitter was an understatement. Castle had been passed over from promotion twice by the son of a Congressman and repeatedly had them lord it over him like they earned it on their own. Attempting to clear his mind before the bitterness ruined his day, he asked, “How long before we’re ready to sail?”

            “About two hours,” The XO, who oversaw the loading of supplies, answered. “We’ll have everything loaded and we can put it away while we get underway.”

            “Good, when it’s all loaded and put away give the men a forty-eight hour leave. They’ve been cooped up in this thing as long as we have and it’s beginning to drive me crazy.”

            “Yes, Sir.” The XO replied and went below deck, leaving John alone.

            An Eastern wind had kicked up and blew in from the ocean; he smiled as it tousled his greying hair. He wished he could go see his wife but she was off in California helping with the clean-up from the Marine base that was there; she volunteered as soon as they were called for and didn’t hesitate to do whatever was needed. If he remembered correctly, she was overseeing the removal of remains, something he couldn’t imagine doing. Not that he we squeamish but the tedious task of removing one rock at a time then making sure all 209 bones were still there made him fidgety.

            Raising his cup, he drained it and proceeded to climb down the ladder, a task made all the more difficult with a mug in his hand. Stopping halfway down, Castle smiled as he remembered how impossible it would have been to climb up with a full cup and felt sorry for all the sailors he had bring him coffee.