Lt. Col. Daniel F. Hunter: Rebuilding The Country

Chap.16 "A New Design"

I woke up about 3:00 AM from another strange dream, These dreams were becoming clearer like a diamond that was just found. I looked around my tent and went out to fetch me something to eat, While I walked around the streets of the city, I noticed a building that looked dimly lit, It looked as if there was civilians in there. I decided to walk in and see of what was going on, As I went down the street some more and found the entrance to the building, I found some of the 555th and the Idaho National Guard just singing and cheering while they were drinking. I have to admit this is that I have a great passionate hatred for anyone who drinks in my presence or smokes, However, I wanted to sit down and just party for a little while and talk about of what we've all been through. As I sat down and pored myself some water into a glass cup, This is when the whole started to sing "Avanti Ragazzi Di Buda". This song was dedicated to the Anti-Communist Hungarian Revolution of 1956, I decided to join in the crowed. As the National Guardsmen and combat engineers sang, Everyone started to post pictures of the two hero's of the revolution for which it was Prime Minister Imre Nagy and Tank Colonel Pal Maleter and saying "Better Dead Than Red".

The battalions in the building were waving Hungarian flags and marched into the streets of the city and sang till their hearts were full of contempt, As I put on a tank helmet and decided to pilot a M2 Stuart Light Tank, Most were waking up to our celebration. There was confusion but we all decided to continue it towards the city of Bismarck, As I told everyone that our job is done and finally go to the capital city of North Dakota, Everyone started to cheer for me as we completed our mission here in Bleak City. As everyone started traveling east, There was a question that kept haunting me and that question was "Are the Combine going to try and destroy Earth?", This question was probably in the back of everyone's mind as we rode through the grasslands of North Dakota on our way to Bismarck.

I turned on the tanks radio and switched to a song called "As Seas Exhale - Mare Incontra Il Cielo", This song had a touch of melancholy to it and it just reminded me of how much that we've all been through but it gave me the willpower to keep going. However, I was still thinking of what Freeman and Shepherd had to do with all of what went down at Black Mesa, The Blue Suited Menace was without a shadow of doubt involved in this whole ordeal and led us into the present as we all live. I wanted to get some answers and the only person that I could at least gets some answers from was none other than Wallace Breen, Breen in my opinion had more to answer than question. I asked Johnson of where Breen was and he said he was on House Arrest in Battle Mountain, Nevada. I said "Why is he in Nevada?", Johnson said of all the places in the country he would go to, he would rather go to Northern Nevada. I still was wondering about of what the Blue Suited Menace had to do with Breen, To be honest, I never trust the scientists words of what they said of what had went down there. I started to look through my binoculars and just starred almost endlessly on the grassland, Memories started like a slideshow, I know I was dwelling on them but I rather just remember the good times and put the past angered times behind me.

As I still looked through the Binoculars, Kirkland gave me blueprints of a battleship that was proposed in 1934. This blueprint was of a later Maximum/Tillman Battleship, This design was not like the Maximum Virginia Classes or any other battleship that it represent. The only ship that this battleship looked like was of the New Mexico's and original Lexington Class Battlecruisers, Here was the original design of this weird battleship:

(The South Carolina Class Battleship, This design called for a 80,000 ton Battleship armed with 8x20 inch guns and having secondaries completed with 20x6 inch cannons. The Anti Air armament was 16x1.1 inch "Chicago Piano" anti air guns.)

This design for the South Carolina was in fact very interesting as it never resembled any other battleship of the era back then, The bridge of the ship resembled New Mexico's while the funnels represented of what the Lexington's and of what their carrier counterparts had installed on them. Everyone wanted me to decide if we should build the battleship, I said yes to this design and that we should build at least five of these beasts. They all wanted me to name the rest of the classes, I proposed the names of South Carolina, Hawaii, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and finally the Michigan. The classes were officially named and would be built at the Norfolk Navy Yard in Virginia, Now most were thinking about of what the Chicago Piano Anti Air gun was, Here is two pictures of the Anti Air Guns back then:

(A photo taken aboard the Pennsylvania Class Battleship U.S.S. Pennsylvania of the Chicago Piano AA Battery. Circa. 1940)

(A line drawing of the 1.1"/75 Chicago Piano Anti Air Gun, It was fitted on numerous of other warships but had the downside of jamming under heavy use. It was later replaced by the harder hitting and faster firing 40MM Bofors and 20MM Oerlikons.)

The usage of such old and fascinating technology and as well as improving it would give us a greater chance at countering Universal Union warships, The reason of why we were building a giant navy was to fend off an invasion from the South Pole which was being controlled by a branch of the Universal Union called "Sub Division Borealis". I knew that the entire Universal Union may attack at any given time and had to complete Reconstruction as fast as we can and get the Navy back on its feet, I could also tell that the Air Force needed more plans to build more Fighters and Bombers to counteract the Combine's Air Force. I wanted to focus more upon the Navy while Kirkland focused on the Air Force and Starbanner on the Army, I knew the Army needed more Tanks and Guns but I tried to get a better understanding of what the Combine were up to.

I barked to everyone saying that once we get back to Washington D.C., We needed to complete reconstruction for which we may go up against the Combine or Xen type fauna. Kleiner who made his way to Bismarck was waiting patiently for me and the whole entire group, He was wanting to tell me about the plan to get City 17 rebuilt for which all of us can finally get moving towards rebuilding everything. The Advancements made of the outlook of not only Pre-Dreadnought but Dreadnought and Super Dreadnought Battleships, Even Battlecruiser research became a main priority of the Navy regardless of the whole entire effort made in constructing them. Several designs were waiting for me back in Washington, It was almost like Christmas morning for some naval enthusiast like myself. As it would take time to get to Bismarck, I decided to get some shut eye in this steel hunk of metal on wheels traveling throughout North Dakota. It was very cramped but it was enough and I slept rather uncomfortable but I am not a cry baby whining little son of a bitch and just decided to deal with it. As I closed my eyes, All I could hear was just the tank's engine.